Adam Cary looked around during Wheaton’s football season opener at Blair and saw a packed home section and an empty visitor area.

This wasn’t a surprise. Cary grew up attending Wheaton games, so he expected it. Plus, the Knights hardly ever beat their rival. Actually, they hardly ever beat anyone. They won just two games during his freshman year in 2023 and three in 2024.

But this year, they beat Blair in a resounding 32-0 shutout. The next week at home against Springbrook, the stands were packed as they won 63-32. Cary, a junior defensive end, had never seen so many fans.

It didn’t stop there. Week after week, the community’s come out to support Wheaton as they’ve had their best season since 2001. The Knights are 8-2 and last week beat Northwestern 39-0 for their first playoff win since 2014.

They play Blair in the second round of the playoffs at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

“In previous years, we had terrible showings at games, literally no one came,” Cary said. “This year, people come to our away games, which is like unheard of for Wheaton football. ... I think it’s just cool that we started a new trend in the area.”

This turnaround started last year, when head coach Jermaine Howell took over the team. Success didn’t come right away, but he started laying the foundation that’s helped them this season.

He searched for talent within the walls of Wheaton to add to his team, taking athletes from other sports and teaching them how to play football. That included volleyball player Andrew Batje, who was one of the leading rushers in the county before a compound ankle fracture took him out for the season in Week 9. Howell did the same tactic with his coaching staff — five of his coaches also work at the school.

Howell also set standards. Practices were all over the place before Howell took over, Cary said, but now there’s a regimen for everything from the field to the weight room to academics.

“He has a really detailed itinerary every day,” Cary said. “I think that’s pretty given with most teams, but compared to our previous coaching staff, it wasn’t that way. He really emphasizes perfection, and he expects that out of us every day.”

With things in order this year, Howell laid out three goals for his team at the start of the season.

The first was to win their first division title since 1996. He made them walk beneath the banner in the gymnasium every day to remind them what they were working for. On Oct. 31, they checked that task off the list.

The second goal was to be the best Downcounty team and to finish with a better record than Blair, Einstein, Kennedy and Northwood. They accomplished that, too.

The third was to host a home playoff game, which they did last week.

His team may not have believed in their potential at the start of the season, but as the season progressed, they began to see the vision Howell had laid out for them.

“I think that was really intimidating for us,” Cary said. “We saw that we were capable of really putting a good game against any team in the area. I started definitely believing.”

Now, the Wheaton community is invested in the team again. Howell said his phone has been blowing up with texts, emails and Facebook messages. Cary, too, said he has heard from former teammates who have marveled about their success.

On Friday, in a rematch against Blair, both sides of the stadium are expected to be packed this time. With Batje out, the team has turned to Omari Hinds-Madden to lead the offense. He rushed for 160 yards in their regular season finale, including touchdown runs of 71 and 60 yards, and was named the DC Touchdown Club Player of the Week for the county.

Howell expects Friday’s game to be physical, and he knows his defense will need to step up to defend Blair’s passing game.

With all three of his goals checked off, the agenda is simple: see how far this team can go.

“We preach to them, ‘Guys, you are on a historic run,’” Howell said. “We say it often, and we say that you’re not doing this only for your school, but your community. A lot of people are supporting you, and they are coming to sing your praises because there hasn’t been a lot of success in football around Wheaton in many, many years.”