HSFT Stop #52: Oxford
Oxford is leaving no stone unturned this season as the Chargers set their sights on capturing the 7A state championship. Head coach Chris Cutcliffe, entering his 11th year at the helm and 16th year in coaching at Oxford, knows the foundation for a successful season starts well before Friday nights. For the Chargers, that foundation has been built through offseason workouts, spring practice, summer ball and now fall camp.
“I think our coaching staff has done a tremendous job. I think the leadership in our team has done a tremendous job,” Cutcliffe said. “I think our guys have really worked hard, off season through spring practice and into summer ball, and now it’s really go time into fall camp. So I’ve been really pleased with how everybody’s worked.”
Cutcliffe believes situational football during fall camp will help prepare the Chargers for the challenges they will face once the regular season begins. Oxford enters the season ranked No. 6 in the state after an impressive 11-2 campaign a year ago. The Chargers went undefeated in district play and advanced to the 7A semifinals before falling to Tupelo by just one point.
While last season provided proof of what Oxford can accomplish, Cutcliffe does not want his team to become satisfied with its previous success.
“We are not going to use last season as if, ‘We made it that far, we are going to make it that far again,’” Cutcliffe said. “It is kind of a reminder in the back of our heads how good we can be, and we weren’t even the best, so definitely coming into this season competing as hard as we can and showing we are going to make it back and then eventually the state championship.”
For the Chargers, reaching that goal will come down to consistency and daily preparation.
“It’s about what you do day in and day out,” Cutcliffe said. “Our actions are a lot more important than our words than just setting goals. The actions that I do to try to reach those goals, it’s really about making every day count.”
Oxford knows there is little room for complacency in one of the state’s toughest regions.
“The region we play in is the best in the state of Mississippi, so literally every day we have an opportunity to practice. We have to get better, or we are falling behind other people in our region,” Cutcliffe said.
That mindset has also carried over to Oxford’s senior leadership. Veteran players understand the importance of setting the tone for a team with championship expectations. One senior defensive leader said his role has grown each season as he has been asked to take on more responsibility.
“I feel like being on defense from sophomore year to my senior year, having to constantly step up every year and become a bigger leader, and I just try to be a person that guys count on as a team,” he said.
The Chargers have also used the summer and fall camp to develop chemistry between returning players and newcomers. Competition between the offense and defense has helped push both sides to improve.
“In the summer we’ve got a lot of new faces and a lot of old faces stepping up,” the senior said. “I just feel like each time we’ve practiced against each other, we’ve traded each week. Offense wins, defense wins.”
Now that the team is in pads and the entire roster is together, the pieces are beginning to come together.
“I feel like now that we have pads and now that our whole team is here, it is like a big puzzle piece that is finally molding, and each practice makes us better brick by brick,” he said.
With a talented roster, strong senior leadership and the sting of last season’s narrow semifinal loss still fresh, Oxford enters the 2026 season with its sights firmly set on making another deep playoff run, and finishing the job this time. The Chargers will begin that journey at home against Collierville.
