PMA looks to aim for another CIF title in 2025
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy returning standouts, from left, Marcus Ball, Johnny McNeal, Malik Brooks, Jassi Williams, DeMari Nunley, Kenny Peevy and Gregory Taylor, Jaylen Stokes before practice on Monday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
DOWNEY – After a monumental 2024 season with its first championship, the St. Pius-St. Matthias Academy (PMA) Football team is locked and loaded for another run at a CIF Southern Section title in 2025.
To add to the excitement around the campus, PMA returns all its starters, including senior quarterback Jassi Williams, senior wide receiver Kenny Peevy and senior defensive/offensive lineman Milik Brooks.
“I'm excited for this upcoming season,” PMA athletic director James Covell said. “After capping off last year with our program's first CIF football title and the first-ever state championship appearance for any football team in Downey, achieving that with a team made up mostly of juniors and sophomores speaks volumes about the talent, resilience, and grit our boys showed all year.
“You also have to tip your cap to head coach Devah Thomas and the staff for being able to retain almost the whole roster (One transfer Out). That speaks to the culture and brotherhood that they're helping to build at PMA.”
Thomas is supported by assistant head coach Shay Fields, assistants Joel Darrien, Mike Wood, Myron Ashley and Russell Shaw.
Williams, who is a leader of the team, said of this upcoming season and what they need to improve on overall, “Our biggest thing we’re looking for is more of a brotherhood going into our first couple of games of the season,” he said. “We’re trying to develop the chemistry of each other and understand what we have to accomplish this year, because we have a big target on our back.
“The biggest thing that we need to work on most was being more of a family in the weight room, because that’s where it all starts. Just going day by day trying to get better with the mechanics and I feel as we get better before the season starts, I feel we have a great chance of repeating the same thing we did last year.”
Williams, who threw for 19 touchdowns (209 for 391, 2,888 yards) and ran for 802 yards and scored 10 TDs last season, has had his best off season as a quarterback, saying “ I’ve done a lot this offseason and feel like it’s the best I’ve had, throwing almost every day and working out in the weight room and to develop myself, so when I get with my team I’ll be ready and prepared for them.”
Senior Jaylen Stokes, along with Peevy, are the top two receivers from last season with 1,253 yards (8 TDs) and 733 yards (4 TDs), respectively.
“I’m looking forward to all of our returning players, going back to the playoffs and having a better record than we had last year,” Peevy said.
In the regular season last year, the Warriors had only one win (1-9) in week nine and defeated Bishop Alemany, 34-14. From there, they made a run in the playoffs, with four straight wins to win the CIF D8 Championship. With the CIF title win, they advanced to the CIF So Cal Regionals and defeated St, Augustine, 28-7, in the Regional Finals and fell to Sonora in the championship.
“It’s literally the same team from last year,” Peevy added. “It’s just better and more experienced and just finding that dog earlier in the season that we had in the last weeks of the season last year. We want to get back to a championship and that’s it.”
Assistant head coach Fields highlighted some of players to look for this season.
“I believe the ones to look out for is strong safety, outside linebacker Geremya Hood, a corner, who I think is a high three-star Johnny McNeil III, who is a junior,” he said. Fields continued, “We were young last year, and had a lot of guys that proved themselves and our basis will be our “O” line. We have Patrick Washington, an incoming junior, who was a starter on the “O” line, junior Caleb Mendoza, who was the starting center, who increased his bench by about 50 pounds.
“We have a lot of juniors on that “O” line that I believe were battle tested last year that are definitely coming to play.”
The only question mark is the kicking game for the warriors.
“We graduated both our kicker and our punter, and we have an excellent soccer team and are putting feelers out there for anyone who wants to kick.”
Other players to look for from the championship team are senior wide receiver/linebacker DeMari Nunley, senior wide receiver/defensive back Greg Taylor, senior offensive line/linebacker Marcus Ball, senior defensive lineman Desmond Tillman and senior wide receiver Andre Melgar.
Leading the defensive side of the ball is Brooks, who stands 6-4 and has committed to play at USC. He said of this years’ team, “Everybody’s coming back this year,” he said. “We just expect pure dominance this year and coming out of the gate hot.
“Our strongest part of the team is our offense. They put the pieces together for the puzzle. It feels amazing to get back on the field and put the cleats on and start back at school soon. It’s pure excitement and more of a joy now that we have that chemistry and everything.
“The team is like a brotherhood and fit like glue around here. Nothing can break us apart. The coach’s focus is mentally preparing us and getting ready for the moment. I’m just looking forward to dominate this season.”
Transferring in from Banning of the CIF City Section is junior running back/linebacker Le’Allyn Monroe.
The team starts off the season this year like they did last year on a long road trip. PMA traveled to Fresno and played Buchanan last year and will hit the road in week 0 this year at Las Vegas to play Sierra Vista.
What they said:
DeMari Nunley, Senior Wide Receiver/safety: “I’ve been working on and off the track. I ran an 11.1 and that’s going to help me break away and get away from that DB even better than I did last year.
As a team, we’ve been emphasizing everything about the team and it’s not like, I, I , I. That’s what our coaches are trying to really stress this year. We do a lot more team stuff. I love my team and as a leader I have to keep pushing them.
Our team chemistry is getting better and play more like a team. We are more mature now.”
Kenny Peevy, Senior Receiver: “Knowing we have that target on our back. Other teams want to beat us and be like us.
We’re looking forward to travelling to Las Vegas. Last year we went to Fresno and this year we’ll go the night before and have a walk through. We’ve been studying their team and want to come out with guns a blazing.”