Summer workouts have wrapped, and the Meridian High Wildcats are looking forward to this year’s season.

This was the first offseason without many COVID-19 restrictions or modified schedules since head coach John Douglass arrived in 2019.

“The entire offseason has been pretty good,” Douglass said. This is really the first year where we were completely normal. We got 10 to 12 weeks in the weight room, spring practices, and full summer workouts.”

The Wildcats will return with 19 seniors this season, and Douglass said that many of his players have grown and are more experienced.

“This is a lot more seniors we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Douglass said. “Some of those seniors have stepped up as leaders, and I think it’s really contributed to us having a positive offseason.”

The Wildcats finished 5-7 last season but took this summer to learn about staying resilient during challenging situations.

“As the season progresses, the competition does get tougher,” he said. “We talk to our kids all the time about being resilient, not just when things go right but when things do go right, you still have to come back with that same mentality.”

“The goal of any football team is to be playing your best football in November. We’re just going to take it one week at a time,” Douglass added.

Running the Show

Playing quarterback this season is senior Mark Smith, who’s started for the Wildcats for the past two seasons.

“He’s a super smart kid with a high football IQ,” Douglass said. “I have no complaints over the job he’s done over the last couple of years. He does everything that we ask, and he keeps us out of bad situations. He’s going to make good decisions and keep us in a position to have successful plays.”

The mission for this season

Douglass said his ultimate goal this season is to get Meridian High football back to the top.

“Over the last three years, we haven’t performed up to the Meridian High School standards,” he said. “We could sit here and blame that on many things like COVID, but at the end of the day, we have to be better.”

Each year the Wildcats have continued to grow, and Douglass believes this season they will be a lot better.

“We went from winning two games to winning five games last year, and we’re gonna be a better football team than we were last year,” he said. “Does that equate to a championship? That’s up to the members of this team.”

“I tell them their attitude, work ethic, and their preparation each and every week will determine how far we go.”

“If we take care of those things, we’re going to be where we need to be in November to position ourselves to have an opportunity to do something pretty good,” Douglass added.

The full schedule for the Wildcats’ football season: