Players of the Pine Belt: West Marion senior tackle Devon Hutto

FOXWORTH, Miss. (WDAM) - It’s all a build up to Friday nights in Foxworth.

“Before we walk through that door I tell them we’re punching a clock and we’re going to work,” said West Marion assistant coach Don Clanton. “And we expect you to give us that 48 minutes, win or lose.”

But it all starts in the blistering summer months.

“This is like what I look forward to every year,” said West Marion senior offensive/defensive tackle Devon Hutto. “Friday nights are a reward. This is the hard work, what you gotta put in, get better. I like seeing my progress through the years. We’ve been putting effort in since the last snap last year to bounce back hard as we can.”

“Nobody’s going to outwork [Hutto] in the fieldhouse,” Clanton said. “I don’t believe anybody can probably match him on the field as far as - he’s very intense.”

West Marion’s always had intense football players.

Hutto is next up – a two-year starter on the offensive and defensive lines, expected to be a leader for the Trojans this season.

“Well he learned from a good one, Cade Huertin was a senior last year,” Clanton said. “By having that example ahead of Devon Hutto, he kind of just takes over where that guy left off.”

“There’s just a lot of unity on the team,” Hutto said. “There’s no real adversity between each other, it’s a one cohesive unit all together. Everybody comes together and we push each other, we work hard. We don’t let each other quit.”

That’s the kind of attitude a coach wants anchoring things up front.

Hutto’s been coming to summer workouts since 7th grade – he’s gonna make the most of his last go-round.

“We try to make the game easy,” Clanton said. “We want to practice hard and we want to lift hard and therefore when the game comes it’s sort of a reward for ‘em to be able to come out here and put all that hard work to a test.”

“It’s the last ride, you gotta make it count,” Hutto said. “Like I said, I want to leave an impression here. We talk a lot about past teams here, about different players, what they accomplished. I wanna be something remembered. I wanna be something they talk about for years down the line.”

Here’s a look at West Marion’s 2022 schedule:

• 8/26 - at East Marion - 7 p.m.
• 9/2 - at Tylertown - 7 p.m.
• 9/9 - at St. Martin - 7 p.m.
• 9/16 - vs. Columbia - 7 p.m.
• 9/23 - vs. Forrest County Ag - 7 p.m.
• 9/30 - at Seminary* - 7 p.m.
• 10/7 - vs. St. Stanislaus* - 7 p.m.
• 10/14 - vs. Perry Central* - 7 p.m.
• 10/21 - at Jefferson Davis County* - 7 p.m.
• 10/28 - vs. Ouachita Christian - 7 p.m.

*Indicates Region 8-3A opponent

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