HSFT Stop #1: West Lowndes

West Lowndes football is coming into the 2023 season with one big goal in mind: win district.

“I think we can win the district,” West Lowndes head coach Anthony King said.

There’s a lot that goes into making up a championship-caliber team. For the Panthers, brotherhood is the key on the road to that district title.

The brotherhood is formed on and off the field. With much of the team living in the same neighborhoods, it’s easy for them to constantly be around each other — whether its at baseball games or AAU tournaments.

“It’s really amazing because we’re like family,” senior Kylan Jordan said. “It feels like we’re blood, but we’re not. We just get along really well and come out here and play hard.”

West Lowndes is familiar with the winning feeling. The Panthers got a taste of it when they took home the district championship in 2021 after going undefeated in district play.

“It would mean a lot because my freshman year we won, so to be able to do it again would be great,” junior Kam Evans said. 

In terms of improving on the field, West Lowndes will look to diversify its offense this season. Last year, the Panthers relied heavily on the run game. And while it worked — it became predictable as well.

“Once we can throw like we can run, we’ll be a hard team to beat,” King said. “Last year, we were pretty much just one dimensional. We were just a running team. But this year we want to try to improve our passing game a whole lot.”