LHS duo hopes extra week of practice will pay off Friday

Despite an unfavored start to their season, senior Seth Pewewardy and junior Braeden Burrell see a lot of upsides in the team at Lawton High and are ready to prove that their record doesn’t define them as they enter districts.

Burrell is a junior tight end and defensive end for the Wolverines who outside of football also plays baseball, basketball, and runs track. He said his dream following high school would be the opportunity to play college football if that opportunity presents itself. Wherever he settles down for college, he plans on studying sports business.

Even with a few hard losses under their belt, Burrell says the team has been putting all its effort into winning now that districts have rolled around.

“It’s a tough three games we lost, but our coaches always tell us those games are dress rehearsal. We want to win intracity games, but districts are what matters,” said Burrell.

“I feel like if we can make our record 7-3, everyone would think of us as the team to beat. Nobody will look back on these three non-district games we lost if we get wins and focus on the game ahead of us.”

One lesson that he’s learned in his time playing for the Wolverines is to be coachable. If you can do things the right way, it will get you far.

“Being coachable. If you’re not coachable you’re going to have a hard time playing. We have a young team so showing them how to be coachable, listen, go through the playbook, and do all the right things is important. Give them the right example. “

With the first district game just a couple days away, Burrell says that the way to success is by following the coaches’ direction and executing what they’ve worked on.

“We have to be locked in. We can’t be missing tackles and making simple mistakes,” he said. “Our coaches are putting us into the position to do the right thing, so, we need to be mentally and physically ready to go.”

As the team gets into the thick of the season, Burrell says he’s noticed the team growing together and building a bond. Connecting with each other has brought a new spirit to this team.

“We have a shirt that says ‘Always us’ and I feel like our team has figured that out. When you look on both sides of you, you have a brother. Our team is coming together and I’m believing in ‘Always us’,” said Burrell.

His motivation to always play at his best comes from within. Burrell is a competitor and wants to make the most of it each time he goes on the field.

“Knowing that you quit when you have way more in your heart motivates me to keep playing,” said Burrell. “You don’t want to be the person who says, ‘I could’ve been, I should’ve been’, you want to be the best version of yourself right now.”

Pewewardy is a four-year defensive end and tight end for Lawton High. His activities outside of football include baseball and track. Following high school, he plans on going to college to study business and marketing and using that to get into the real estate business. On Friday nights, Pewewardy can’t get enough of the atmosphere inside of Cameron Stadium and says the fans fuel him to do better.

Over the first few games, Pewewardy says that the team has learned from their mistakes and are ready to show that they’re better than their record indicates.

“Honestly, we’ve seen a lot of mental errors. I feel like we’re more locked in now and in the games ahead we’ll do better,” he said.

Lawton High was idle last week, and Pewewardy says that the team put in a lot of reps. To see the success they want, they will need to be ready all week leading up to games and the reps over the bye week are an example of how they’ll be prepared.

“We spent the bye week conditioning and getting mental reps just preparing for what’s ahead. Those reps are important so when game day comes you know what to do. If one person doesn’t know their job it’s going to mess up the whole team,” said Pewewardy.

“It’s important to be prepared mentally the entire week ahead. You’ve got to know your job and what you have to do with the team to see results.”

Looking forward into districts and into the rest of the season, Pewewardy is taking it one game at a time to focus on the new matchup each week. It’s important that the team doesn’t get ahead of itself.

“I want to win all the games ahead of us and make an impact on the younger kids and everyone that looks at us in the community,” said Pewewardy. “You have to take everything one game at a time. Get the first win and keep it going.”