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It's the kind of problem any coach would envy.

Maryville's winning streak was extended to 62 games on Friday night with a 20-13 victory over Alcoa, and the only negative anyone could think of was that the program never gets to use a defeat as a teaching tool anymore.

"The downside of the (winning streak) is we haven't had a chance to learn from losing a game and coming back from (that loss)," Maryville assistant coach David Ellis said.

"We have to find other ways on the practice field in the offseason to make them tough enough to do that."

Although the coaching staff never talks to the players about the program's lengthy success rate, the aura of the streak surrounds the team, and players often are inspired by the mystique of not having lost a game in more than four seasons.

"It's a lot of pressure, but we feel like we're blessed to be in the situation to have the opportunity and go out there and play in big games like this. I know kids everyday dream about being in this situation," defensive end Justin Smith said.

"We were tired (near the end of the game), but we had to dig deep. That's what champions are about. You have to dig deep when your back is to the wall."

Defensive coordinator Jim Gaylor says he knows the players think about the streak -- sometimes even find motivation in it -- but the focus at practice is on here and now.

"We try to get that off of them," Gaylor said. "We will say to them this week this is your team and you're 2-0. But I'm sure there's motivation there.

"They don't want to be the ones to lose a game for their old buddies that they played with last year. But when the game gets going, I think it's really just about playing and having fun and being teammates and helping everyone out."

It's all of that and more, said running back Thomas Shuler, who rushed for 101 yards against the Tornadoes.

"I want to keep that streak alive for guys that were seniors when I was a freshman," the senior said. "I'm still playing for those guys. It fires me up."

Younger players know that feeling as well.

Maryville junior quarterback Philip Juhlin, who guided the team to the victory over its crosstown rival, said continuing the streak this season is about making naysayers into believers.

"Having nobody believe we can do it and then come out here and do what we did tonight is the greatest feeling in the world," Juhlin said.

"This team is 2-0 right now, and all we've got to think about is this season and this region and getting back to Murfreesboro."

Ellis thinks the power of the streak is derived from the tradition of Maryville football that it represents.

"It's amazing the pressure these kids perform under. I think they welcome it and I think they thrive on it," he said. "When it gets close in the fourth quarter, they're ready for that.

"What they do in the summer to ensure that they aren't going to be the ones to end the streak is the work they put into preparing for the coming season. That's testimony to how tough they are."

Leonard Butts is sports editor. Write him at P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37802, or e-mail him at leonard.butts@thedailytimes.com