MAUMEE, Ohio — 1,421 days is a long time to wait.
Maumee football endured that span not having won a single game. But that streak is over following an unforgettable Friday night.
"We finally got that monkey off our back," head coach Evan Karchner said. "That was something special that I got to witness and that I'll never forget, just the look in their eyes and the smiles. They've worked hard for it and they deserve every second."
A 34-game losing streak ended after the Panthers defeated Springfield 27-20, marking the program's first win since September 2019, when Maumee beat Southview 14-10.
The feat didn't just erase a record. It created a new sense of joy within the Panthers.
"It shows us how to win, we've never felt that way before," senior quarterback Chase Maulucci said. "We know how to do it and how to execute."
He helped lead an offense that accrued 221 yards rushing in the week one game of the high school football season.
"Specifically as a senior, working toward those wins and not seeing them," senior guard Josiah Millin said. "New coaching staff comes in and now we're going in the right direction."
Not only did the Panthers open the season with a memorable performance, but the night also marked Karchner's coaching debut for his alma mater.
"Friday, that was electric," Karchner said. "That reminded me of when I played 10 years ago, the kind of crowd we'd get when we would win 8-9 games a year."
The support for Maumee didn't stop there. On Monday, the team returned to school and received quite an ovation.
"It was definitely nice to hear all of those congratulations from the teachers and students," Millin said. "Just having that support, they saw it could happen."
Maulucci also enjoyed the positive remarks, adding "All the teachers were congratulating us and saying 'great game.' It felt good and I'm at a loss for words."
The impact the team's performance in that game had is hard to measure. The single achievement was a massive win for an entire community.
"It's a lot more pressure off and we move more easy, but we also know what it takes to do it," Maulucci said. "Got to repeat it."
The challenge now is maintaining the momentum.
It's been amazing, we're trying not to focus on it for too long and move on to the next game," Millin said. "It definitely brings that confidence boost that we know our hard work is paying off."
The team now hunts for a new piece of history, seeking multiple victories in a season for the first time since 2017.
"We still have a lot of work to do and we haven't even reached our potential," Karchner said. "We got some really good athletes on our team and we got to keep pushing them, continue to get better."
Like their season opener, Maumee will have the luxury of a home crowd on Friday when it hosts Bryan.