Malone excited to return to LHS lineup

Playing in Class 6A-II is never easy but when a team has four or five starters standing on the sidelines, it makes the task of competing even tougher.

Two of those on the sidelines for Lawton High School are the leaders on both sides of the ball, quarterback Jaden Olmstead and linebacker Tamarcus Malone. This week both of those key players are expected to return to the starting lineup, just in time for Friday’s road game against No. 2 Deer Creek-Edmond.

Malone, a 6-0, 230-pound senior linebacker, was leading LHS in tackles when he left the lineup with a concussion, one of five suffered by members of the team.

The feeling was one that left Malone feeling depressed and eager to return.

“It is very hard to sit on the sidelines,” Malone said during a break in practice Tuesday morning. “I know my team needed me and it made me mad that I couldn’t be out there for them.

“And, because this is my senior season, that only made it worse. You think that your senior season is going to be special and you are ready to play every game. But in my case the feeling was more like my senior season was going to end without getting to play in every game.”

Malone wanted to start the week with a strong practice.

“Right now, we just need to fight and as our coaches stress every week; it all starts on Monday,” he said. “We have to practice hard to get better. We had a decent Monday practice this week but decent isn’t good enough when you are fighting to make the playoffs. It’s hard at times but you just have to fight forward and just keep going.”

While football is at the front of his mind this week, in the classroom there are priorities as well.

“I would say that my favorite class right now is Algebra II,” Malone said. “I would like to go to college and earn a business degree. I’m not sure where I might end up after college but I am thinking about exploring the options in Texas.”

While video games might have been on his agenda in his younger days, that has changed now.

“Right now, I am just trying to get enough sleep and when I have time I work on my car,” Malone added. “It’s not anything special, just a normal car.”

When it comes to his choice of foods, he says mom Jennifer Malone is his favorite chef.

“My mom makes this great meal with spaghetti, cornbread and fish,” he said. “She puts a little sugar in her cornbread and that makes is special. And when it comes to her spaghetti sauce she takes the stuff in a jar and adds her own ingredients to make it amazing. That is my favorite meal.”

Friday Malone has a plan for the Wolverines and his goal is to try and leave a positive attitude with the younger players.

“I just want us to play hard and leave it all on the field,” he said. “This bunch (Deer Creek-Edmond) can run and pass and their quarterback has to be contained. He’s a big old tough kid who we have to control.

“We have this bunch Friday and then Choctaw and these are both challenges for us. You could sense how much the win last week (55-26 over Northwest Classen) had for our confidence. It meant a good deal to everyone to just get a win.”