By Ike House
The Cougars are ready to open up the season against Rosa Fort tonight and they will have a challenge on their hands with a lot of changes in the offseason.
Not only are the Cougars rebuilding with a young team but they are starting off with a new head coach, Carl Diffee, who said he is ready for the season.
“Well, it’s still business as usual in terms of excitement. I try to not get too high or too low before, during, or after a game,” Diffee said. “My focus is on Rosa Fort and making sure our kids are prepared and ready. I will say that the first game of the season always carries a little more excitement that the rest.”
With a young defense for the Cougars, they will have a lot to do in order to slow the big play offense of the Lions. They will have to slow down the athletes in Tunica as for the past two years the home team has won the game.
“Well they are always athletic and talented like you said, and we certainly respect their ability to move up and down the field. Our focus this week has centered around our intensity and our execution,” Diffee said. “The kids and coaches feel confident in our game plan for Friday night and we are going to get after them. They are a talented bunch and you can’t just sit back and hope they don’t get loose.”
Diffee said the offense he puts together will be a pass heavy set. Last week in their jamboree against Horn Lake, they were a balanced offense and running backs Jamal Leverson and Lavonte Towns saw most of the touches but quarterback Kenneth Jefferson threw 13 passes.
“The game always dictates the mixture of run to pass for me. We think we match up well in the run game and passing game versus Rosa Fort,” Diffee said.
For a lot of the players this will be their first time playing football in a real game and for some this will be their first time starting. The Cougars have a lot of players this year and will have to rotate continually. That is something the Cougars have not had in years.
“Everyone is ready. The coaches, players, managers, fans, students; everyone is ready for football season. Summer and fall camp are always a grind and this year was no exception,” Diffee said. “Fifty of the 56 kids on the team this year didn’t miss one summer workout or practice. So the majority of our kids have been rocking and rolling for two straight months.”
The Cougars will be in Tunica tonight and kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

North Panola’s Demarco Smith brought down this Horn Lake runner in last week’s Oxford Jamboree. The Cougars are ready to open the season at Rosa Fort tonight at 7 p.m.
The Panolian photo by Ike House