#HSFT16: Stop No. 48 – Myrtle Hawks

MYRTLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Myrtle High School will field a varsity football team in the fall of 2019. Until then, Assistant Principal Justin Hollis is in charge of teaching the current middle schoolers the game.

“We’re pumped. Our community is really excited about it,” Hollis said. “We’re the first ones to do it in our history. Our kids have taken that into consideration. The desire has been off the charts.”

Many of these guys play sports, but haven’t played football before.

“The process is going to be difficult,” he said. “That’s the purity of the game. The fun of coaching is you get to make a difference in these kids lives.”

Hollis is a former Vardaman head coach. He said the town is behind the program 100%. The team is even self-funded right now.

“It’s amazing because we’re a big athletic school,” he said. “Our parents want us to succeed whether it’s football. baseball, cross country, softball, whatever.”

And these kids that just finished their eighth-grade year will be seniors that first varsity season. They said they’re ready for the journey.

“It feels great. To put in all this hard work, for it to pay off, it’ll feel great,” eighth grader Tyler Harris said.

“I’m very excited just to be the first team to play Myrtle football. I’m very excited to play,” eighth grader Mason Cook said.

Hollis said the team will play at nearby BNA Park through at least the first two years of varsity play, which would mean a field would be at least seven years away.