Lions hear football coach talk about more than the game

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By Cheryl Owens

Mississippi Spirit

The Morton Lions Club got a little taste of football, a little talk about the upcoming season and, perhaps most importantly, a lesson about what really matters when Morton High School football coach Zach Jones stopped by the club’s Tuesday, Aug. 11, meeting.

Jones brought two of his players with him, quarterback and part-time defensive back and linebacker Jaylin Stowers and cornerback Dolph McDonald. Both players have received Division I college offers, but Jones said their accomplishments on the football field aren’t the only things that make him proud.

“The best thing about them is they are great kids,” Jones told the Lions. “They are two of our leaders and hard workers.”

Jones, who is in his 24th year in education, said he is often asked if he is getting tired of coaching.

The answer is a simple no.

He said a recent practice reminded him exactly why he still loves what he does.

The Panthers were running through their offensive plays when Stowers, who Jones has encouraged for the past two years to become a more vocal leader, began urging his teammates on.

“He was steadily on the offense chanting, ‘Hey, let’s go. Let’s get to where we are going,’” Jones said.

For Jones, moments like that are what coaching is all about.

“Just watching kids getting better with something every day is still fun to me,” he said. “Watching those offensive linemen learn to take a six-inch step instead of a 10-inch step—that’s fun to me. That’s more fun to me than the ballgame, to be honest with you.”

Jones said he loves going to practice and watching young people improve, whether that improvement comes on the football field or in life.

And if the Panthers’ summer is any indication, there is plenty to be excited about this season.

“We have a really good football team coming back and a lot of talent,” Jones said. “I think it’s the best team since I’ve been at Morton as a whole.”

Morton currently has 52 players on the team, with 15 starters returning from last season and 14 seniors.

Jones said the Panthers put in plenty of work during the summer, with players showing up day after day unless they were away for a basketball game or college visit.

He gave special credit to Coach Elijah McDonald, who runs the team’s conditioning program.

“It’s not for the faint of heart,” Jones said with a laugh. “Coach Elijah McDonald runs our strength program and he is tough, and that’s probably an understatement.”

That hard work, Jones said, has paid off.

Football isn’t easy, and Mississippi’s summer heat certainly doesn’t make it any easier.

“Football is hard. All sports are hard, but football is hot,” Jones said. “You’re out there wearing all that gear and hitting people.”

Jones said he believes football is one of the toughest sports and, perhaps more importantly, one that can teach young men valuable lessons about toughness, perseverance, hard work and being a good person.

Those lessons, he said, can last much longer than a football season.

“I hope the lessons we teach them every day about being tough, persevering, working hard and being a good person carry over to them 10 years down the road when they become fathers and daddies,” Jones said. “That’s the most important thing to me.”

Jones became especially reflective when talking about his own father, who died in 2018.

He said he has always been competitive and has always wanted to win. Since beginning his coaching career, he has been a part of approximately 225 wins.

But losing his father changed his perspective.

“I would trade every ballgame if I knew in 10 years down the road they are good daddies, good husbands and good citizens,” Jones said.

He quickly added that he still believes those lessons will help lead to wins on the football field—and with the talent the Panthers have returning this season, he believes Morton has a legitimate chance to have a special year.

The Lions also heard about the precautions being taken to keep players safe during the hot summer practices.

Jones explained that the coaching staff monitors the wet-bulb temperature, which takes humidity, temperature and other conditions into account. He said a coach checks the reading about every 20 minutes during hot-weather practices and the team follows the restrictions set by the Mississippi High School Activities Association.

Depending on the wet-bulb reading, practice times, equipment and required rest breaks are adjusted. When temperatures become too high, outdoor practice is not allowed.

“We are probably going to be in the gym a lot for the next two weeks,” Jones said.

He said the rules may be inconvenient, but he has no intention of taking chances with his players.

“The most important reason is that I couldn’t live with myself if we went out there and practiced and something happened to a kid when we weren’t supposed to be out there,” he said.

Jones also talked about some of the changes to high school football this season, including restrictions on certain one-on-one contact drills.

While he understands the safety concerns, he said there are times when coaches need to see players compete for positions, particularly among offensive and defensive linemen.

Still, the safety of his players remains his first responsibility.

Jones also made sure to thank the Morton community for the support it gives the football program.

Whether it is through the booster club, donations, churches feeding the players or simply cheering the Panthers on Friday nights, Jones said the team could not do it without the community.

He especially enjoys taking the players to local churches for meals.

“I like going to the churches to eat,” he said. “We may carry a kid to church that’s never been there, and two weeks later he shows back up at church.”

Those visits give community members an opportunity to put faces with the players they cheer for on Friday nights. They also give the players a chance to learn how to interact with adults and become comfortable talking with people in the community.

And this year’s players have their eyes set high.

Stowers told the Lions he believes the Panthers can have a very successful season.

“I feel like we are going to do great things this season,” he said. “We want to be different from last year and make an impact this year and go far. I feel like we should be undefeated this year if we put our minds to it.”

McDonald echoed that optimism.

“I feel really great about this year,” he said. “We have a bunch of young guys who have come to work. We should have a good team.”

Jones said his players have earned the right to be excited.

“They have worked hard and done everything we have asked them to do and gotten better every day,” he said. “It’s exciting to watch them be on the field and carry that over from the weight room to the field.”

The Panthers aren’t shy about their expectations, either.

“We have the expectations and put them on ourselves,” Jones said. “We feel like we have a chance to have a really, really good football team that could win a division championship and make a run in the playoffs.”

For Jones, though, the measure of a successful season will stretch far beyond the scoreboard.

Winning is important. So is seeing a young player find his voice, learn to work hard, encourage his teammates and become a better person.

And if the Panthers can do all of that while putting a few more wins on the board, well, that would make for one mighty fine football season in Morton.