By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
It’s a feel-good story, Southwood shaking off a 46-game losing skid, the state’s longest in high school football, starting this season 2-0.
And it does feel good, says Cowboys’ first-year coach Deaumante Johnson.
But it’s not good enough. Not at all.
It IS good enough to earn Southwood the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Team of the Week honor for Week 3, though.
While Johnson appreciates the recognition, there’s not a strong sense of satisfaction around the program. Relief, certainly, and there is abundant appreciation from the 31-year-old coach.
“Very proud of these guys, of this coaching staff, and thankful for the support of the alumni, the school itself, and the community,” he said, noting the journey to turn around the program is just underway.
“We always have to stay uncomfortable. That’s what I’m preaching to these young players – to have success, you must stay uncomfortable,” he said. “We still have a lot of cleaning up to do, coaches and players, in all three phases. That’s to be expected dealing with a rebuilding program.”
The opening 16-15 victory over Arcadia was undeniably a milestone. Last week’s 50-28 triumph at North Caddo was improvement, said Johnson, but that was to be expected.
“It felt good to win, to not have it come down to the wire. But I wasn’t too happy because we had 115 yards in penalties, and two unsportsmanlike penalties. You don’t win that way very often.
“The first game, there was a lot of nervousness for the kids, not truly believing in themselves that they could win. Let’s be honest, they’ve been down. Getting them to understand preparation through the week will put you in position to win is a vital process. We also needed to be going in understanding these are 1A and 2A teams that as a 4A program, you’re supposed to beat.
“You have to kill a flower with a sledgehammer. There are levels to the game, and when you play smaller schools, you have to handle business. That’s how you build confidence of a football player.”
The mental battle began when he was hired March 17, and it had some fundamental building blocks.
“It took time to build confidence. I had to get them to believe first,” said Johnson. “Showing them you do care about them. The kids don’t care how much you know — until they know how much you care.
“The confidence developed through, honestly, the hiring of the staff. Once the kids began to see who had been hired, they could Google and see their credentials, they could see the success these coaches have had as players and coaches, and knew they would get good guidance. It built up over time, and it’s still building.”
The interest level and desire has been apparent. The Cowboys have 97 players, double the number on hand when Johnson stepped onto the Ranch. Most are sophomores and juniors, with 11 seniors already able to say the turnaround began in their last season.
The on-field approach is simple (although their base schemes are “everything,” Johnson said, citing the advantage of versatility and being a tough team to scout). The core vision is, for a program climbing from the basement, especially bold.
“To come out and dominate. The mindset and approach is the same, we have to have great preparation to succeed. We see success as winning the district championship. People may think I’m crazy, but I’m a winner. It’s the only mindset I have, and that’s the mindset this program is getting,” said Johnson. “Southwood is going to play very disciplined, detailed football.”
There are now game tapes that help that process. There’s more than belief, there’s documentation.
Last week Southwood brought in sophomore Jamilton Coleman to spell starting quarterback Jayden Carter, and got a spectacular performance: 15 of 21 passing for 281 yards and four touchdowns.
Other offensive standouts so far include two-way player Christian Green, who caught two TD passes, running back Roger Moore and receiver Christian Sheppard.
Defensively the leaders have included linemen Winfred Avant and Kamron Demery.
The Cowboys’ punt game has been very good with Chadarious Rhines’ booming hang time that has contributed to a pair of forced fumbles.
Now the Cowboys find themselves in an early-season matchup of unbeatens to begin District 1-4A competition. They will host 3-0 Loyola Thursday night at Independence Stadium.
The Flyers will be the favorite. That’s understood – an established program with a winning culture against an upstart aiming to earn respect. Now there’s more than hopes and dreams at Southwood – there’s certifiable progress, with more on the horizon.
“We really do have good athletes here, and that’s been understood. They want to get better. Now that they have a sniff of success, they’re all buying in,” said Johnson. “I love their mindset – the 24-hour mindset. These kids do not talk about the games in the past, they figure out what’s next, how to dissect our upcoming opponent to win. That’s how we’re going about it week after week.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com