It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire…
– Star Wars Episode IV, ‘A New Hope’
NEW HOPE — Trojan football is in a new era.
New Hope has already tallied its most wins in a season in nearly a decade with three weeks left in the regular season. It has two quarterbacks orchestrating a prolific running attack and a core group of experienced seniors on both sides of the ball.
After an 0-10 2023 season, this start to a new era has taken folks by surprise.
A surprise to everyone but the Trojans, that is.
“The motivation for this year is very different,” senior Lonnie Shinn Jr. said leading up to the first game of the season. “We’ve got a lot of seniors, it was more of a young team last year so just about everyone experienced it. Now we’re just trying to put it together and bounce back. Everyone counting us out, we’re trying to show them what we’re about.”
In one preseason practice, quarterbacks Tyrekus Brooks and Joshua Tate were taking reps with the first team when an assistant coach intercepted a pass while coaching the linebackers. The coach was only joking around, but the players weren’t there for it.
They quickly got the ball back on the line, the coach understood his indiscretion, and practice resumed.
Every rep mattered, and they’re showing why on the field.
“I think our kids have taken on a business-like role,” head coach Allen Glenn said of his group. “We have a mature team in some areas as far as understanding the standard is the standard, and we’re not going to vary from that. They’ve taken hold of that, holding each other accountable and us adults holding each other accountable. They know everything we do matters and it shows up on Friday nights.”
Glenn arrived in March to take over a winless team. What he found was an eagerness to put 2023 in the past and start anew.
“I knew on the first day that they were a hungry group, a group that hungered to win,” he said. “They’re great kids, and for whatever reason it just didn’t work out for them previously, but as far as they go they’re hungry and they want success, they want to work. Coming in, we didn’t have to pull teeth or beg them to do anything, they were ready to go when we got here.”
Seniors in the team spoke before the season about a fighting spirit that has carried over since before Glenn arrived. The team kept offseason workouts going through January and February, and with the new staff in place found a new direction. They’ve taken each week as it has come, they’ve fought through tough battles and blown some opponents away, and now sit at 6-1 with three games to play.
“We were in some really close games early and I just watched them fight,” Glenn said. “How they handled adversity, bad things happening, they just buckled up and turned it on.”
After two weeks, the Trojans sat at 1-1; but, after a road loss to 3A contender Choctaw County, , Glenn realized the kind of group he had. He saw their focus in the weeks following a close win and then a defeat, and he knew he was working with a group that could make some noise.
“The first game of the year, playing Itawamba and being able to come back in the fourth quarter and win against a really good team when in the past they maybe wouldn’t have,” he reflected. “Seeing that, then seeing how they handled a loss on the road against Choctaw County and they still came back the next week ready to work through it. They showed us that they’re a group that will fight through adversity and find a way to win football games.”
The Trojans won both games to start district play, taking a close 42-35 win in Pontotoc before returning home to thrash Corinth 46-7. Up next is a trip to face Clarksdale, the district champion in 2023.
There’s a real chance to go from worst to first in district, and even push for a state title beyond that, but the Trojan culture is different this year for a reason. It’s always about the next challenge for a team that has gained a ton of self-belief, and they’re careful to take things as they come and avoid complacency.
“Our motto all year is ‘Deserve to win,’ but our goal is to go 1-0 each week,” Glenn said. “Don’t look back and don’t look ahead, the main thing is to go 1-0. We have the opportunity to go on the road and play a really good football team in Clarksdale, and that’s our biggest focus. If we can keep that mindset going forward that’ll be what’s best for us.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
