CLINTON, Mississippi (WLBT) – Earlier this year, John Carr was hired as head coach of the Clinton High School football team.
Carr, who previously served as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, has been working with his new players since the spring to prepare them for his first season with the team.
“Our guys have stepped up, I’m really excited about our group,” Carr said. “I’m really excited about the competition we have at every position. We’ve had a great summer, we’re building on the momentum we’ve had from that and I’m just happy to get out here and get going.”
“We’re ready to play football,” said senior center Reece Watts. “We’ve been training all summer for this moment, so we’re all ready to play.”
Although there are still unanswered questions entering the season, the Arrows are confident their roster will help them remain competitive in Class 7A.
“We have a lot of confidence in our quarterback – I would say in our new, revamped offense,” said veteran outside linebacker Chad Holiday. “We’re well-positioned defensively, we have some players who could really make a difference defensively.”
“Our offense is pretty good,” Watts said. “I think we’ll be good on offense. We’ll be good on defense, but I think our biggest strength this year is offense.”
Carr is confident he has put his players in a winning position, but he won’t know how the team will fare until it faces a real opponent for the first time.
“I’m excited to see how our guys react when we have different colored helmets and jerseys in front of us,” he said. “We didn’t play a practice game against anyone in the spring. We just wanted to focus on ourselves, so I’m excited to see how we react when things go our way and then when they don’t.”
Although Carr is new to coaching in the area, he knows the talent that awaits him this season, but he has hired his own coaches during his time as a college coach in Mississippi.
“I know the level of competition in this region and in this state,” he said. “I’ve been to a lot of high school games and I have a lot of friends who are head coaches, both in our region and in the surrounding area, so I know what type of football is played in this area.”
The Arrows begin their season on August 30th with a game against Warren Central in Vicksburg.
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