Jamboree

Our Trojans play against West Lowndes at 5pm on August 22nd  at Columbus High.  Two quarters of football will be played.

Dealing with the August Heat

 Recommendations for parents:

1. Encourage your player to consume 16 – 20 oz. of sports drinks or water within 45 minutes prior to practice.
2. Provide appropriate rehydration drinks and meals following exposure to high-risk environments.
3. Make sure you athlete/child eats a full meal within 2 hours following exercise and salts his food appropriately.
4. Avoid carbonated drinks and any drinks with caffeine.

2008 Program Ads

The 2008 New Hope Football Program Ad Campaign begins Monday July 7th. 

Football players and cheerleaders will be visiting with local businesses and individuals to solicit advertising in the 2008 football program guide.  With transportation costs up and the LCSD athletic budgets down this year’s ad revenue and community support is critical for the Trojans.

Forms for the business ads, and for personal ads to recognize your student/ athlete/ etc are available on line.  Questions can be sent to Robin at rcregeen(at)cableone.net

Business ad form               Personal ad form

In order to insure having the program for the first game, the ad deadline has been moved up to August 7th.

Physicals

MHSAA athletic participation form

Completed physical forms must be turned into Coach Bradley before any player may participate in practice.  Equipment will not be issued until physical forms are on file with Coach Bradley.  This is a MHSAA requirement.

Summer Workouts

The summer workout program will begin on June 2nd. Twenty lifting and conditioning sessions are required between June 2nd and August 1st, with 30-32 days available to lift. These sessions will run about 1-1.5 hours. The weight room will be available for a morning session at 9am and for an evening session at 6pm Monday through Thursday.

The summer workout program is vital for success in the fall and is a must for a player’s acclimation to the coming August heat for safe and effective late summer preseason practices.

Spring Game

 

 

 

 

Spring Game 2008

Spring scrimmage will be at Pontotoc High School, 5:30pm, on Friday, May 16th, versus Shannon.

Map to Pontotoc High School

Route map Columbus-West Point-Okolona-Pontotoc

Season Finale vs Houston

The Trojans traveled to Houston Friday night with a chance to clinch a winning season and came home with a thrilling 17-14 decision in overtime.  This win gives the Trojans a final record of 6-4 for the 2007 season, the first winning season since the 1998 campaign.  The win was bittersweet for the young Trojans though, as we found out immediately after the game that West Lauderdale had upset Kosciusko 27-12 to knock the Trojans out of the playoffs due to the tiebreaker.  New Hope, West Lauderdale, and Kosciusko all finished with 3-3 records in the division. West Lauderdale won the 3 way tiebreaker, which is the margin of victory between the 3 teams to claim the 3rd spot, and Kosciusko won the head to head tiebreaker with the Trojans to claim the 4th and final spot in the playoffs.  This does not take away from the outstanding season these Trojans brought to the school, community, and fans of New Hope.  The coaching staff is very pleased with the way the young Trojans played this year.  We as coaches could not ask for anymore from our players.  Simply, they gave all they had to give.  We coaches are very proud to coach a  group of players like we had on our team this year.

The Trojans and Hilltoppers exchanged punts and then Houston mounted a short drive to take a 7-0 lead on a 35 yard pass in which we missed a couple of chances to tackle the receiver.  After a Trojan turnover, the Hilltoppers were poised to strike again, but one of our defensive backs came up with a big interception and return deep into Houston territory.  Our offense quickly turned the turnover into 6 points on a tough run by our running back.  The extra point was blocked and Houston held a 7-6 lead.  Houston took advantage of another Trojan turnover to play the short field and turned the advantage into another touchdown to take a 14-6 lead into the half.  The Trojan defense kept us in the game in the 3rd quarter as we made yet another turnover deep in Houston territory.  The defense held the Hilltoppers on a 4th and goal from the 2.  This was a huge lift for our team and seemed to take some of the wind out of Houston.  Our offense continued to struggle with consistency and seemed to be our own worst enemy.  It seemed like every big play we had would come back due to a mistake.  The Trojans did manage to flip the field position and this finally paid off late in the game as the Trojans mounted a scoring drive with the big play coming on a 3rd and 20 from the Houston 40 yard line.  Our quarterback scrambled around and broke into the clear for a 40 yard touchdown to close the gap to 14-12 with 2:50 left to play.  We tied the game on the 2 point play on a tough run by our running back.  The Trojan defense then came up big to hold the Hilltoppers and force overtime.  We won the toss and elected to play defense in the extra period.  Our defensive tackle forced an errant throw by Houston’s quarterback and our defensive end picked it off to end Houston’s possession.  We had a penalty on the first play of our possession but managed to move the ball back into field goal range.  We had a freshman that had not kicked in a game this year trot out to attempt the kick instead of our regular kicker, mainly because he gets the ball higher quicker and because he has a strong leg.  Houston had blocked our extra point with a tall player in the middle.  The freshman had ice water in his veins as he calmly hit the 32 yard field goal to win the game as the Trojans completed yet another thrilling comeback for a win.

The Trojans of 2007 will long be remembered by the coaching staff as a team of overacheivers.  We were behind in every game and could have easily quit and let the other team have the game.  This bunch of Trojans refused to quit.  They were fighters to the end.  They never gave up.  This bunch of Trojans won more games than anybody expected them to win.  I am very proud to have been a part of such a tough, gritty bunch of players that refused to listen to what others said about their chances of success.  This Trojan team won because they worked hard, they believed in themselves, their team, and their coaches.  The 2007 New Hope Trojans have established a foundation on which a top notch program can be built.  The coaching staff will not let future editions of the Trojans forget the sacrifices made by the 2007 Trojans to establish the foundation for future success.  May God Bless these young men for their sacrifice, committment, and effort.  The 2008 off-season program starts Monday!

