Lorah wants to continue family coaching tree

There seldom seems to be a career goal that many of the high school football players we interview have in common and in recent seasons there have been more going into trades such as electrical, HVAC or carpentry.

At Elgin there is a trend the other direction where for two straight weeks the players we’ve interviewed had one major goal; return to Elgin to coach football.

That seems to come from a deep love of the current coaching staff, which is surely the case with senior quarterback Tres Lorah. He comes from a family with both parents (Curtis and Tomi) having been coaches and a grandfather, Leroy Horn, who was one of the best secondary coaches to ever walk the sidelines at Lawton High.

Then there is the current staff at Elgin that has turned the program around.

“This staff is special,” Lorah said. “They are so good at getting us in the right spots and getting us ready to play. There is youth on this staff and experience and a great deal of energy every day at practice and at games.

“They’ve helped our senior class grow and they are determined to make this the best season we’ve ever enjoyed.”

The assistant Lorah works with most often is offensive coordinator Adam Castro, a former LHS standout and former coach.

“He is a great offensive coordinator,” Lorah said of Castro. “He calls the right play for the situation and he’s going to get us in position to showcase what we’ve been taught.”

But it is also up to the players to do their own homework which means hours of video work.

“The thing I like to watch is where my passes are hitting the receivers,” Lorah said. “If I throw the ball in a bad position, I try to learn from it and do a better job on the next pass.”

This week the Owls will have a Friday off with a bye after wins over MacArthur and Dallas Hillcrest.

“The plan is to work this week on everything,” he said. “The first game (Mac) we had a lot of penalties but we worked hard on that and had just two last Friday. Now we are just polishing everything and preparing for the next game.”

That next game will be Friday, Sept. 20, at home against a good Newcastle team. After that the Owls will enter Class 4A district play.

“We know that every team we face is going to be ready and give us their best shot,” Lorah said. “This was pretty much the district we were in at one time in junior high and it’s always been a physical district.

“Some of those teams love to ground and pound. We are trying to have a balanced attack. This is the season all us seniors have been preparing for since we started playing together.”

After football, Lorah grabs a baseball and starts preparing for the spring season in that sport. At some point he may have to decide on which to pursue in college.

“I’m just going to wait until after both seasons are over and then see how it goes,” he said. “Right now, I have no idea where I might end up.”

One thing Lorah and the Owls have going for them is an offensive line that is among the best in the state with two seniors already committed to NCAA Division I schools and another that will play in college as well.

“It’s great to have those guys up front,” Lorah said. “Everyone knew about Antoni (Tennessee bound Ogumoro), Jace (Navy-bound Williams) and Shay (Spencer) but Jaxon (Deel) and Hudson (Begley) have really come on strong. There were three guys working at center but Jaxon really worked his tail off and got the job. And, throw in Adam Eaton at tight end and we have an amazing group. Adam has a high ceiling.”

Lorah also had positive words about the Elgin defense.

“This defense is extremely special as well,” Lorah said. “Colyn (Donnelly) runs around and makes plays but Ritson and Kason (Meyer), Braxton Antuna, Phillip Pebeashy are always around the ball and Shay and Jace do a great job up front.”