25 teams in 25 days: Stone Tomcats

Our next stop of this years 25 teams in 25 days takes us to Wiggins as the Stone Tomcats are looking to continue their upward trajectory under a second year head coach and a team full of leaders from top to bottom.

The Tomcats goal this year is simple, “Winning. That is our only goal, winning.”

After a year that saw Stone high come just a few plays away from making the playoffs – it’s clear what the mindset is from the players, coaches, and the surrounding community. If there is one the thing Tomcats will do, it’s compete.

“We feel like we are close,” coach Jacob Aycock said. “We are preaching to our guys; how can we get one play better? It’s not just one play overall but it is one play each day. If we get better, one plays each day throughout the summer then we feel like we should be competitive with anybody on our schedule.”

Ability to compete gives the Tomcats a chance no matter who they are lined up against. If you ask senior linebacker Dalton Stringer, who led the team in tackles last season as a junior, there is one more thing that gives the Tomcats an edge this season compared to last.

“We are way more prepared than we were last year,” Stringer said. “We have a lot of new players, a lot of seniors left last year – filling those spots in – it’s filling in nicely.”

If you ask senior running back Kylan Burnett, being more prepared is just the beginning to a successful season.

“To me, chemistry is everything on a Friday night,” Burnett said. “So, our quarterback needs to have trust in our receiver, running backs have to trust the offensive line, so it is a big deal to me.”

There’s no denying that the Stone high Tomcats have the “want” to go out and be successful. But what makes this team special is their dedication and drive to put the pieces together to stack wins throughout the regular season and, potentially, into this upcoming season.

“It means a lot to me, and like, I love it,” Burnett said. “It’s my last year, you know, I have dedicated to it and being on a field it just makes me happy overall – I’m ready to go to the next level.”

“It’s tough to tell our guys to take it day by day when we are coming in and thinking about the first game and the first week but you know it is in the back of their mind,” coach Aycock said. “We got roughed up a little bit week one, responded and played a tough game – a really close game – week two. So, it is things that we are constantly reminding them of.”

“As far as the progression has gone, I think it has gone greatly,” Stringer said. “We have really grown as a program and I think we are going to do really great thing this year.”

Stone high and thee Tomcats will open up their 2024 regular season on the road against the Biloxi Indians, a rematch of last years week on matchup, on Friday, August 30th.