Mark Carter wears a black shirt that says, "Why not?" in big gold letters on the front.
There's a special meaning behind it, a mantra that Mark and his brother Marcus Carter embrace every day as co-head coaches of Phoenix Maryvale High School's football program. They are determined to return the Panthers to heights not seen since 2010, which was the last time Maryvale was 3-1 to open a season like they are heading into the Sept. 25 game against Combs.
After leaving Goodyear Desert Edge three years ago, the Carter brothers spent 10 months helping coach high school football in Georgia.
When they came back, and got hired at Maryvale, people questioned why they would take on what had become a dead-end job for coaches.
Their response: "Why not?"
"It became
our mantra," Mark said.
When they were at Desert Edge, where they came a two-point conversion away from winning the 5A state title in 2023, it was, "You can't spell west side without DE." Before that, at Phoenix South Mountain, where they led the Jaguars to a 7-3 season before taking over the Desert Edge job, it was, "Change the culture."
"We try to find something to hang on to," Mark said.
The Panthers are hanging on to hope that this can be the year they break through and make the 4A playoffs, especially after a big win over then-No. 3-ranked (4A in MaxPreps/AIA) Mesa Eastmark last week.
They are 3-1 with eight freshmen, including quarterback Marcus Escobedo Jr.
Before the Carters took over last year, Maryvale was 1-9. Rock bottom.
Since 2010, when the Panthers went 7-3, they hadn't had a winning season until last year. There were so many 1-9, 0-10, 3-7 seasons that they'd become among the forgotten programs in the Phoenix Union High School District.
PXU programs have struggled as suburban growth and the newer schools that came with that cultivated football powers over the past few decades.
For a PXU district team to make the playoffs, it couldn't rely on winning a region title to qualify for the AIA playoffs. There are no automatic bids, and power points based on strength of schedule is a major factor.
The Carters understand the odds of getting in, even if they finish 9-1.
"We're in a situation where we can win nine games and possibly not make the playoffs," Marcus said. "But we can only control what we can control, and that's going out and playing our best football and make sure we do our best."
So, this week it's another playoff-like game for the Panthers as they host 3-1 San Tan Valley Combs Friday. Maryvale gained only two spots in the MaxPreps/AIA rankings to No. 22 in 4A this week after the Eastmark win. Combs is ranked No. 25. Eastmark fell to No. 10. The top 16 teams make the playoffs.
Marcus Carter circles back to that mantra.
"'Why not?' is because everybody, when we took this job, everybody saying, 'Why Maryvale? They're not good. It's not really community. The district is bad.' All the stuff like that," he said. "It just motivated us. Why not? A lot of people had questions. And we wanted to answer those questions.
"Kids coming to play in the parks, it was like, 'Why should I come to Maryvale?' They can ride the wave or make their own wave."
Without a feeder program in the area, the Carter brothers started their own, called the 'Vale Boys. About 25 players came out of that program to play at Maryvale, located at 59th Avenue and Osborn Road, in the west Phoenix area the school is named after. Six now are starters.
"I didn't know too much about Maryvale before I came here," said star senior receiver/defensive back Miles Woods, who transferred last year from Phoenix Carl Hayden. "A lot of people would say a lot of bad things. But I just had to take that chance when I came here. I fell it love with it. I didn't see those bad things."
Sophomore edge rusher Kevin Scatter Smith, who moved to Phoenix from Las Vegas last year, said this team is driven to make the playoffs after not getting in, despite a 6-4 record and winning the region last season.
"I feel like we're going to dominate the playoffs," Smith said. "We didn't make the playoffs last year, so we've got to make our name."
The Carter brothers have seen the community galvanized. They're grateful for the administration, including the district support from PXU athletic director Brian Fair, who was principal at South Mountain when the Carters were leading that program.
"They just brought that football culture back to Maryvale," Maryvale athletic director Richard Verduzco said. "They've instilled a lot of pride to the program, the community. It's really transformed the culture."
The expectation is to be 1-0 every week, Mark said.
"We're going to play like we're getting ready for the playoffs, because we don't know," Marcus said. "The main goal is to make sure these kids are having fun, having a great experience, and we're building the community. If the playoffs come, that's cool.
"We're looking for back-to-back region champions, and let the chips fall where they may."
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why not? Maryvale football answers that question under Carters
