by Noah Krawchick

The Maury High School football team defeated Briar Woods and won the Virginia Class 5 state championship in December of 2024.

That’s two championships in a row for the first time in Maury’s history and three championships in six years.

The Maury football program’s historic success has happened under the leadership of Head Coach Dyrri McCain. 

McCain is a Maury graduate (class of 2007) who played for Hampton University before returning to coach Maury’s football team in 2017. The Commodores haven’t played a losing season since 2018, and by 2019 McCain led the team to its first title since 1939.

This season’s championship is the second time McCain has made history at Maury.

In light of his success, The Commodore Chronicle’s Noah Krawchick sat him down for a conversation. The following has been edited for clarity.

NK: So how does it feel to win back-to-back state championships?

DM: It feels great. You know, first off for the kids alone, the work they put in the time that they put in, it paid off. All the long days, long nights, and times that we had to do things, it all paid off. So I’m happy for them. I guess I would say from the coaches end, and I include myself in that, it’s also a great thing too. It’s never been done in school history before. And there are a lot of Maury alumni coaches on the staff including myself. So to be able to do it here and it be a bunch of Commodores doing it, whether it’s on the staff or the kids, it’s a great feeling.

NK: What’s your favorite part about winning the state championship?

DM: The guy’s reaction all day. I’m a selfless guy, and I like giving. For us to be able to do that and those guys reacting naturally to the situation, and have it be something that hasn’t been done, that’s my favorite part. No question. I would say their favorite part is pouring the Gatorade on me. That’s probably my least fun part in the equation, but yeah just seeing the guys reaction and the fans and the people that drive their way to come up and support us and see us play. 

NK: I know you’ve won three state championships. What makes each of them unique? 

DM:
The first thing I would say is it’s hard to get there. So getting there in itself is special, and being able to win them just puts the icing on the cake. But what made each one of those actually special is the first one that we won. That was the first one that had been done, I think it was an 80-year drought of not having one (He’s exactly right. It was 80 years. -Ed). That only took three years to get. 
And that class that brought what we’re doing now, they kind of started that. 
So that becomes special in itself. 

And then the one last year was special in a sense too because we had been to two straight and didn’t win them. So being able to finish that hurdle of getting back to winning ways and winning the championship and doing it undefeated and how they had to do it made that special. And those guys the last year came into COVID. So their first year experience in the program was not normal. 
So that’s what made that one and them special. 

Then you got this [recent] one. That’s obvious. There’s history. It’s never been done. Being able to go back-to-back and being able to be undefeated is another thing in itself. So each one of them has special things to it.

So, you know, it leaves the thought now. When we get to 2025, how can we make the next one special? 

NK: So what makes this group of guys special? What makes them different from the other teams that you’ve coached?

DM: So the [20]19 team, I felt like there were expectations to win it, even though we hadn’t won it in 80 years, but the team that we had, everybody was expecting us to get it done.

You look at last year’s team. I think it was automatic. It kind of felt like we should be getting it done even though we had been coming off of two straight losses in the championship games.

This group, I feel like nobody really gave them a chance because of the class and the team that won it last year. We won it last year. We had a bunch of guys that ended up going to college or going elsewhere. And I felt like these guys had to earn this one. 


I feel like in [20]19 and [20]23 there was a common consensus that we should be winning it, which is okay from our end, but I think that these guys really had to like go out and get this one and really do it in a great fashion. I think that the road that they had to go through was tougher than any of the other two teams that won it. 
So to not be an automatic championship team to people, to not be the favorite and to go through the road that they had to go through, which I think was tougher than both of the championships teams that I had before in [20]19 and [20]23, that’s what makes this group special to me.

NK:
So do you keep in touch with any of your former players? 

DM: Yeah, a lot. And it could be anything from random of girlfriend stuff, trying to purchase a car, something happening in their family, whether that be death, or whether it be an addition to their family, guys going through school situations of guys who leave here and play football next level, some guys trying to figure out a different job opportunities, which one’s best for them. 
So, yeah, we talk a lot, and, you know, it’s hard for me to kind of keep up with all 300 of them, but they know I’m a phone call away. As soon as I see their name pop up on my phone, I’ll drop everything I’m doing to answer.