HSFT Stop #14: Nanih Waiya
Nanih Waiya was on a roll in 2025. After losing two games early in the season, the Warriors ripped off eight straight wins before falling to the 1A runners-up. Head coach James Courtney has set a Warrior Standard in the building, and this year’s team looks to continue holding that standard from the seniors down to the freshmen.
“We’ve had really good participation with our seniors, and it starts with that as far as coming in and doing our workouts,” Courtney said. They’re not a lot of fun, but these guys embrace it. And they’re examples for the younger kids and just try to keep our standard of the effort that is required of them to put in. And they’ve been a good example so far.”
“The Warrior Standard, that’s been a standard here for a long time,” safety Caysen Dewberry said. “We give 100% effort each and every day. And no matter if it’s practice, in the weight room or in school, your schoolwork, whatever it is, you’ve just got to give 100% effort every day.”
That mindset has led Nanih Waiya to four division titles since Courtney took over. For the Warriors, success is about the process and playing their best football when it matters the most.
“It’s a process, and we never want to just talk about a state championship. We know it’s a process. We’ve been there before and won, so we want to be peaking as we go into division play and then be even better as we enter into the playoffs, the third part of the season. So that’s the goal, just reaching the best and being the best football team that we can be,” Courtney said.
The team has taken the warrior mentality into everything they do, including team bonding outside of football, which they believe translates to on the field success.
“It’s a pretty amazing feeling being able to play with a group of guys I played with for a long time. You know, the things we did and we had some good seasons back, but we just stuck to it and stayed together,” safety Carmello Austin said.
“I think we have a really close bond. Everybody gets along really well, and we communicate good in games and practice, and that kind of helps us have success as far as being able to communicate and get the calls in and out and assist,” Dewberry said.
“They’re the leaders of our community, and that’s the way we like it. The teachers always brag on how they perform in the classroom, so they’re just a good group of kids that like to work and get along real well. So when you’ve got that, you’ve got a chance to be pretty good,” Courtney said.
Nanih Waiya will begin their quest to go back-to-back as district champions when they face off against Vardaman on Aug. 28.
