2014 High School Football Tour: Hatley

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HATLEY, Miss. (WCBI) — Winning three games in a season doesn’t sound like a good year for a football team.

That’s different for the Hatley Tigers. It’s a major step in the right direction under head coach Patrick Schoolar who’s going into his second season at the helm.

Last year, coach Schoolar helped lead the school to its first division win since 2009. What’s the next step for the Tigers now?

“I think we have to keep building on that division victory,” coach Schoolar said. “We have to see the importance of winning here and what it takes to keep winning football games. I think the kids have bought in but we have to keep buying into that system.”

While the next step is building on the division win from 2013, the step beyond that is more than just winning one game in the division at Hatley.

“We’re going for a winning season,” said coach Schoolar. “I think we have a better football team coming back. Leadership is there and so is talent. We just have to put it all together.”

That talent includes impressive quarterback Jonathan Waycaster who returns under center for the Tigers.

Having the signal caller back for your team is important, but the difference maker for Hatley will be their improvement from last year to this season.

“We’re a lot more prepared,” said Schoolar. “We know more and we haven’t changed anything from last year so the kids know the system.

“We have a chance to run the ball with more success. We have some running backs that can tote the load for us and a big arm quarterback that can throw it. We’ll rely on our offense early and hope our defense can get better each Friday night.”

The Tigers will kick off the season with two home games before hitting the road to battle Hamilton in week 3.