Cardinal Mooney’s quest to repeat as 3-A State Champions

<p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Before the season started in Fall, the Cardinal Mooney Cougars had their sights set on winning a State Championship. With a devastating 5 set loss to Ocala Trinity Catholic, the Cougars vowed they would never be in that position again. The day after the heartbreaking loss, <strong>Coach Chad Sutton</strong> said "my returning seniors texted me wanting to get back in the gym and practice to start preparing for next season. We had a pretty established culture and we just needed to keep building upon it and keep working hard."</p> <p>The Cougars returned in the Fall with determination, playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. In Florida alone, there were 9 schools ranked in the top 25 in class 3-A. To be the best, you have to play the best in order to get to the top. Rising Senior <strong>Skye Ekes</strong> (committed to Florida State University) remembers how it felt to be so close to the state title and fall short. "The loss fueled us and made us work ten times harder. We worked all through the summer, morning and night, and through school season to win. Being able to grasp that state title was amazing."</p> <p>Rising Senior <strong>Mary Page</strong> was new to Florida, moving down South from Virginia. Mary was in the same situation as the Cougars. Her team in Virginia made it to the finals and fell short as well. "Losing last year definitely made me work harder and want to win this year. The culture here in Florida is more competitive and you are pushed harder to achieve your goals. Winning state was our goal and we achieved it." </p> <p>Unlike Mary and Skye, freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="98983" first="Jordyn" last="Byrd"]</strong> was new to High School Volleyball. Jordyn had to find her place pretty quickly on an established veteran team. "Being a freshman, you are underestimated a lot. I always worked hard to help our team win and prove that I could play against the best as a freshman. It really felt good to be a part of school history, winning our first state championship."</p> <p>Collectively as a whole, the Cougars all feel a repeat is in their sights. The players feel that in order to repeat it will take a great deal of leadership, dedication, and hard work. Their though process lines up perfectly with Coach Chad Sutton’s vision. Coach Sutton is no stranger to winning and knows what it takes to <span style="font-size: 1rem;">succeed. He earned the 2019  Florida Dairy Farmers 3-A Coach of the Year as well as the 2020 <img class=" wp-image-98688 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/06/Coach-Sutton-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="229" height="150" /></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">HT Preps Coach of the Year. To have a repeat Coach Sutton feels, "Every year is a new year. No one in our area has ever won back to back titles. We can’t forget what got us to the State Championship. We have to remember the hard work, the effort, and the attitude. Also we need to keep insight what our goal is at the end of the season, trying to be better everyday. We can’t get distracted. We have to stay true to our culture and the Mooney Mentality."</span></p>