Shortly after he and his coaching staff made the 45-mile move east on Texas 44 from Alice to take over a Corpus Christi Miller program that had fallen into disarray, Justen Evans set a goal.

Miller had suffered through three straight 1-9 seasons and hadn’t finished above .500 since 2002. To say the culture needed a makeover is to say Lone Star summers can get a bit toasty. But Evans saw something in the young players who gathered for his initial practices.

“We thought that Year 3 was going to be a big year for us,” Evans said.

If Evans tells you he has a hunch on tonight’s lottery numbers, listen. His initial observation – thanks to hard work, dedication and buy-in from each Miller player – has indeed played out, thought the coach might have undersold his team.

Following a pair of come-from-behind thrillers, Miller isn’t putting together a good season. It’s putting together an historic one. Miller is off to its first 8-0 start since 1970, but no one is satisfied.

“We want that perfect regular season,” Evans said. “The last time Miller did that was in 1950. We’re chasing a lot of things right now.”

Chasing things few thought possible just three seasons ago. The football program may not have hit rock bottom in 2016, but they could see it. Undaunted, Evans and his assistants pulled from their experiences at Alice and turned Miller’s fortunes almost immediately.

“When we got here, they had been 1-9 and the culture just wasn’t very good,” Evans said. “We had some success at Alice, so we just started to build this program like we’d started that one.”

A group of young players bought in and did everything the coaches asked every day at practice. Evans put the young players immediately on the varsity – quarterback Andrew Body took control of the offense as a freshman and receivers Cassius Clay and Ralph Rodriguez both started as sophomores. Two years after their debuts, they are the cornerstones on a Miller team looking to make history.

“We played a lot of 9th and 10th graders,” Evans said. “They were able to experience some success that first year, and we felt that when they were juniors and seniors, we would be very good.”

Miller went 4-6 in 2017 and improved to 6-4 last season. Despite the school’s first winning record in 16 years, four losses to close the season kept them from reaching the playoffs.

“We didn’t finish the way we wanted,” Evans said.

The players didn’t let last season’s finish dampen their expectations for 2019. If anything, it added to their motivation.

Body averages better than 300 yards per game passing and has thrown 29 touchdown passes without an interception.

“He’s an amazing kid,” Evans said. “He’s very academic – he’s ranked seventh or eighth in his class – and he has become a great leader. He’s extremely sound and he knows how to take care of the ball.”

Rodriguez and Clay have 34 catches each and average at least 17 yards per catch. Rodriguez has 12 touchdown catches as well. Adrean Loyd also played extensively as a freshman two years ago. He’s caught 26 passes, averaging 22 yards per catch.

“Those guys have played a lot of varsity snaps and now you are seeing them have a lot of success,” Evans said.

McCullion Williams continues Evans’ youth movement. The sophomore running back is closing in on 1,000 yards, making a formidable duo with senior Marcell Davis, who has scored 11 touchdowns. Their success shines a spotlight on an experienced offensive line, Evans said, and the defense has cut its scoring average in half, allowing 17 points per game after surrendering more than 30 last year.

Evans looks at the season the 2019 season in different segments. He admits the Bucs weren’t seriously tested in their first six games, after which they were outscoring opponents by an average of 62-11. When the meat of the schedule arrived no one, the coaching staff included, knew exactly what to expect.

“We knew that Weeks 8 and 9 were going to start a gauntlet of really good teams,” he said. “The knock on us was that we really hadn’t played anyone, and we knew that we were going to have to play four full quarters, but we didn’t know what that would look like.”

It looked, well, thrilling.

Two weeks ago, Flour Bluff jumped out to a 28-14 lead. Miller didn’t flinch. Williams broke free for a touchdown to close the gap, and Body connected with Rodriguez on the tying score. Late in the fourth quarter, Body drove the Bucs deep into Flour Bluff territory and finished the comeback himself, scoring with 22 seconds left on a quarterback draw.

Last week against Veterans Memorial, Miller found itself facing an even bigger deficit. Trailing 23-0, Miller rallied to take the lead, only to give it up late when the Patriots forced overtime. After both teams scored in the first overtime,  Body connected with Zeke Moya to take a 50-43 lead, and the defense clinched the win by knocking away a fourth down pass.

“You saw us show a lot of resiliency to keep fighting,” Evans said. “That’s a credit to our offseason and the work that our players and coaching staff did. We put them in stressful situations every day and they were able to learn what it would take to come out on top when we got into tight games.

Evans fully expects the tight games to continue. The Bucs face two more rivals to close the regular season as they strive to finish 10-0: Ray (2-6, 1-5) and Moody (4-4, 3-3). After that, it’s a new season.

“I feel like if we can get our offense rolling, then we have a chance to make a run [in the playoffs],” he said. “I just feel like we give ourselves a chance, and if we can stay healthy and keep executing…”

He points to the lessons he hopes his team learned by coming from behind to beat Flour Bluff and Veterans Memorial.

“Those two games help us understand that we are never out of it,” Evans said. “We understand that we are going to face some really good teams, and we need to be really good for four quarters if we want to get these wins.”

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