Coming off a 38-24 loss to top-ranked Oak Grove, the Grenada Chargers open the 2024 home schedule Friday night against defending Class 3A Champion Winona High School.
GHS head football coach Michael Fair said that he was excited about how his Chargers showed up for practice this week for Winona.
“I love the way our players responded in practice Monday,” he said. “They were very business-like – no joking around. It was one of the best Labor Day practices I have ever been a part of as a coach.”
The second-year coach hopes to see that traditional improvement from Game 1 to Game 2.
“I agree that you make the most improvement from the first to the second game,” he said. “We had so many things that we could have done better in the Oak game. That’s the way it is.”
Against Oak Grove, Grenada finished with more than 300 yards of total offense led by senior running back Macaleb Taylor, who had 106 yards rushing and 119 yards receiving.
Despite the loss of a large senior class, Fair knows that Winona will bring another talented team to Grenada for what many call the “Battle of Highway 51.”
“Winona is a very talented football team that plays hard and is well-coached,” Fair said. “They were down against Newton County last week and picked up a big 10-point victory. Their outside linebacker (Tyler) Lockhart can play for anybody in the state.”
Lockhart lives up to the attention of the numerous offers he has received, according to Fair.
“He is a national recruit,” Fair said. “What jumps off the screen when you watch him on tape is his length, outstanding speed and good instincts.”
Fair was quick to point out that the Tigers have more than just Lockhart to worry about.
“They have a sophomore quarterback that shows flashes of (Chase) Richardson, who graduated last year,” he said. “Keeping their players hemmed up for four quarters will be a challenge.”
The Winona Tigers are coming off a magical 15-0 season that ended with a Class 3A State Championship. Graduation took its toll with 17 players gone from the roster as the 2024 season begins. Despite these changes, 11th-year head coach Joey Tompkins is changing the formula for his success.
“We don’t change a whole lot – we have been trying to prepare them since they have been part of our program,” Tompkins said. “This team will be primarily sophomores with a few seniors sprinkled in. If we were playing schools our size every week, it wouldn’t be that big of a challenge. Our first three games are against schools that are in a classification above and the fourth game may be against the best team in the North 3A. We also have a game with Charleston, which won Class 2A last season.”
With youthful players all over the roster, Tompkins knows his team will go through growing pains.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “It just takes time – one game at a time. We are trying to get our guys some playing experience. Last week, it was first time that most of our guys played in a game that mattered. You don’t have to change the way you prepare them. There will be some years that you are going to be young. We were fortunate last year to have a bunch of guys who played a lot of games and this year we don’t have that. It’s not an excuse. You must get them ready to play each week.”
The Tigers aren’t without talent on this year’s team. At the top of the list is Lockhart, a 6-foot-2, 210 pound senior, who has numerous scholarship – most of them coming from Southeastern Conference schools.
“Tyler is a really good player,” Tompkins said. “He got hurt last week and continued to play. He has a bright future.”
Tompkins turns to sophomore Landon Crawford (5-foot-9, 165 pounds) at quarterback to replace Richardson, who is at Holmes Community College.
“He reminds me of Chase, when he was younger,” Tompkins said. “They both have a similar skill set. He is going to be a good football player.”
Looking at Grenada, Tompkins sees no weaknesses.
“We are playing one of the best teams in any classification,” he concluded. “They gave Oak Grove all they could handle. They have the best group of linebackers that we will face all year, period! They are very athletic. There is not a weakness on their team, if you ask me.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Charger Stadium.
