25 Teams in 25 Days: Pearl River Central

There’s a quote that reads ‘the best things in life don’t come easy, but those things are the ones worth the sacrifice.’

Sounds like something the Pearl River Central football program would have written right around the time Jacob Owen showed back up at his alma mater.

For the Blue Devils, it’s a hard road back from their disappointing 1-10 season in 2017 and that’s the point here at stop number 5 on News 25’s ’25 Teams in 25 Days.’

Cornerback Ronald Murray said, “The difference inside is a 1-10 team. We go from 1-10 to 4-7 the next year, and it’s only up from here.”

The turnaround at Pearl River Central was never going to happen overnight, but quadrupling the previous year’s win total is a good place to start. That 4-7 showing even includes three district wins, a direct result of PRC’s renewed sense of belief under Blue Devil alum Jacob Owen. “It was nothing new to us. We had had two new coaches in the last three or four years. But Coach Owen, after he told us all that and we started to actually win more than just one game, that came to us and we were like we can actually win a game.”

That being said, Coach Owen admits the culture change heading into year two is still a work in progress. “I still think we struggle a little bit with believing that we can beat anybody. There’s a difference in believing you can win and believing that you can beat anybody. And I think that confidence is something that we’re still struggling with in our mentality, but we’re looking forward to changing that.”

With one win over a playoff team from region 4 class 5A already under their belts, the Blue Devils are now in search of something more in the form of a grand entrance. “When you’re a part of any kind of turnaround, you’ve got to have what coaches call a signature win. Fortunately for us, in our district we get a chance to get a signature win every week. Because every week we’re playing a top tier program, so that’s a great opportunity for us.”

Defensive end/ wing back Kevin Wilcox said, “We just want to start something in here. Like how it was a few years ago, we just want to start that back up and keep it going.”

Getting back to 2015 district championship form started last year with the word ‘believe.’ This year, behind their 19 seniors, the Blue Devils are fully committing to a blue collar mentality predicated on attention to detail. “This shirt right here, the hard way. We do everything the hard way.”

“We still go by believe, but it’s the hard way this year mainly. Because we do everything the hard way. Nothing that’s worth having is easy.”

“We’re working with an understanding that it’s not just going to happen. We’re going to have to do things the hard way. We’re going to have to get after it and we’re going to have to give great effort. We’re going to have to do the little things right. We can’t take shortcuts around here and be successful.”

Coach Owen also says he’d take toughness over talent any day of the week in reference to his team playing with a lot of heart.

The Blue Devils kick off 2019 at Hancock on August 23^rd.