by Whitt Carter (@whittcarter)9/24/2021 8:47:16 AM
posted in: Articles | 3,639 views
First-year Catoosa head coach Christian Hood addresses his team. (Photo by Cindy Garby Queen)
When Christian Hood was hired in March, the new head coach at Catoosa had his work cut out for him.
The Indians hadn’t won a game since October 2019.
Catoosa had only scored 30 points last season and was outscored 170-0 in the final three games.
The program was in need of a complete revival.
But things are changing quickly.
Last Friday, Catoosa beat rival Claremore for the first time since 2007, winning 19-18 to snap an 11-game losing streak and pick up a signature win in only Hood’s third game.
“It was satisfying to see our staff's expectations for our team get met in real time,” said Hood. “I was thrilled to see our first year coordinators on offense, defense and special teams get their first wins as well.”
“Getting our first win against a great 5A program like Claremore, who we haven't beaten in a long time, made it that much better.”
Hood was hired to turn around the program that had experienced nine playoff appearances and two semifinal trips from 2009-2018.
The former Union standout and all-time receptions leader at the University of Central Oklahoma came to Catoosa after spending 2020 as an assistant at Owasso.
Prior to that, Hood was an assistant at UCO from 2015-2019, spending the final three years as offensive coordinator.
Hood’s young energy and presence was felt throughout the offseason and, frankly, it didn’t take long to arrive in-season either.
The Indians showed a ton of promise in a season-opening 20-10 loss to Pryor, as Catoosa trailed by just a score heading into the 4th.
Even in the loss, it showed how far the program had already come in just one game after being blown out by Pryor 44-13 in 2020.
However, the momentum of the encouraging start to the season was elevated even further after last week’s win over Claremore, something Hood hopes can continue going forward.
“I'm hoping we can use the momentum from the win to take our program to another level,” he said. “It was huge for our guys to see how being fully committed to something can translate into an actual win on the scoreboard.”
Hood has also seen growth in the program in ways that aren’t measured on the scoreboard, creating winning habits that ultimately lead to success on the field.
“We've had a lot of small wins along the way that the people on the outside don't see like improving attendance, improving grades and improving attitudes,” Hood said. “We knew if we kept on track, the success on the football field would follow.”
But seeing the clock hit zeros and finally experiencing a win after a tough couple of years was a great feeling for Hood’s team.
“They were overjoyed,” he said. “Football is a weird sport in that you put in so much work for such a limited number of Friday nights. The nature of the game makes losses feel so much worse and wins feel so much better. Going through 11 straight losses is tough so they deserve to be excited about the win that they earned.”
Hood and the Indians are leaning on several key players that have been through the aforementioned tougher times, including senior WR/DB Colyn Treat and senior OL/DL Danny Rowe.
“Colyn has such a good feel for playing the ball in the air from his defensive secondary position,” Hood said. “He's physical coming downhill tackling and carrying the ball on offense as well. We like to design a bunch of different ways on offense to make sure he has the ball in his hands.”
Colyn Treat (Photo by Cindy Garby Queen)
Treat is averaging four yards per carry and 12 yards per catch offensively, and has three picks on defense for the Indians in 2021.
“Danny has had a super disruptive start to his senior year. He sets the tone in practices and games with his toughness. He will give us everything he has effort wise from the first whistle to the last.”
Rowe is the top tackler for Catoosa from his defensive line position, as the senior has 13 stops — four of them for loss — on the year.
Along with those seniors, Hood has a couple of younger contributors that are also making waves already, in freshmen OL/DL Gunner Wilson and WR/DB Deandre Hamilton.
“Gunner starts on both units for us,” Hood said. “He is one of the guys who personifies our motto ‘Every Day, Every Detail.’ He's the same guy day in and day out and takes his technique very serious.
“Deandre Hamilton is the other freshman that starts for us both ways. He is a long defensive back who likes to get his hands on wide receivers and has really helped us against the pass. On offense and defense the sky is the limit for Deandre. Coach (Malik) Walker does a tremendous job pushing and developing Deandre.”
Walker, along with fellow coaches Chase Frazier, Stony Burt, Sal Guerrero and Josh Smith have made Hood’s job easier, as he feels he has put together a staff that is perfect for this program.
“They are all some of the best teachers I've ever been around,” Hood said. “It's been a pleasure to sit back and watch them mentor, teach and motivate our guys.”
“To have a successful football program you need coaches to trust coaches, coaches to trust players, players to trust coaches and players to trust players. We wouldn't have that cycle of trust if it wasn't for the character of our assistant coaches and players.”
That trust has led to some good things already during Hood’s tenure, but he, his staff and the players are continuing to lay the groundwork towards their ultimate goal — winning a state title.
“Our only athletic goal is to win a 4A state championship,” said Hood. “In order to do that, we have a ton of work to do in a lot of different areas and we know that. I never liked adults setting limits on myself as a high school kid so you'll never hear me say our goal is just to win a game, beat a rival or make the playoffs.”
However, the progress made in only six months has been impressive, which is something that is certainly an indicator of more good things to come.
“It's been a slow but consistently progressing process,” Hood said. “I need to give credit to my staff for developing real relationships with our players and earning their trust. We knew it'd take some time but I'm proud of the direction we're headed.”