Myers Park football is 6-0. A big reason? Seven former NFL players with kids on the team

Myers Park High’s Scott Chadwick has been a head football coach at five different schools. He says he’s been lucky enough to work with current and former NFL players at several of them.

But Chadwick admits he’s never had anything like he’s got with these unbeaten 2018 Mustangs.

Myers Park (6-0) has nine players on the roster whose dads have NFL ties, including former Carolina Panthers Muhsin Muhammad, Josh McCown and Shawn King.

“It’s very unusual,” Chadwick said, “but I think it speaks to what a very good community we have here at Myers Park. It’s an attractive place to live and raise kids.”

Besides the three former Panthers, the Myers Park parents with pro ties include Dre’ Bly, who played 11 NFL seasons with four teams; Tim Newman, who played running back for the Jets during the 1987 season; Deems May, who played eight seasons with Seattle and San Diego; and Mark Maye, who spent the ‘88 season on Tampa Bay’s practice squad.

Each of the players’ kids plays the same position that the father did.

Muhammad’s son, Muhsin III, is a wide receiver. Bly’s kids -- Jordan and Trey -- are cornerbacks. King’s son, Jordan, is a defensive lineman.

Newman’s two sons -- Tim Jr. and Jacob -- are running backs. Maye’s son, Drake, is a quarterback. McCown’s son, Owen, is also a quarterback. And May’s son, also named Deems, is a tight end/defensive lineman.

May plays on the junior varsity. McCown and Jacob Newman split time on both teams. The rest play varsity.

“And here’s the neat thing about it,” Chadwick said. “These kids can go home at night and they can talk to somebody who’s played the position at a pretty high level.”

Bly and Muhammad, the fathers, said the plans for all this were laid out when several of the former pros got together and began coaching in a youth program called Hammer Down Football. It was founded by Roger Purgason, a former All-American at South Mecklenburg who became an all-ACC lineman at North Carolina.

Purgason is a first-year assistant coach for the Mustangs this season. His son, Cade, is a starting left tackle on the junior varsity.

“A lot of us played together since we were younger,” said the younger Muhammad, who is a junior wide receiver. “Now that we have gotten together in (high school), the juices are just flowing. I guess it’s not usual to have this many kids of former pros, and not a lot of kids get to do this. But we have a pretty good season ahead of us and I look forward to making it to the state championship.”

Myers Park has never won a state title. The 1957 Mustangs lost in the 2A state final to Elizabeth City. The 1965 Mustangs were undefeated and beat Garinger 27-6 in the N.C. 4A Western Regional championship game, or state semifinal.

Myers Park would’ve played old Durham High for the state championship, but the game was not played. From 1961-71, the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs didn’t conclude with a state championship in all classifications, partially due to a rule preventing teams from playing more than 12 games in a season.

So the ‘65 Mustangs -- who were honored at the school three years ago on their 50th anniversary -- will always wonder what if.

The 2018 Mustangs, who play at rival Butler Friday, definitely have a shot to make history. Myers Park is ranked No. 3 in the Observer’ s Sweet 16 poll, and No. 4 in the Associated Press N.C. 4A statewide poll.

Myers Park’s offense, led by Maye and Muhammad, has scored 300 points. No N.C. 4A team has scored more.

Maye, a sophomore who picked up a North Carolina offer this week, has thrown for 1,281 yards and 18 touchdowns, completing 68 percent of his passes with just one interception. Muhammad has caught 22 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns. He has 107 rush yards and two scores, plus two more touchdowns on punt returns.

On defense, King has 20 tackles, including four for a loss. He heads a Mustangs’ defense that’s allowed 34 points in six games. That’s also the best among the state’s 4A teams.

So this Myers Park team, possibly the most talented in school history, is a little different than all the ones that came before it.

“We started 6-0 the past two years,” Chadwick said, “but we were not a dominating 6-0 football team. This year, it’s been a different way of getting to 6-0. And the biggest difference has been the play of Drake (Maye, at quarterback).”

In each of the past two seasons, Butler ended Myers Park’s 6-0 start. The Mustangs believe that this year will be different. So does Chadwick.

In 2014, he beat out 109 applicants for a job he thought could be special, despite Myers Park’s tough history. In the 34 seasons before Chadwick took over, Myers Park had posted only six winning seasons.

Chadwick was 5-7 his first year and 7-6 his second. In the past two seasons, Myers Park has been a combined 23-4. In 2016, Myers Park’s 11 wins tied the school-record set in 1965. Last season, the Mustangs broke the record, winning 12 games. And a win Friday will guarantee a fourth straight winning season, something that Mustangs haven’t done since the ‘70s.

“It’s exciting and great for the kids,” said the elder Muhammad, who played 14 NFL seasons with the Panthers and Bears. “They’ve grown up together and they’re friends. That makes for great chemistry. It’s the same for the parents. Everybody’s pulling the rope in the same direction. Teamwork is always important.”

For each home game, Muhammad works the chains on the sidelines. May, a former North Carolina star, is a key fundraiser for the team. King has been team chaplain and an assistant coach. Bly has been an assistant coach. And McCown, still a Jets quarterback, will coach when he’s in town. He’s worked the sidelines at three games this season.

The elder Muhammad said it’s been a great formula -- and a whole lot of fun to be a part of.

“We started a youth program early on,” he said, “and the guys got exposed to football the right way, and handing them off to a coach like Chadwick, they’re all on the same page and understand how we transfer one group to the next. And (Chadwick) continues to mature and cultivate the talent the right way. It’s a perfect marriage.”

Want more coverage?

Visit charlotteobserver.com/sports/high-school to see photos and get quick-hit information on all of the former pro players with sons of Myers Park’s football team.

This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 2:57 PM.