Last season, the football team placed 7th in region 4-AAAA with a record of 1-6 and an overall record of 2-8. Despite this, new head coach Calvin Arnold said the team is prepared to kick off the new season, hoping for a playoff run for the first time since 2016, in addition to working on player and team development.
“You know everybody’s goal is to win the region, but our goal is to make sure we make the playoffs and do well,” Arnold said. “Apart from that, we want to build team camaraderie and make sure that everybody learns and grows from the game.”
Senior starting quarterback Noah Williams said he has seen the drastic improvement in the team’s ambition within these past few weeks.
“Last year, we had a lot of guys check out after we fell short of expectations, but the energy this year feels entirely different,” Williams said. “Morale and belief in what we can accomplish is much higher.”
This passion has encouraged a more dedicated season and committed players.
“I think we are a little more disciplined than last year and focused going into the next season taking one step at a time,” senior wide receiver Kentrell White said.
In addition to this newfound ambition, team camaraderie has made a major impact. Williams said the closeness of the team off the field has allowed for more support for the players.
“I’ve never felt more connected to my team and happier to be at practice supporting my guys,” Williams said. “The level of friendship off the field definitely speaks volumes, a true brotherhood. We are tight and able to compete on the field and hold each other accountable off of it.”
Junior center and defensive tackle Brady Crep believes that a big part of making the team a tight knit community is Arnold’s tough love.
“Coach Arnold, he’s aggressive, but he cares for us,” Crep said. “He’ll be the type of person to [yell at you] and then say it’s all love. And you really know he means it’s all love and that energy has spread to the team.”
White said Arnold’s persistence and drive has allowed players to grow and improve in preparation for the upcoming season.
“[Arnold] has a very relentless coaching style,” White said. “He will bring up the best in you even if you can’t see it, and that’s what’s going to help us this season.”
The players demonstrated this impact during the preseason training, with intense workouts occurring throughout the week.
“Our weekdays in the summer were spent at school from 8:30 in the morning till 12:00 lifting training and going over new concepts,” Williams said. “It wasn’t easy but it made us better.”
The Knights faced their first match up against Lassiter on Aug. 15. Although they lost 44-12, the team tried to stay positive
“[We] didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but it is very exciting, like feeding off the energy of others, and I did have fun,” Williams said.
The Knights started off strong, with senior Cam Austin rushing 45 yards to secure the Knight’s first touchdown. However, the Knights’ PAT attempt was blocked.
“Cam Austin showed a lot of improvement,” Arnold said. “He had 14 carries for 100 and something yards.”
The Knights momentum slowed with Lassister pushing a 30 yard run which set them up to rush 8 yards for touchdown in the first quarter. Lassister continued this energy into the second quarter, getting three touchdowns off of a 1 yard rush, 10 yard rush, and complete 48 yard pass.
“Even though we were down and the game wasn’t going our way, people still were putting effort forward,” Williams said. “I think consistency is probably going to be the biggest thing for us because we have the ability to be a good football team.”
With sophomore cornerback and running back Ashton Young getting injured, the Knights had to adjust.
“When you have guys missing, you have to make adjustments by putting other guys in,” Arnold said. “The game plan was executed well. Everything that we wanted to do, we could do, so that was a project.”
At the beginning of the second half, Lassiter completed a 15 yard touchdown pass. Minutes later, Williams threw a completed 40 yard touchdown pass to D’Eric Mitchell, bringing the Knight’s score to 12. Due to failing the previous PAT, Midtown went for 2 and failed.
“As far as positive-wise, I saw we can run the ball, we can throw the ball down the field when need be,” Arnold said “We just got to clean up the small mistakes as far as penalties, jumping off sides and stuff like that.”
The game ended with a 24 yard field goal from Lassiter, bringing the final score to 44-12.
“One thing I saw better on the team was that we had an identity on offense,” Crep said. “We were running the ball better than last season and executing blocks on the O-line. And something I can see we need improving on is our discipline. My mindset was play as hard as I could for as long as I could no matter what happens or what the score was and have the offensive line know and execute their block which was done well.”
Keeping their preseason training in mind, Williams said the team will stay dedicated and work hard for every game, no matter their competitor.
“The toughest opponent is always going to be the next one,” Williams said. “I believe week by week with focus we’re capable of winning any game on our schedule.”
Arnold agreed and emphasized the importance of concentrating on the task at hand.
“I don’t look ahead,” Arnold said. “I want to make sure that, you know, we stay focused on the task at hand, at what’s in front of us. Because if you look too far down the road, then you start to lose focus.”
Along with this, Arnold believes that different teams aren’t worse or better, they are unique. He said focusing on the past is limiting room for growth.
“You can’t compare teams, every team has its own identity,” Arnold said. “So this team is going to be different from last year simply because we got new players, and a lot of times when you start comparing teams, you start looking back instead of looking forward.”
In order to have a successful season, Arnold encourages players to work on themselves and everything else will fall into place. He believes that self-improvement can lead to bigger things and can overall benefit the team as a whole.
“If you work on yourself, then you know, everything else will take care of itself,” Arnold said. “I always say the small things make the biggest difference, just take it one thing at a time.”
