Nate Griffin

MINEOLA — Rain didn’t stop the Mineola Yellowjackets from hitting the field at Meredith Memorial early Monday morning for the first day of practice.

“It’s always a good feeling,” Mineola head coach Luke Blackwell said. “It’s something you always kind of look forward to from the previous season, all the way to the first day of practice the next year. That’s something we look forward to throughout the summer, and it’s good to be here.”

Coming off an 11-2 campaign in 2020, the Yellowjackets are expecting big things in 2021.

“Everyone out here, they want to win,” said junior running back/linebacker Dawson Pendergrass, who has offers from Baylor, Arkansas and UTSA. “We all expect to win state this year.”

Mineola had some key players depart — running back/defensive end Trevion Sneed (SMU) and offensive lineman Jackson Anderson (Colorado), but the pieces are in place for another strong season.

“We really have several guys that you might not know as well, but they should fill big roles for us,” Blackwell said. “TJ Moreland is obviously coming back at quarterback, and we’re going to ask a little more out of him this year. Jaxon Holland is another guy. Both of those guys were state champion 4×4 guys. They’re good athletes, and they can run. And we feel like both of those guys can contribute a little more for us this year.”

The Yellowjackets also return multiple players up front, including senior Nate Griffin.

“It’s where everything starts for us in the game of football, and it’s the most important thing,” Blackwell said. “We’ve got some guys there bringing some experience back, and we’ve got some young guys stepping up, and we will be expecting a lot out of those guys. I’m sure those guys will be ready to go.”

Griffin said he feels good about where the offensive line is heading into fall camp.

“We’ve got a lot of chemistry,” Griffin said.

While there’s plenty of excitement surrounding the start of the football season, Blackwell also has an away-from-the-field situation weighing on his mind.

Blackwell’s 6-year-old son, Jase, was recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

“It’s different this year,” Blackwell said. “I’m just so used to being all in, especially when it’s football season, but obviously with the stuff going on with my son, I do need to be around more than I typically would be. But it does feel good to be up here and be with the kids. It kind of takes your mind off of things. It’s an awful lot of fun being around these kids every day, and there is some therapy in that. And I get a lot of joy out of that for sure.”

Mineola is scheduled to open the season Aug. 27 at Canton.