Named Watson Chapel High School football coach in November, Maurice Moody established a full preseason with the Wildcats in hopes of turning around a team that went 0-8 last season.
"The coaches and I were just talking -- 'Man, I don't feel nervous because we were doing this in January,' Moody said. "We got a chance to come in during January and lay the foundation and build that culture. The kids bought in, so now we're just fine-tuning things and getting fired up about the season."
Watson Chapel wrapped up a busy summer under its new leader with 7-on-7 and team camps. Nearly 60 players have been working out, Moody said, with nearly 100% participating.
"When you get in and get some team camps in and some 7-on-7s, you have guys participating and you got them here, that's the sign of a program trending in the right direction, and that's where we are right now, and we're just going to continue and put our keep in the dirt, keep grinding and keep getting better," said Moody, who succeeded Jared Dutton as coach and athletic director.
Upward is the only direction the Wildcats can take after an injury-plagued season kept them from challenging their opponents down to the wire. Their closest defeat was a season-opening 46-28 loss at Pine Bluff High School last August, and they also suffered a 36-14 home loss at the hands of Moody's Jacksonville squad last October.
Moody coached the Titans the past two seasons after a long run at Little Rock McClellan (since merged into Little Rock Southwest) that included two state championship game appearances. Watson Chapel last won a game Oct. 23, 2020, against Beebe, and Moody is now charged with turning around a team that's lost 11 in a row since then. (A game against Hot Springs Lakeside last September was canceled due to several covid-19 quarantines within the Wildcats' program.)
"We developed some mental toughness, and that's one thing I was looking for, some cohesiveness on both units of the football," Moody said. "We just got better, I thought, and they played extremely hard. We were in team camps, and we were playing them like we were playing in real games. The competition was at a high level, so I'm excited about where we are right now."
Players like senior two-way lineman K.J. Sims and senior wideout/defensive back T.J. Jackson are confident they'll exceed predictions and escape the cellar of the realigned 5A-Central, which will include Pine Bluff and White Hall this year. The players credit the lengthy offseason they've spent with Moody for building their confidence.
"It gives you a jump on building relationships with the kids, getting your scheme in, you and the coaching staff," Moody said. "It has positives written all over when you're able to come in early on and start building a program. I was able to do some things."
First-year Watson Chapel High School Coach Maurice Moody supervises the first day of practice Monday. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)More News
NoneWatson Chapel Wildcats 2022 football schedule
(All games start at 7 p.m.)
Aug. 26Home vs. Texarkana
Sept. 2at Ouachita Christian (La.)
Sept. 9Home vs. Pine Bluff*
Sept. 16at Mills*
Sept. 23Home vs. Robinson*
Sept. 30at Morrilton*
Oct. 7OFF
Oct. 14at Vilonia*
Oct. 21at Maumelle*
Oct. 28Homecoming vs. Beebe*
Nov. 4Home vs. White Hall*
* — 5A-South Conference game