HSFT Stop No. 7: Myrtle

Myrtle, miss. (WCBI) – Myrtle went 1-9 last year. While there were plenty of one-possession losses, the players are determined to correct those mistakes.

“The mentality between teammates has been our biggest issue,” senior offensive/defensive lineman Mitchell Rutherford said. “When things got tough, we competed against each other during the game, so I think with this year’s group, we can change that a little bit.”

“We have to be able to catch and run the ball. We had a run-oriented offense and it worked, but against some teams it didn’t work,” senior middle linebacker Conor Blevins said. “Especially against the bigger teams like Strayhorn and Belmont, it really didn’t work well against them.”

2023 was also head coach Luke Conlee’s first year at the helm of the program. He was 25 at the time and is now confident his team is ready to turn the page.

“The work ethic has been great. We’ve built a lot more chemistry within the team. It’s a lot closer this year than it was last year and that’s going to help us get through this,” Conlee said. “We made a lot of progress last year and we’re going to carry that forward into next season.”

The growth of the defensive line group and top-tier players has the coaching staff excited. The Hawks believe they will have more options in games this season.

“I don’t think there’s a game on our schedule that we can’t win as long as we prepare properly,” Conlee said.

Myrtle’s season begins August 30 against Strayhorn.