MORAN — The 2023-24 school year was a magical one for boys athletics at Marmaton Valley High School.
It started in the fall when the Wildcat football team won its first Three Rivers League championship in a decade.
Then in the winter, Marmaton Valley’s basketball team overcame a 4-10 record on Feb. 1, to rip off a 6-1 finish to qualify for the state tournament for the first time in 23 years.
A similar pattern followed on the baseball diamond.
The Wildcats — after an 0-7 start — ended the season as one of the hottest schools around, ending the regular season on an 11-game winning streak.
At the centerpiece of all three was MVHS senior Daniel Fewins, who was impressed, but not surprised, by the successes.
“I saw the talent we had,” Fewins said. “A lot of it was just a matter of believing in ourselves.”
Fewins, a senior, offered more than just inspiration for his younger teammates.
He ended the season with a whopping .552 batting average, racking up 40 RBIs after April 1 and stealing 17 bases.
His work on the field led Iola Register readers to vote him as the Male Athlete of the Month.
THE BIGGEST key to the baseball season was getting the players to believe they could win, Fewins said.
“Once we finally won that first game, we realized we could go a long way,” he said. “It was a difficult start.”
Fewins took it upon himself to stress the importance of staying focused, not only as the lone senior, but as Marmaton Valley’s starting catcher.
Through his baseball career, Fewins preferred staying behind the plate.
“When you’re back there, you’re the person in charge,” he noted. “You want everybody to know where they’re going with the ball, and you have to make sure the pitcher’s in the right mindset.”
He carried that same philosophy as a starting offensive lineman in football and then as a power forward in basketball.
