Adesola, Owls ready for final non-district test

Football is a great game for many reasons but one thing that many coaches enjoy is seeing new students arrive on campus and finding ways to acclimate them into their sports.

Elgin used to be a small commuter community with many farmers and ranchers, plus others who work at Fort Sill, Goodyear or one of the other Lawton businesses.

In recent years it has become one of the fastest growing towns in Oklahoma and more and more military families are putting down roots in Elgin and that in turn has spurred major growth in the Elgin Public Schools.

Those military families are very diverse; some have children who are involved in band, speech or drama and some are athletes.

The Adesola brothers—Michael, Josh and Caleb—arrived five years ago and it didn’t take them long to make an impact with their athletic and academic skills.

Michael graduated in May and is now playing football at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Josh is a senior wide receiver/cornerback who stands 6-0 and tops the scales at 170 pounds, and Caleb is a freshman who is a lineman for Elgin.

Tuesday, we sat down with Josh and he is like many athletes, he’s rather quiet and lets his play on the field do his talking.

“I love playing football and I appreciate the hard work it takes to play on offense and defense,” Josh said. “I play offense and defense, but I’ve played defense longer and I like it a little more.

“The thing about playing cornerback is that you are going to face some good receivers. You need quickness and strength, however, you also have to be mentally tough. I’m not much of a talker but I try to do what I’ve been taught.”

This week the Owls will host Newcastle Friday and Adesola says the Racers have some talented players and they can’t overlook this challenge.

“They are a tough opponent, and they have some big players on the line,” he said. “We have to be disciplined and just do what we’ve been taught.”

The Elgin defense has a wealth of experienced players including linebacker Colyn Donnelly, one of the best defenders in the state.

“It is great to have players like Colyn,” Josh said. “He gets the signals from Coach (defensive coordinator Jack) Baker and is a great linebacker but we have a large group of good players on defense.”

Adesola gives Baker credit for making him a better cornerback.

“Coach Baker is great to play for,” he said. “He knows this defense and he gets us in the right position and he is very detailed when it comes to our alignment. He inspires us all to get better every day. His favorite saying is to ‘play with violence.’ I knew I needed to be a better tackler and I worked hard in the spring and summer to improve in that area.”

Adesola also said he benefited from wrestling.

“Wrestling really helps you develop good footwork, it teaches you about leverage and it helps you learn more about using your upper-body strength,” he said.

Adesola is currently taking two college courses, American Popular Music and Algebra and is eager to pursue a career as an athletic trainer or physical therapist.

While the Owls are already drawing lofty rankings, Adesola issued a warning.

“We all remember the teams in our new district from our junior high days. However, we might be a bigger school now, but we have to prepare hard each week,” he said. “We can’t overlook any team.”