#HSFT21 Stop #30 — Hatley Tigers

HATLEY, Miss. (WCBI) — The Hatley Tigers hope to reach new heights in the 2021 season.

“We had a lot of weaknesses last year,” senior RB/OLB Rob Ford said. “It was a foundation year. We’re trying to get the foundation built.”

“We’re just trying to improve a lot from last year,” senior RG Jonathan Savage said. “Last year was a lot of freshman and sophomores. We lost a lot of seniors the year before too. We just have to all around us get better.”

The beginning of the Tigers rebuild under then first-year head coach Clint Adair resulted in a 2-6 overall record.

Coach Adair looks to continue to build on the improvements made in year one as he heads into year two at the helm.

“I did learn that we’ve got some guys that are willing to work,” Adair said. “As long as we’ve got the guys here willing to work and put in the effort and want to do better, then that’s going to make it a lot easier.”

Adair says his team will be well balanced this season, with plenty of upper and lower classmen making up the Tigers team

However, Adair wants to see this year’s senior class play a big role in the success Hatley looks to find.

“I’m looking for our seniors mainly to really step up and take hold of the leadership role and really help us develop and bring along the younger guys,” Adair said.

“A lot of us, you know, we played last year most of us. The whole team is back. So we’re all getting more playing time and getting better. We’ve just got more experience,” Savage said.

While the expectations are high for Hatley’s senior squad, Adair says that’s where the strength of this team lies. The Tiger seniors have remained dedicated throughout the summer in preparation for the upcoming season.

“It’s a pretty good that’s been mostly self motivated themselves. They’ve been here for the most part all summer putting in work and trying to get better,” Adair said.

“We’ve been hitting the weight room hard, been out here running our butts off just trying to get better,” Ford said.

The season begins for Hatley with a road game at Hamilton on August 27th.

“You know, we have a harder schedule this year but I think we’ll surprise some people,” Savage said.

“I think we’re going to fight. We’re going to be physical, fearless, and go into every game with that attitude that we’re going to compete,” Adair said.”