TYLER, Texas — On Wednesday, Christus Trinity Mother Frances hosted a Media Day for East Texas high school football teams.
Players and coaches from over ten local teams were in attendance, where they spoke about their excitement for the upcoming season, their keys to success, and more.
These players have been practicing hard throughout the hot summer, and they're looking to translate that hard work to the field this year.
"We had a really successful year last year but we didn’t like the way it ended. We thought it ended a little earlier than we wanted it to," said Reed Parish of the Van Vandals. "We’re just ready to go out there and prove that we can beat the teams we need to beat like we did last year.”
Chapel Hill is one team that says they're playing with a chip on their shoulder this year after coming painfully close to a championship last year. They'll take it one game at a time to try and achieve the final goal. However, the Bulldogs quarterback says that they do have a certain game circled on their calendar.
"Gilmer. First game of the season," Demetrius Brisbon said. "It should be a good game. But I heard that a lot of people are doubting us on this game."
The head coaches of each team joined their leaders at the table at media day. They let the players control the conversation and answer the majority of the questions. However, they still spoke about what they expect this year from those players and the rest of the team this year.
"I can tell you the mood. The mood is to win and to continuously get better. That’s something that we preach to them, something that we focus on. Because of who we are and the tradition that we have," said Ricklan Holmes, Tyler High Head Coach. "When you think of Tyler, Texas, you think of the Tyler Lions. You don’t think of anything else.”
Just like many around East Texas, it seems these players and coaches are anxiously awaiting that opening kickoff signaling the official beginning of the season.