Coahoma County High School is only playing Region 3-2A football games for the 2020 season and that begins Friday night.
The Red Panthers open the season at 7 p.m. Friday when Madison Palmer High School comes to down. Tickets will be sold at the gate as usual, but fans must wear a mask and sit six feet apart from others during the game. Ticket sales will end when a fan would have to be less than six feet away from the next person.
The Dragons have only played one game themselves, so CCHS coach McKinley Scott said the more disciplined team should come out with the win.
Scott said, based on recent years, he believes his team will have to stop the Dragons outside run, hold off against pressure and capitalize on opponents’ mistakes.
Division opponent O’Bannon initially canceled its season due to COVID-19, but changed its decision and decided to play. That means the Red Panthers are not automatically in playoffs. Four of the top five teams in the division advance to the postseason.
Scott said having something to play for did not change his team’s outlook.
“Honestly, outside of the playoffs, I think the guys are motivated,” Scott said. “They haven’t played yet. They’re excited about just playing no matter what.”
As of now, Scott said the Red Panthers have 19 athletes on the roster, but there may be a couple more additions.
“Everything is kind of getting a slow start,” Scott said. “That’s the worst thing that’s going on, but the good thing is they’re starting to come. We have a small group.
“A lot of parents are worried about their children and, at the same time, the boys are kind of worried, too. It’s a slow start, but the process is starting to unfold. It’s going in the right direction. I’m excited about that. Honestly, it’s a good group of athletes here. They have to be taught the game. They have to learn different techniques to improve themselves, but outside of that, it’s a lot of talent. It’s just making sure the guys are consistently coming to practice and consistently being out.”
Senior Lamont Lee is the quarterback. Scott said Lee is a natural born leader at quarterback and caught on quickly to the offense, which is a spread with a downhill run.
Lamont Lee’s brother, Tyson Lee, is an eighth grader, running back and slot receiver. Scott said Tyson is special and is likely to play ball at the Division I level.
Senior Eddie Henson is a middle linebacker and running back. Scott said he is a big, solid kid and loves the game. Scott said Henderson is a hard worker, leads practice, takes on a big workload and never complains.
Seniors Jeremiah Brassell and Martin Williams are offensive and defensive linemen. Scott said there are intelligent and caught on quickly to the offense and defense. It will be a 3-3 defense that can go 2 or 1 high depending on the opponent.
When Coahoma Early College High School ended its football program, it was anticipated those athletes would play for the Red Panthers, but the roster is still smaller than expected.
“It’s different I will say,” Scott said. “I’ve never had this small turnout, especially I was thinking it was going to be more guys, Aggie guys coming over. It has been the opposite of that, but at the same, it’s going to take a minute. It’s going to take some years to turn this program around, but that’s what I signed on for. I knew what I was getting myself into. I go to practice every day, no matter how many guys we’ve got out there and I’m excited. I’ll show them I’m excited and we practice as though we’ve got 30, 40 guys out.”
Scott said, with smaller numbers, athletes have to be in shape and play both sides of the ball. He said that will require discipline that could benefit the kids on the field and in the classroom.
“If they buy into what we’ve got going, they’re going to become better young men as well as better football players,” Scott said.