Go Trojans!

Coach B

Caledonia Post Game

The New Hope Trojans welcomed their arch rival and division 4, 4A foe Caledonia to Trojan Field Friday night and escaped with a 13-12 win in a thriller.  The win improves the Trojans record to 5-4 overall and more importantly, 3-3 in division play.  The Trojans remain in the playoff picture with the win and will qualify for the playoffs if Kosciusko beats West Lauderdale this Friday night.  Caledonia drops to 3-6 overall and 1-4 in division.  The Trojans will play the Ridgeland Titans at Ridgeland (near Jackson) on November 9 if Kosciusko wins against West Lauderdale.  A West Lauderdale win will eliminate the Trojans due to the 3 way tiebreaker rule, even though the Trojans defeated West Lauderdale head to head. 

Caledonia took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field behind some nice running by their running back and quarterback.  This is not what we had seen in the previous games from the Confederates on film.  They did an outstanding job of executing and played with a lot of spirit and passion.  Our defense had trouble adjusting to this different style that Caledonia was playing, but finally forced the Confederates into a 3rd and 5 from the 7.  Caledonia threw a pass toward the endzone that was over the receiver’s head and landed right in one of our defensive backs hands at the 2 and he returned the interception 98 yards for a score.  The PAT was successful and we had a 7-0 lead.  Caledonia then moved the ball to midfield on their next possession before our defense held them and forced a punt.  Their punter pinned us back at the 10 with a good punt.  After we had made a first down, one of our running backs did not take the handoff from the quarterback cleanly and fumbled at the 23.  Caledonia moved in for their first points on a nice throw and catch from their quarterback to their big play receiver from the 10.  Their PAT was wide left and the score remained 7-6 until the end of the half.

Caledonia came out and executed the surprise onside kick to perfection to start the second half.  Our players were ready for the play as the coaching staff repeatedly told our guys to be ready for it, but Caledonia just did a great job of executing.  After a penalty on us for a late hit, Caledonia had the ball at the 24.  They scored quickly on another nice throw from their quarterback to take the lead 12-7.  They tried to throw for a 2 point conversion but the attempt failed .  This would prove very important later.  With both teams mainly running the ball, each possession was critical as the clock moved at a steady pace.  After an exchange of possessions, the Trojans took over late in the 3rd quarter at our own 20 yard line.  Using some nice runs from several players and executing a couple of crucial 3rd down plays, we moved down the field in 16 plays to take the lead with about 9 minutes to play on a 3 yard run by our running back.  We decided to try for 2 as well to increase the lead to 3 points, thus keeping a field goal from beating us, but our quarterback was cut down just short of the goal to leave the score at 13-12.  Our defense then stiffened and held Caledonia on their next possession.  Caledonia then recovered a muffed punt at our 30 yard line, but our defense came up big again and held the Confederates to 5 yards on 4 plays.  Our offense then moved down the field and ate up all but 40 seconds of the game clock.  Caledonia then tried to throw the ball down field but was unsuccessful and we were able to hold on for the win. 

The coaching staff is very proud of our players for the effort that they have given this entire season.  Friday night’s game was just another example of how far our program has come in 12 months.  As with every other game this season, we had several chances to quit and give up, but our guys kept fighting and made the plays that they had to make against a well prepared team that fought as hard as they could all night long.  In looking at the game in terms of effort, neither team deserved to lose.  Both teams played very hard and from a coaching standpoint, it was a beautiful game to watch unfold.  The Trojans must put this emotional win behind them and get ready to play their final game of the season against non-division foe Houston.  Game time will be at 7:00 at Houston.  Please make your plans to travel to Houston next Friday to support the Trojans.

The Touchdown Club will meet at 7:30 in the cafeteria on Monday night.  Please make your plans to come out and plan support for our team.  If anyone has not received your mug by now, please call the school and let me know so we can get you your mug.

Go TROJANS!

Coach B

Caledonia Pre-Game

The Trojans will play host to county rival Caledonia tonight at 7:00pm at Trojan Field.  The Trojans come into the game with an overall record of 4-4 and have a 2-3 record in division play.  Caledonia enters the game with a record of 3-5 and has a record of 1-3 in division.  This game carries possible playoff implications for both teams so the stakes are even higher this year than most for this cross-county matchup. 

Caledonia has an explosive offense with several playmakers that can make things happen from anywhere on the field.  Their quarterback is a tough, gritty player that throws the ball with a lot of zip, gets rid of the ball quickly, and he is fairly accurate with his throws.  Caledonia has several receivers that can go and catch the ball in a crowd.  These guys also possess good speed which makes them a threat to take the ball the distance at any time.   They have a couple of good running backs that do a good job of looking for seams in their spread attack.  The offensive line for the Feds is not as big as some we have faced, but they really come off the ball and do an excellent job of giving the quarterback enough time to throw. 

On defense, the Confederates line up in an even man front most of the time.  Their defensive line is very active and does a good job of keeping their linebackers free to make plays.  Caledonia’s linebacker corps is very solid with a couple of players that really impressed our coaching staff with their ability to get to the football quickly.  In the secondary, Caledonia has a couple of experienced defensive backs that are smart, gritty players.  They do an outstanding job of maintaining position on the receivers that they line up against and look to make the big play.  The Feds cover well in the special teams and their punter, who is also the quarterback, does a good job of keeping the ball away from the return man. 

I want to encourage our fans to arrive at the game early, dress warmly in black, and get ready to cheer our Trojans on to a victory this evening. 

GO TROJANS!

Coach B