James Everett was the new face at school and was determined to show himself everywhere. After all, he needed players.
The team he inherited at George Washington High School two years ago was a skeleton crew.
“When I looked at the roster, they had 19 kids on the team,” Everett said. “I thought, ‘This is going to be a project in and of itself.’ “
The new coach began recruiting everywhere, from track meets to basketball games and any event in between.
“I took that whole year, once I got the job, I didn’t try to get another job as far as teaching in the building or anything,” Everett said. “I wanted to concentrate on getting kids to come out and play football.”
Among the recruits was Dekarri Davis, now a senior wide receiver.
“He’s a basketball player who stepped onto the football field last year,” Everett said.
Davis leads the team in receptions and yards and is second in touchdown catches.
Between Everett’s first and second seasons, interest to join the football team skyrocketed.
“When we started the school year, we had 85 boys,” assistant coach Shawn Jackson said, 19 more players than the previous season. “We probably had 35 freshmen who came out for football, and that’s something that’s new here. I put it all on Coach Everett.”
As a 10-year army veteran who was twice deployed to Afghanistan, the 38-year-old Everett wanted to implement a military mind-set with his team.
“I’m going to tear everything down, just like in basic training, and I’m going to build you guys up,” he said.
In his first season, not everybody bought in, which was reflected in a 3-7 record.
“Some of the guys were kind of conflicted,” Everett said. “They still had ties to their old coaches, so I didn’t have them 100 percent.”
This year, he got more buy-in. The Patriots are 5-1 and one victory from tying their most wins in a season since 2007.
“Coach Everett said, ‘Things are going to change.’ I thought, ‘All right,’ ” senior captain linebacker Adrian King said.
Players knew this past summer that things had truly changed when George Washington won a handful of games at a 7-on-7 football camp at the University of Colorado.
“Before, something was off,” King said. “Now, everything fits together.”
The experience gained from the camp has carried through to the season.
“They played against competition that was better than what they were used to playing against,” Everett said. “Now, in practice, it’s a competition. No. 2s know they have a chance to be No. 1s and play.”
George Washington shut out its first two opponents and has outscored all foes 231-98.
A big reason has been the play of junior quarterback Javian Byrd, who leads the Class 4A Mountain League in yards passing.
“Last year, we took bad losses, and some of these teams weren’t taking us seriously,” Byrd said. “We took it as disrespect during our work over the summer, and that’s helped us get to where we are.”
George Washington lost three games last season because of missed extra points. Because of that, Everett hit the recruiting trail again and persuaded senior Yosif Gross, a soccer player, to come out.
“He can make kicks from 40 yards easily and had never kicked a football in his life,” Everett said.
The Patriots began their most challenging part of their schedule last week, losing 46-8 to Wheat Ridge (4-2).
Games remain against Aurora Central (6-0), Denver South (4-2), Standley Lake (3-3) and Golden (3-3).
As a father of six children, Everett holds family in highest regard, and his team is an extension of that family.
“I wanted these kids to believe they’re a family, because blood is thicker than water; everybody knows that saying,” he said. “I will fight for my brother before I fight for my friend.”
When Everett, who was the quarterbacks coach at Falcon High School from 2010-12, interviewed with athletic director Kevin Maguire, football wasn’t the main topic of conversation.
“We talked life. Football will take care of itself,” Everett said. “You can’t take a kid and make him a man if you don’t know how to do it. My whole thing was making these guys not just football players, but making them respectable young men.”
Mario Sanelli: 303-954-1017 or msanelli@denverpost.com
5-1 overall, second place in 4A Mountain division.
One win shy of most wins in a season since 2007.
Outscoring opponents 231-98.
Next game: Saturday vs. Aurora Central (6-0).
