Duffy, Deans enjoying life with LHS football

Lawton High seniors Connor Duffy and Tavaris Deans are both in their first season playing for the Wolverines, but they say in their time with this team, they’ve seen nothing but positivity and growth.

Receiver Tavaris Deans is playing football for the first time since middle school. Basketball and track were his main sports, but he says that coach Lorenzo Williams convinced him to play and he’s grateful for it.

“Coach Zo got me out here. Without him I wouldn’t be playing. He talked to me about the abilities I have athletically and how I could make an impact playing football,” said Deans.

After last week’s comeback win at Noble, Deans says the Wolverines are trying to keep a level head and focus on the next game each week.

“The team is looking good. We had a slow start, but we’ve gotten closer as a team each week. Towards the end of the season, we’re going to hit our peak and that’s where we want to be. We need to stay disciplined and have that fight and hunger,” said Deans. “We needed to get a win under our belt to show that we can do it and give us more confidence when we go out.”

Deans describe what the Wolverine players are calling the “green team.” The green team gives recognition to players who are consistent each game and is motivation for others on the team to do their best and get named to it.

“We’ve got something called green team. When you’re on the green team, that means you’ve been doing everything right. You’ve been holding yourself accountable, you’ve been disciplined, and you’ve been committed.”

Dean shared how the Wolverines lift each other up following mistakes. For the team, it’s about looking ahead at the next play and not at what’s behind you. In next week’s homecoming matchup against district rival John Marshall, Dean says Lawton High can’t stoop to their rival’s standards.

“We have a saying called park it. Whenever something bad happens, park it, leave it, move on to the next play. You’ve got to have a next play mentality,” said Deans. “We can’t buy into how they’re playing and let them pull us down. Play our game.”

Duffey provides valuable skill

Kicker Connor Duffey is in his first season at Lawton High after transferring from Eisenhower. Outside of football Connor also plays baseball and soccer.

Connor described how he’s seen the team come together as a group since the start of the season and how everyone from staff to the players had a role in that.

“There’s a bunch of new players, coaches, and we’re putting it all together. Every week we’ve been putting it together and cutting down on our errors and it shows. As we go on in the year, I see us knocking down those mental errors and getting better and better,” said Duffey. “They say it’s not about how you start it’s about how you finish. In my opinion it’s good to make mistakes now and improve later and play our best football at the end of the season.

In this week’s matchup against John Marshall on homecoming, Duffey says that he knows their district foes will want the win just as bad as they do so it’s important to stay focused.

“They’re going to come in here thirsty and want to win especially on our homecoming night. I think we’re the better team, but we’ve got to stay humble because when you get ahead of yourself and think too highly that’s when mental errors come out.”

Last week’s comeback win against Noble was important for the team and for Duffey it showed how coaches and players alike will support you and lift you up following a mistake.

“Last game was close, and I made some big mistakes while we were trying to come back. Luckily, I had guys coming up to me and coaches giving me confidence to keep my head up,” said Duffey. “When you make mistakes, you’ve got to come back and be able to be there for your brother. The way to fix a mistake is to make it up with a big play. As a kicker I only have a few shots a game and I don’t want to lose trust with my guys.”

In his time so far at Lawton High, Duffey appreciates how close the team is and how they look out for each other.

“I rely on myself a lot. Coming to LHS, Coach Zo has given me a family and a place to be this year and changed my outlook on how things are and this team has helped me gain trust in others.”