Lovett Lions ready to 'step up and make plays' in 2026 season
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
The Lovett Lions are preparing for their 22nd consecutive season under head coach Mike Muschamp, who took over in 2005, having led the Lions to the Georgia High School Association state championship tournament each season, with three semifinals appearances, two state title game appearances and the GHSA 2A championship in 2013.
Now, with their first game of the season two weeks away, Muschamp is pleased with how his team has approached readying themselves to kick off the season. "We had a really good offseason, our kids did a nice job during the summer and we've had a really good camp so far, so really excited about what we've seen so far," Muschamp said just before the Lions hosted Whitefield Academy in a scrimmage.
In 2025, Lovett finished 6-5 overall and advanced to the opening round of the GHSA state championship tournament, however once their season came to an end, they graduated 14 seniors. therefore "developing depth" has been a point of emphasis for this year.
"I think our guys up front are going to be okay, but we don't have a lot of them, so working hard to try and make sure that the younger guys, our guys that are right there in that gray area, they're getting enough reps, they're getting enough coaching so that they're going to get better as well," Muschamp said.
And while the Lions will look to their younger players to step up and help fill voids, Muschamp says he and his staff will lean on their veteran players even more. "I want to see them step up and make plays. Whatever the situation may be, whatever phase of the game we might be in, step up and let's make some plays," Muschamp said of his expectations from his older Lions players, including senior linemen Blair Ferguson and James Izard, who Muschamp says will be pivotal to the offense's success.
Defensively, the Lines will look to senior nose guard, Victor Arguello who Muschamp says, "has done a really nice job," for Lovett in addition to senior wide receiver, Thomas Strang, senior Cade McKenzie, sophomore Charlie Kuzniak, and junior running back, Knox Thomason. "Guys that have done a nice job for us last year, we're expecting to step up and make plays for us this year," Muschamp said.
Lovett will open the regular season on August 21 when they travel three miles to face rival, Westminster in another installment of "Battle for Buckhead".
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