Andrew Hargis has never been one to mince words, especially when you ask him about his team. He exudes confidence and he expects that from his players.
That attitude was why Hargis was so eager to take the field earlier this week as his Stone Memorial Middle School Panthers opened the 2026 football season.
“I am actually really excited about this season because I have over half of my starters returning,” Hargis said. “That helped alot because everything that we’ve been doing this preseason, after leaving last season on a high note, definitely carried over into the offseason.
“We attacked the weight room. This spring I am detecting a lot more confidence in the kids. We also had a great group coming up from the Junior Panthers and those kids are eager. There’s a lot to be excited about this year.”
Stone Memorial opened its middle school season Aug. 6 with a visit to Bledsoe County in Pikeville.
“Of course, the young kids are still learning the system and that’s not something they’re going to learn overnight,” Hargis said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are going to make an impact this year.”
Hargis said the Panthers hit the ground running last spring. They accomplished a lot of preparation with the players, and he’s seeing that the hard work is paying off in the preseason.
“We’ve already been putting in our offensive and defensive systems,” Hargis said. “For the kids coming back from last season, everything seems to be clicking. These kids are so smart. We’ve got a very mature group of starters. I am definitely proud of that for sure.”
Stone Memorial should be a contender for the district title. However, Hargis said several teams have the potential to grab the top spot, mentioning Upperman, Avery Trace, White County, among others.
“I think people have written us off, and good for them for doing it. We’re ready,” Hargis said.
“We’re going into this season treating every game like it is our last. We want to leave everything on the field. There are nothing but bruisers in our division.”
Hargis said a lot of players have been stepping their games up in training.
He mentioned the play of Evan Whitson, Connor Rose, Gavin Luttrell and Brexton Boone.
“We’ve got guys that bring a lot of different skills to the table,” Hargis said. “It’s going to be hard to select one of them to run the ball consistently because all of them, they literally bring something different to the table that is going to affect these teams for sure.
“We also have a good receiving corp. As far as Case Haynes and William Alley, those two right there are just absolutely sound. We can throw the ball to them and we know there’s a good chance they’re going to catch it. There’s no 50-50 about it. That’s what we enjoy about this team. It is that we’re able to open up the playbook.”