Flashing lights. Cheers from the student section. The band plays the fight song as the football team is forced into a fourth down as vibrations fill the air. Logan Ahern (12) steps up — cold as ice — focused only on scoring the field goal as the stadium hushes. Robert Gipson (12), the holder, catches the snap, places it with pinpoint precision and spins the ball. With unwaning resolve — Ahern runs up — digging his cleats into the ground, and swings his legs forward, driving the ball through the yellow goalposts 40 yards away. 

Coach Teran Conley is in his 23rd year of coaching overall and is in his second year of coaching the football team at White Station. Conley previously coached Briarcrest and Rossville Christian Academy and was at First Assembly as a defensive coordinator. Conley has a 19-man staff, including a former NFL player, supporting him in ways such as fundraising, holding the players accountable and keeping the team disciplined.

“It’s definitely not just a Teran Conley thing,” Conley said. “I had some really good hires, we had a really good plan in the offseason before we started. I have some really good coordinators that do a really good job of meeting with their guys to make sure their kids stay motivated every week. My coaches and my kids are bought in.”

In the 23-24 season, the football team is in year two of a four-year rebuilding process. This is the football team’s first year with a preseason to prepare and learn to flourish under Conley’s and his staff’s tactics. The preseason is imperative to a team’s success as they use this to strengthen themselves physically and mentally. 

 “The offseason. We had the chance to have an offseason and we won the offseason,” Conley said. We did a really good job in the offseason of getting them stronger, in shape, and staffing. We were able to get a lot of things done.”

This year’s team already won two games, matching the record from the 22-23 season. 

“I am expecting more wins this season because of how good we have gotten in such a short time.” Kimerious Hamilton (12) said. “Even if we lose it will be [by] such a small margin. We are going to fight for everything we have.”

As a part of the rebuilding process, the team has been training with greater intensity. Training consists of watching game film, running agility drills, weightlifting and conditioning. The team is constantly pushing to improve, striving for new personal records in facets like greater weights and reps as well as faster times.

“We start off after a game on Monday watching film, going over what we did wrong and looking over the film for the next team so we know what we are going up against,” Hamilton said. “Then we start off with some weight training so we can get a pump and stay strong. Then we go outside as a team to get stretched up and run through our offensive and defensive plays to make sure we stay locked in and we have our plays down pat and to stay up to par with what we play against.”

After a rough season last year of two wins to eight losses, the coaches have been driving their players to become the best they can be. They have worked to increase team morale and better the team’s mental state, and their fruits of labor are already evident.

“Our mental state [has improved],” Jake Parker (12) said. “Before they showed up, we were kind of free, we didn’t have our eyes on the goal. Every game we are losing by a possession. We are fighting these games, win or lose.”

The coaches have achieved this by setting up accountability groups of ten to twelve players, divided by grade. Acting as father figures to the players, the coaches motivate them to continue on and stay focused on the team and their goals. 

“They make sure the discipline part is there,” Conley said. “If they see something, they deal with it. They’re dads first, more than anything. They’re dads then coaches … each week, each group has to discuss a thing, find something motivational, and teach it to the team.”

This year, the players and the coaches are hoping and striving to reach the playoffs.

“If we do what we need to do, I am hoping we can make it to the playoffs if we can.” Matthew Herring (12) said.