Lions rebuilding in 2026

School starts back Aug. 3, and coach Mario Lane said he will be walking the halls of H.W. Byers looking for more football players.

He suited up just 13 Lions in the spring jamboree May 8 at Potts Camp.

“I hope we have enough to have a team,” Lane said. “We have to take a different approach and generate more interest in playing football.”

He hopes last season’s success helps bring more athletes to the football field. The Lions, in Lane’s first year at the helm, advanced to the second round of the Class 1A state playoffs and finished with a 7-4 record. Several key players were lost to graduation, including standout quarterback Corey Willis Jr.

Top returnees include junior Kesean Lafrance, sophomore Cassell Vaughn, sophomore Derrick Malone and junior Andreco O’Neal. Vaughn will likely make the move to quarterback.

“We will be extremely young – not a lot of experience,” Lane said.

The schedule includes just eight games. The opener is Thursday, Aug. 27, at Byhalia. That will be followed by a home date on Friday, Sept. 4, versus Holly Springs. Other non-district opponents include East Union, O’Bannon and St. George’s. Region 2-1A foes, the last three weeks of the regular season, are Potts Camp, Falkner and Ashland.

One thing did stand out from the spring jamboree, and he fully expects that to carry over to August.

“We played hard; we competed well,” Lane said. “I was pleased with the effort.”