LE ROY — The Southern Coffey County High School’s new head football coach Zach Mason unveiled the Titans’ new uniforms while introducing himself during Tuesday’s parent meeting.
With their last victory coming in a 54-6 blowout of Southern Cloud Co-op in 2023, the coach and uniforms reflect a new era for the Titans’ who went 0-9 last season.
“It’s nice just seeing the parents tonight, so if they see me out and about, they can introduce themselves,” Mason said. “This was cool. I’m back in a smaller school. It’s 6-man. I feel like camps have been pretty good. We have a good group of kids who listen and are coachable. It’s all a coach can ever want.”
Before coming to Le Roy, Mason served as a coach for the Uniontown Eagles. Following a 3-6 finish last season and fourth in the Three Rivers Conference with a 1-3 record, Mason will start with a clean slate at Southern Coffey.
However, adjusting from 11-man football to the quirks of 6-man football takes time.
The Kansas State High School Activities Association did not officially sanction 6-man football for a state championship until 2022.
In 6-man, every player is an eligible receiver. First downs are 15 yards instead of 10, which opens the field because they are 40 yards wide and 80 yards long instead of 53 yards wide and 100 yards long.
“The quarterback can hand the ball off or throw it, but he can’t run,” Mason said. “If he gets it and tosses it, then that person can run, throw or do whatever. It has quirks to it, but I’ve done a lot of homework and talking to people. We’ll see how it goes. If we can be creative, then we will be alright.”
Along with the different football rules, Mason also had to adjust to the new four-day school schedule.
SCC also has stricter academic eligibility rules than KSHSAA requirements, which allows two Fs per semester while SCC students could miss games for having multiple Ds.
“You have to start somewhere, and we’ve done some incentives and things so hopefully our numbers will increase,” Mason said.
“It’s been interesting. Success the last couple of years has been low. We’re just going to start with the fundamentals.
“I’m not under the pressure of being where a coach has been there 40 years and winning state titles.”
While many schools begin practicing Thursday, SCC will not begin their preseason preparations until Monday.
The Titans will not participate in a jamboree this season. Instead, they will jump right into the regular season Sept. 19 against Marais des Cygnes Valley.
“Being able to start with the fundamentals, getting our verbiage in and getting to start from square one is going to be nice,” Mason said.
