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Lanett will be starting off Chambers County football at home on Friday. The Panthers open their season against Bullock County. 

The Panthers enter the season with a new head coach and an experienced team. RJ McDonald, former LHS assistant coach, has taken over head coaching duties this year. He hopes to use his mature team to improve on last season’s 4-6 record. 

“We’re getting after it, you kind of tell the intensity level is going up a little bit. The focus is really good. Just trying to keep it business as usual and trying to be 1-0 each week.”

Lanett’s last two seasons have seen young teams. This year, the field will have many returning starters. McDonald has spent previous seasons as the Offensive Coordinator. The O-line will be one of the panther’s strengths this year.

“I really want to see what they look like on a Friday night. Are they as good as advertised, like we think they are, and they can play to that upper echelon of 2A football.”

A question mark going into this season was who will be the starting quarterback. Riontae Zeigler will start on Friday night as QB1. However, Fred Broughton will also be getting some snaps this season.  

“Riontae [Zigler] has had a really good Fall. He’s kind of led the troops and done a really good job leading the offense, just making sure we’re all lined up in the right spots,” McDonald said. “The keys are gonna be his for the start now. He’s got to go show it and we all have full faith that he’s gonna do that.”

Lanett has won both games played against Bullock County, however the last time the two met was in 1995. Bullock County is also coming off of a 4-6 year but as a larger 4A school.

“[Bullock County is] a super athletic football team…They’re real big, physical,” said McDonald. “They have a lot of guys that can run, so they’re gonna present a lot of good challenges for us, and we’re gonna come ready to play.”

McDonald said he learned from longtime Lanett coach and mentor, Clifford Story, that you have to “practice like you play.” The new skipper is emphasizing how important it is to grind during practice, so that come game time the players are ready. 

“I wanna see the guys compete like they’ve been doing all summer long. They’ve really been competing hard, getting after it, especially against bigger schools.”

McDonald and the rest of the coaching staff found games and scrimmages throughout the summer to prepare the team for tough competition and boost their confidence.

“That was something I wanted to do with them this summer, is take them to see these big schools. We got to compete against them and it’s only going to help us get ready for our schedule,” McDonald said. 

The coach said the team did not disappoint. 

“I really wanted to make it an emphasis to take them out and show them [they] can really do this stuff on a high level and they really did. And I’m hoping that’s what I see on Friday night.” 

Lanett kicks off at Panthers Stadium at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday.

“We really hope for a big crowd. These kids deserve it. They’ve really been working their butts off and getting after it. And I just hope that the Panther faithful comes out and supports these kids,” McDonald said.