The football team will begin its 2024-25 season against Dallas Jesuit at Ranger Stadium on Aug. 30 at 7:00 p.m.
“We’ll be more prepared than we were last year because of the two scrimmages, [especially] who we scrimmaged,” head coach John Towels said. “Playing Duncanville makes you better. They always say iron sharpens iron. [Duncanville’s] one of the sharpest tools in the nation. We’re trying to get better, and now we’re going to take each of those opportunities to get better, play better and prove everybody wrong.”
After finishing last season with an overall record of 5-5 and a district record of 3-4, co-captain and defensive end Clay Lindmark said the players are looking to start this season off strong. He also said one of the biggest differences from last season has been the team’s energy.
“Coach Towels talks a lot about perspective,” Lindmark said. “It’s what you think of yourself versus what others think of you. Our energy, how we play, it starts with us. It’s on us to stay locked in and make sure that we have our schemes right, we don’t make mistakes and have fun out there if we want to go on the road and win.”
Last season the Hawks dedicated their first game to late player JJ Hatcher, flying a flag with “LLJJ” (Long Live JJ) on it, and continuing to fly it before every game the rest of the season.
“We’ll continue to keep [JJ] in our hearts,” co-captain and defensive tackle Daylon Owens said. “I’ll come out with the flag on the first game and before every game this season and be the first one out of the endzone. We have a spot in our locker room just for him [and] his two jerseys are there. I miss him every day.”
Both Owens and Lindmark said they’ll continue to honor JJ’s legacy this season and use it as energy because they know who they’re playing for. Both co-captains also said they felt excited and prepared about potentially replicating their 39-34 win against Dallas Jesuit last season.
“We’ve been working since November,” Towels said. “People think football starts in August, but it really starts in the off season. August through November is just like a movie or play. We’ve been practicing for eight months, and now it’s time to go perform. We want to have a better showing against Jesuit, even though we won last year. They were one play away from winning, so we got to go out there and make it a convincing win.”
Most of the defensive and offensive starters are returning from last season, Towels said. Even with the loss of leaders like former co-captain Jesse McEllroy, Towels said he is impressed with the growth the team has shown.
“Well, the biggest change I’ve noticed is [the players] willingness to work hard and accept challenges, not back down, not shy away,” Towels said. “We’re practicing ways that we couldn’t have practiced two years before. We scrimmaged Duncanville last week, and it wasn’t like we backed down and we were scared. But the thing that we took away from that [experience] is that we can play with anybody if we put our mind to it. We just have to be consistent and continue to do it.”
