The 2023 fall season has begun and teams around the area have begun practicing in anticipation of the upcoming season.
Rosebud-Lott began last Monday and have been hitting the turf everyday with the anticipation that this season will be an uphill battle. The Cougars finished the 2022 season third in district and an overall record of 7-4.
“I feel great about it [this season],” said Head Coach Brandon Hicks. “We’ve got a lot of kids that have been in the program for multiple years and they kind of know what to expect.”
The Cougars will be starting this year with filling in positions that were vacated due to graduation. Last year, the Cougars lost 14 players, ten of them starters, to graduation. This year, the young group of underclassmen are slotted to fill the open positions.
“I feel very confident in those kids,” Hicks said. “They’ve worked hard and although we had a massive senior class, there were a lot of kids that got valuable reps. It’s not all totally new to them”
Seniors Jamarquis Johnson and Alvin Clark-Williams are poised to take control of the field. Johnson returns as the leader in most categories on the field including rushing and passing yards. Clarkson-Williams led the team on defense last year in sacks. Both players return for their final year on the field.
This year, Hicks looks to improve the culture of the team. With the loss of so many leaders on the field, the team will have to look towards younger, less experienced players to fill the gaps.
“Our big culture we are talking about is grit,” Hicks said. “We don’t have the same kind of depth at the 2A level as others, so just the toughness, being able to play through any minor injury and being able to be tough, get treatment, and take care of your bodies is our main focus.”
RL will be playing the same teams as last year and look to improve on last year’s conference record. The Cougars will be up against the same teams with losses to Crawford and Marlin on the road. But to Hicks, all games are important.
“Being in an eight team district, every game is important,” Hicks said. “You don’t really have a bunch of non-district games to get ready, so we got to be ready to roll.”
The Cougars start rolling early in August with scrimmages against Axtell and Snook before the season opener August 25th in Leon. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.