Football season is starting! You know what that means, Friday Night Lights, ice 
cream after a good game, and cheering on your team with a blanket and some popcorn from the sidelines. After an undefeated season, the coaches and players are excited for yet another, great year.
Last year was a great year for Poteau Football. We had an impressive season last year, along with some very impressive players. Many would think those players “carried” the team. Head Coach, Mike Odom, says “We expect the same from this group of seniors as we did the last group, to lead the football team to a successful year.” There seems to be no doubt that Poteau Football will continue to be great.
What makes Poteau Football so great? It could be our “never give up” attitude, or how we always keep our heads up, no matter what. Our Offensive Coordinator, Coach Payton Werner, said “One thing we do well at Poteau is that we don’t spend a lot of time talking about other people. We talk about ourselves more than anybody else. I think that helps us gain an edge on everybody.” Although everything might look great from afar, every team has its struggles.
To Coach Payton Werner, the greatest challenge facing the team this season is “new players understanding their role on the Football team.” Poteau is a next man up school. When one group leaves, another group has to step in. It is always hard having to learn your place, but once it has been learned, it gets easier from there. According to Senior Logan Randolph, “Coming together as one is a challenge. We all have different backgrounds but definitely play together in unity.”
New things are learned after every season. Great things that help better the team for the next season. Coach Odom said he learns something new every game. “Every year you’re evolving, you find things that do work and things that don’t work and you become a better coach.” It’s very important to make sure you learn from your mistakes, Senior player, Westin Archey, says what he learned from last year is “Don’t be nervous, just play. That’s all you can do.”
Football is definitely a very intense sport from getting tackled, to conditioning. It’s difficult. The mentality has to be tough. Coach Odom’s best piece of life advice is “Never give up. Never quit just because it will get easier.” It’s very important for someone to stick to what they signed up for. It gives discipline and character.
What about our rivals, Sallisaw? Well, we are definitely looking forward to the game. The team handles the rivalry well, and Logan Randolph seems to be more excited than anxious about the game. Coaches, players, and bystanders are all excited about the game. Poteau looks forward to it every year. It’s important to be there for the team, so let’s all show up, and have high Pirate pride, for the team.
