2025 HSFT Stop #36: Itawamba

FULTON, MS (WCBI)- Coming off a 7‑4 finish in 2024, the Itawamba Indians weren’t satisfied. In the locker room, at practice, and even in conversation, there’s a noticeable shift. This team isn’t just talented; they’re together.

“I feel like the team’s much tighter than the past years of being here,” Colton Lewis said. “I feel like it’s just one big group this year, and everybody has the same mindset going into the season: just be better than last year and prove people wrong.”

Proving people wrong has been the mindset since day one, and it’s coming straight from the top

“They’ve said since day one that they’ve got something they want to prove,” head coach Clint Hoots said. “They want to prove everybody wrong. They want to prove that they have what it takes to be the next group to come through. We always look inward. We don’t look out. They look at the guys in the past years. Our hallways are full of all the great players we’ve had here in the past, and they look at those walls and want to be better than those guys, and it’s their driving force.”

Hoots says the difference this year isn’t just about talent or schemes, but about trust built through the offseason grind and time together as a team.

“The closer knit that you are, you’re able to handle adversity better,” Hoots said. “You know that guy next to you, he’s going to get his job done because he’s playing with the same effort and intensity that you’re playing with.”

This team’s senior playmakers have felt that shift firsthand, and they say it’s changed everything

“We’re tighter, more disciplined. We’re getting there mentally,” Keshun Wilson said. “The last couple of teams weren’t mentally there. We’ve got more leaders, and we work hard.”

From leadership to chemistry, the Indians have put the pieces in place, and in 2025, they hope to put it all together. Itawamba kicks off its season on August 29 against Caledonia.