Football is a sport that can bring a whole town together. Every fall Friday night, families and students pack the stands, no matter the weather, to watch the Milford Mavericks play football. The past four years have been a bit of a roller coaster for the Mavs foot-ball team. Former head coach, Garfrey Smith, had a rough first three years with the team but finally had success in his fourth season after going 7-3 and making it to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Even after a great year, it was time for some changes, after going 10-25 in 4 years of coaching. But thankfully for the Mavericks, these changes were with a familiar face.

When it came time to hire a new head coach, there was only one guy that came to mind for most of the athletes and other coaches. Milford’s former offensive coordinator and now new head coach, Andrew Micovich, has the tools and ideas to lead a strong Milford Mavericks team to the playoffs and hopes to win the conference. The only thing on his mind is success. According to Micovich, all he is thinking about is “to compete to win Milford’s first ever LVC championship, be in a position to beat our rivals, earn a spot in the playoffs, and host another playoff game.”  This successful mindset is nothing new for him.

He had the opportunity to play quarterback at Concordia University Ann Arbor, and is having a successful coaching career with four different programs including Milford. His goal is to continue the success he has already achieved.

Familiarity has made the transition to head coach easier for him. Knowing the players and what they can do is a big plus to having a successful program. He is hoping to count on players like Senior quarterback Jack Beyer, who has been on the team since Micovich joined the program in
2019. Only benefits have come from the bond between these two guys. Beyer said it helps to know what his new coach is trying to accomplish and his expectations. “It definitely helps what our goals are as a whole and it’s nice that he knows what we want and we know what he wants,” he said. “Our chemistry is already pretty solid and will hopefully only get better from here on out.” To have this kind of chemistry, Beyer and Micovich is very special, especially with the quarterback knowledge shared by the both of them.

Micovich stated that knowing the QB is important, but understanding the skill and potential of the other 21 players is even more crucial, “Having knowledge of our players and what they do well cannot be understated.” he said. “We get to minimize that feeling out process because the coaches and I have already been working side by side with our student athletes for the last few years. We’ve been able to establish relationships, earn credibility, and share experiences.” Luckily for Micovich, the train is already rolling for this on the rise of a Mavericks football program.

After having a successful 2021 season, the drive to have that same success is the most important thing for this team. Beyer has high expectations for this team and what they can accomplish this upcoming season. “I think we’ll be a LVC championship-caliber team,” he stated, “But we’re working at it day by day, and taking it game by game. It starts with New Boston Huron first, then we work our way up to that LVC title. We don’t want anyone that doesn’t believe in our mission to conquer the LVC to hop on the wave when we start winning ball games.”

This mentality is exactly what the Mavericks need. Building off a great year isn’t going to be easy, especially with several seniors leaving like quarterback Billy Sternberg and receiver Brandon Gibson. “The potential our players have is only going to be limited by their commitment to improving. We are blessed at Milford to have so many good players at all levels. How we improve on what our team accomplished last year isn’t going to be easy,” Micovich said. With the loss of 18 seniors, there are many important roles that need to be taken over and do so within the
best of their abilities. Micovich went on to say, “We have big shoes to fill in regard to leadership and production left by our seniors. I look forward to seeing if our returning players are up for the challenge. The ’22 graduating class helped the entire school raise the bar on expectations.”

The new hire of Coach Andrew Micovich has a promising future for the Mavericks. If this new season is going to be anything like the last, Milford is in for a real treat.