As a junior at Justin Northwest High School, Prince Mavula has risen above tremendous loss on the field and in life. Wise beyond his years, he uses the adversity he has faced as motivation to pursue his dreams and lead his team.
The Texans finished the 2015 season with only one win. Bouncing back from a losing record, in and of itself, is an obstacle for anyone. Mavula, who rarely uses the pronoun “I”, but instead “we”, explains that the team uses last year’s losing record as fuel for this season.
“During off-season, we focused on not having another season like that one,” he said. “We all work really hard everyday and take it one week at a time.”
Last year’s season isn’t the only loss that Mavula carries on his shoulders. In fact, it’s not even the greatest. “My dad passed away about three years ago,” shared Mavula. “I always write his dates on my wrists. If things get rough, I look at the dates and remember why I’m doing this.”
Like many young men, Mavula longs to make his father proud. He is well-spoken, selfless, and humble; traits that would satisfy any father. Mavula’s performance beneath the Friday night lights are quite impressive, too. In only three games, he has completed 54 of 86 passes for 758 yards and 10 touchdowns. Most recently, the team beat their rivals, Byron Nelson High School. “We were feeling pretty great after that game because they beat us last year,” Mavula said.
In the second game of the season, in which the team was projected to lose, Mavula broke a school record when he passed for seven touchdowns in a 69-46 victory over McKinney North. “I didn’t know I broke a record until I got on the bus,” said Mavula. “I hope to break the record I set, too.”
Breaking records, however, isn’t the most important sight Mavula has his eyes on. “I want our team to win a playoff game,” he said with fierce determination in his voice. Northwest has been in a playoff victory drought since 1962. “Anything can happen in the playoffs,” he added. “We’re just going to keep going and going.”
As the team marches to the post-season, there are some oh-so-sweet challenges along the way. Mavula specifically mentioned their next match up with the Eaton Eagles and their final home game of the season, district powerhouse, Aledo.
Overcoming loss and finding the perseverance to move forward is impressive. Mavula hasn’t done it alone, though. “My team and Coach Poe have helped me a lot,” he said. “My freshman year was rough. Coach Poe told me to buy into the system. He wasn’t lying. He was telling the truth. Now, I understand.”
Mavula plans to keep pushing on toward his dream. When asked what makes him stand out, he claimed that he simply wasn’t that interesting of a person. “I really just like to play football and do the right thing,” he concluded. A self-proclaimed “ordinary” kid with extraordinary talent, Mavula will undoubtedly do great things.
