Great coaches often say winning is a habit. For head coach Robby Pruitt and the Coffee County Trojans, making winning a habit is their prime goal heading into the 2016 season.
Pruitt, who took over the Trojans in 2012 with 293 career wins, has posted back-to-back 10-win campaigns due in part to a very productive offense and a stout defense.
The Trojans averaged 29.8 points per game, while yielding just 10 points per game defensively. Though the Trojans were knocked out of the playoffs, they are looking to go further behind experienced returners such as quarterback Max Hughes.
“A strength for us offensively is we have our quarterback (Hughes) coming back,” Pruitt said. “He had a good junior year, so he’s got some experience under his belt. We have an experienced running back and we’ve got two or three offensive linemen coming back.”
Considering how well the Trojans fared last season, it seems difficult on the surface to find any weaknesses. Pruitt still believes there are holes to be filled in the summer on both sides of the football.
“We’ve still got to find some receivers and another half of the offensive line.” Pruitt said. “Defensively, if all our kids make it through the summer, our defensive line should be one of our strengths as well.”
The defensive backfield tandem of the Jeffersons, Marquavius and Jarquavius, offers a nice compliment to what hopes to be another strong defensive unit. Jarquavius recorded 58 tackles last season (41 solo) while also snagging four interceptions and swiping six pass deflections. These tallies earned Jarquavius an All-State honorable mention. Both sophomores in 2015, the Jefferson twins saw significant action last season, which Pruitt sees as a major asset.
“There’s strength at corner back also,” Pruitt said of his set of twins in the backfield. “Both were starting as sophomores and that was both their first year playing football. They should be a little bit better, one of them (nearly) made All-State with (four) interceptions on the year.”
In the first two seasons under Pruitt, the Trojans managed a .500 record (10-10). With back-to-back 10-win seasons and playoff berths combined with a move to Region 1-6A, Pruitt vows to continue pushing his group to make winning the standard at Coffee County.
“Every year is a new year,” Pruitt said. “You just try to build off what you did. We’ve won 10 games the last two years in a row. We’d feel a whole lot better if we were in the same region as opposed to the one we’re going into. We’re going into an awfully tough region. We’ve got to continue to work hard; try to get our program where it needs to be. We’re still not there yet. We’re still trying to build a consistent, winning culture here, and we’re working hard to get our kids in that mindset.”
Coffee County Trojans
Trojans Hope To Build Winning Culture In New Region
Written by Shane Thomas
Photo by Coffee County High School
