2015 High School Football Tour – Stop #19: Pontotoc

[syndicaster id=’5863365′]

PONTOTOC, Miss. (WCBI) — Walk through the fieldhouse at Pontotoc High School and you’ll notice something diffferent.

The colors have stayed the same, it still says “Home of the Warriors” and it still looks like the Pontotoc football team. Or so it seems.

There’s a renewed energy and spirit with the Warriors and first year head coach Jeff Carter. Pontotoc hopes that enthusiasm can carry them to big things for this season and beyond.

“We’re hoping we can feed on that and get some results early,” Carter said. “I think if we have some success early these guys will believe they can compete and win some games.”

“With the coaching change a lot of things changed but the biggest thing that changed was the heart and effort we put into the game,” junior Brandon Hale said. “We worry about the score less and focus more on what we do.”

“The chemistry is a lot better on this team,” junior Jacob Carter said. “Our energy is much higher and everybody is buying into the system.”

It has been a tough run as of late for Pontotoc: the Warriors have made the playoffs just once in the last five seasons.

While the results haven’t been there, the expectations remain for a program that has been at the top before.

“These days, you can make the playoffs by winning three games if you win the right three,” coach Carter said. “That’s not what we want. We want to be a playoff team and be a contender and compete in every game. We can live with losses as long as we compete.

“We’re expecting to win more games than we did last year and get into the playoffs and actually make a run. That’s our goal this year.”

Pontotoc will start the season at home versus Caledonia before visiting the Houston Hilltoppers the following week.