Q: WHAT DID THIS TEAM MEAN TO YOUR COMMUNITY?
A: I think it meant a lot. It brought the team a sense of pride. Our kids come from a ride range of areas and all of their communities came together to back this team.
Q: WHAT DID IT TAKE TO BRING YOUR PLAYERS TOGETHER AND, IN TURN, BRING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER?
A: It was just an issue of hard work and them believing in each other, and them believing that we were not going to leave them. They had to trust the whole process. They saw improvement each year. This year we got to take them out and show them different stuff that they’ve never seen before. Compete against some high-level schools, it brought them together as a team and showed them what they needed to work on. That was a huge part of our success.
Q: IT TOOK YOU THREE YEARS TO HAVE A WINNING SEASON. WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO CHANGE OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS TO GET TO THIS POINT?
A: We basically started from ground zero. These guys were not used to practicing at all. They’d go weeks without practicing. They never lifted weights. They didn’t have any football knowledge. This was mainly a basketball town. We had to teach the basics of football from tackling all the way to throwing a football. That took longer than expected. It’s a culmination of hard work and it finally came to fruition this year.
Q: HOW MUCH DID IT HELP YOUR TEAM TO HAVE A LARGE CROWD EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT?
A: You’re filled with joy when you realize that these kids and our staff have built something special. When you pack the house with 2,000 to 3,000 people it’s an unreal feeling to have that much excitement centered around your hard work and success.
Q: HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE PLAYERS EMERGE AND HAVE GREAT INDIVIDUAL SEASONS?
A: It brings me great enjoyment, you are overwhelmed when you see these guys put in so much work and it starts paying off for them. They became some of the best players in the state regardless of classification. You have coaches all across the state and even in other states that are recognizing them as great players. When we came here two years ago there was none of that. No one knew anything about C.E. Murray and no one had a good opinion of our football program. Now everywhere we go people show pride in our team.
For instance we took Jamariqoui Barr to Burger King in town before we dropped him off after the State Championship game. Everyone in the Burger King was ecstatic when he walked in the door. They knew what he and the rest of the team did, and knew we represented our community well. It’s an amazing feeling to see an unknown school get to the point of state recognition.
Q: HOW BIG OF A HELP WAS IT TO HAVE LATRELL JOHNSON EMERGE AS THE TOP-NOTCH DEFENSIVE PLAYER DURING THE PLAYOFFS?
A: He was a good player for us a year ago. This year, he was off-and-on with injuries and had an emergency appendectomy. He missed a good bit of time with that. When he finally came back for the playoffs he was like his old self again. Flying around the field and making plays for us everywhere. That’s kind of been his thing; he finally found that again after getting over injuries.
Q: HOW BIG OF A DEAL IS IT FOR YOU TO HAVE A PLAYER LIKE SHYHIEM WHITE?
A: He is one of the better players in the state on either side of the ball. We are lucky to have him. He dominates the line of scrimmage and teams have to run away from him or they aren’t going to go anywhere or they are going to turn the ball over. We saw that in the lower state championship game when he had a strip that led to the winning field goal. He has done that all year. He leads our team in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, fumbles forced, fumbles recovered; he is just a special player. He puts in a lot of hard work and that’s why he is the player he is.
Q: DID QUESTIONABLE CALLS GET YOUR TEAM OUT OF RHYTHM IN THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME?
A: It threw us off balance and rhythm. If we get one or two of those calls we might have had a chance. I think a few of those bad calls were breaking. Its unfortunate that it happened and you have to play threw it. I’m not taking anything away from Lamar, they are a great team and won the game.
Q: YOU RAISED $7,800 ON GOFUNDME.COM, WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT THE COMMUNITY GETTING BEHIND YOU?
A: That says it all. A few years ago we begged people and couldn’t raise a dime. This year we have raised over $7,800, heck we raised over $2,000 in a week. It says the community is fully behind us and supports us. They finally have something to route for.
Q: HOW IMPORTANT WAS YOUR COACHING STAFF THIS SEASON?
A: Our defensive coordinator Will Furse has been there for us since the beginning. We are lucky to have him. He is one of the better defensive coaches in the state, and one of the better overall coaches in the entire state. He could be a head coach himself. He does a fantastic job caring and loving the kids. He also does a great job game planning and making sure we are prepared each week. He puts in countless hours and we couldn’t do it without him.
Coach Cedric Bennett is another one that has been there since the beginning. He’s our assistant conditioning and running back coach. He does a great job with those guys. We had two freshmen that started at running back for us and that’s rare. For him to have those guys prepared to play at the varsity level as freshmen says a lot. He supports these kids fully. He has spent money of his own on the kids. He probably spends more money on the kids than he makes as coach. It says a lot about his character.
Coach Chad Love came in last year. He coaches the wide receivers he does a great job at it. He knows what he is doing and loves the kids.
Athletic Director Willie McKnight helped us out with special teams this year. We had a great season on special teams. We kicked a winning field goal to put us in the state championship game.
Coach Leonard Montgomery does a great job with community relations and helps out with offense and defensive line.
Coach Jasper Graham is our go to guy. He prepares our pregame meals and helps out with our sideline. We really appreciate all that he does.
Q: HOW IMPORTANT WAS ISIAH ODOM TO THIS TEAM?
A: Isiah is a guy who two years ago didn’t know what direction he was going in. We had to discipline him. He really came around and put the work in this year. He rushed for over 1,600 yards and had 21 touchdowns. He was a big part of our success with his leadership and overall want to. He wanted to be the best and wanted his team to be his best. He worked extremely hard in the weight room and is evidence that if you work hard in the weight room eventually you are going to be a really good player. He came out of no where and showed the state what someone can accomplish if they put the work in.
Q: WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO CONTINUE THIS SUCCESS FOR YEARS TO COME?
A: We have to have these younger guys that have experienced successes continue the tradition that we started this year. Hard work in the weight room and classroom will translate on the field, and that’s what it takes to sustain success. We have to keep striving and humble ourselves each day. If we have a good off-season then the regular season will be easy.
Also, I want to thank the entire community, from our school board, to individual community members, faculty and staff of our school and the player’s parents. It was special year, one that will always be remembered. Our team moms were huge; one (mom) won a $1,000 grant for our school. Finally we have a group of moms that support our team. They all want to be apart of what is going on and help out, and that’s huge. The kids want to play harder when the community is involved.
