HSFT Stop #3: Okolona
The Okolona Chieftains are coming off a 6-7 season, a year that ended in the third round of the playoffs.
And for head coach Colbry Lathan, year two is all about building on that momentum after taking over a program that hadn’t seen a winning season since 2018.
“We’re teaching you to be young men. We’re hard on you, but it’s because we love you,” Lathan said. “We want you to be productive citizens. We don’t have a bad group of kids. They come out here and work their tails off, so it means a lot that they see what we’re trying to do for them. It takes success because, like we preach, you might not finish, but we want you to let us know you’re trying because effort matters. If you give everything in everything you do, you’re going to be successful.”
That message is already being felt inside the locker room, especially by the younger players coming up through the program.
“I have to lead the team and teach the young guys how we’re supposed to run and play my position,” Bryson Washington said. “So when I leave, they’ll be able to take over. We’ve got some young guys who have been working in the weight room, coming out here, doing drills, playing hard and working.”
And for the seniors, that role is about more than just football — it’s about setting the standard.
“It comes with big responsibility, like taking control on the field and correcting the young guys, making sure they develop and grow,” J’Kyre Ware, Okolona quarterback said. “We try to build a bond with them and stay together. Don’t fall out over anything. Play as a team all the time.”
With a new season comes new expectations and a clear focus on not repeating last year’s mistakes.
“We’re looking to build off the momentum from making the third round of the playoffs and try to finish games better because we could have easily been 8-3 or 8-5,” Lathan said. “But several games early on, we didn’t finish, and that hurt us.”
For the players who lived through that run, it’s become a lesson that goes beyond the scoreboard.
“Honestly, that taught us about life,” Trevuan Vance said. “Even when times get hard, don’t ever give up.”
They kick off their season on August 24 against Vardaman.
