With just six seniors, the Meadowview Christian football team is a young bunch experiencing for the first time the sweet taste of victory.

Three seniors, however, have been there for the duration of their high school careers. The trio has taken every step along with coach Rick Jackson, and they remember when defeat left a bitter flavor.

After failing to win a regular-season game for three years, the Trojans finally earned their first victory since 2001 when they beat Jefferson Christian the second week of the season. For offensive guard/linebacker Jason Longcrier, placekicker/fullback/cornerback Tyler Wendell and lineman/linebacker Ryan King, the victories marked the end of a losing path well traveled.

Before beating Jefferson Christian, the only other time the Trojans enjoyed victory was in last year’s preseason jamboree, when they beat Warrior Academy.

“That’s the only game we’ve ever won,” Jason Longcrier said. “Now they don’t even have a football team.

“Winning feels great,” Longcrier added. “Now I know why I’ve been playing football.”

The victories have been especially sweet for Wendell, who notched his first career touchdown in the Trojans’ victory over Jefferson Christian.

“The feeling was indescribable,” Wendell said. “I’ve been playing football for five years. I really didn’t know what to expect coming into this season.”

King also didn’t know what to expect coming into the season. Among the three, the season has been most bittersweet for King. He was forced to sit out some games because of a fractured ankle he suffered in the team’s season-opening loss to Abbeville.

Although he couldn’t contribute on the field, King did his share by coaching from the sidelines.

“I did whatever I could to help,” King said. “I talked to the players, I led in prayer…whatever I could do.”

“He was our motivational speaker,” Wendell said of King. “He always told you something you should have done better. Next time, we did it better.”

Doing things better is what this team is all about. The Trojans have improved in every aspect of the game in recording four victories. The only losses came to Abbeville and a heartbreaking 14-13 overtime defeat versus Evangel Christian.

“I don’t even want to talk about the Evangel game,” Longcrier said.

His two senior teammates stared at the ground in disgust from the mere mention of the game in which the Trojans forced overtime. MCS came within inches of victory, only to see a pass on a two-point conversion land a half-inch long, off the receiver’s fingertips.

The Abbeville game, however, was even more of a sore spot for King.

“Abbeville’s good,” he said, “but we should have beaten them. They didn’t hit hard. We just made a lot of mistakes. If we played them this week, the score would have been different.”