#HSFT18 Stop #47 — Louisville Wildcats

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — 45 years, more than 250 wins, and eight state championships later, the storied career of Louisville head coach M.C. Miller has one more chapter.

Miller is set to retire after the 2018 season, and for the Wildcats, there’s only one thing left to do

“With it being Coach Miller’s last year, I’ve been playing under Coach Miller for four years now,” senior defensive end Charles Moore said, “this will be my last year, so just sending him out with a bang, that’s the motivation. This is my senior year, let’s go out with a bang.”

“We have high expectations to go far in the playoffs,” senior outside linebacker and safety Ashanti Cistrunk said.

“Possibly win a championship, well, we are going to win a championship. Got to send him out the right way, it wouldn’t be right.”

“Our goal every year at Louisville is to win the state championship, ” Miller said.

“That’s the main thing we’re at now, we’re trying to get them, the senior class, they’re leaving, and I’m leaving to this year, and they all kind of want to get me out with a bang.”

Missisippi State commit Moore is back and healthy after an ACL tear ended his 2017 season, and Ole Miss commit Ashanti Cistrunk returns to lead a fierce Wildcats defense that could be the difference behind a ninth state title.

“We stuck together as a team, worked hard throughout the summer,” Moore said, “I believe if we carry that over into the season, I believe we’re going to be pretty good.”

The Wildcats know how close they were a season ago, and you don’t have to remind them how it ended.

The rivals from Noxubee County advanced in a Toothpick Bowl Edition of the North Half Final a year ago, and the Wildcats know they’ll likely have to go through the Tigers again for a shot at a championship.

“It’s eating away at them, and it’s eating away at me too,” Miller said.

“That one game, we know we have to win, the Noxubee County game. We played them hard each time but we just couldn’t get it to come through like we’re supposed to. We always have a big mistake early in the ball game. A lot of times when we do go early in a ball game, we win.”

The grind for nine begins in the “Sunshine State”, as Louisville travels to face Navarre in Florida in week one.