The Grant High School football team flashed potential last season and now the Cougars have their sights set on big progress this fall.
The regular season starts on Sept. 5, but this Friday in Natchitoches at Turpin Stadium on the Northwestern State University campus, the Cougars get a final tune-up. Grant will play its closest rival, Tioga, in the Battle on the Bricks NRMC Jamboree in a two-quarter game kicking off at 6 o’clock.
Tioga and Grant are no longer in the same district, so this will be the only meeting of the teams this season. While the excitement of playing the Indians is undeniable, it’s not the focus for coach Jarvous Felton or his players.
Felton is excited about the evolution of the Cougar football program in his fourth year as head coach. He was an assistant coach before being promoted.
“Seeing the way the community and the school as a whole has changed tremendously from 2018 ‘til now, gives me something to be excited about. Something like this doesn’t happen overnight. It takes lots of work by lots of people that want to seek growth and see change,” he said. “And we’re finally at that point to where Grant High School is tapping on the door to becoming something special here in Central Louisiana. I’m excited for our progress and thankful for our community and how people help this program be successful.”
As to the specifics of having the 2026 season be all the Cougars want it to be, Felton said there’s a basic step to be taken.
“The main deal is for us is just finish the fight. Looking over the years, we’ve always been in a position to be successful or finish games and win those games. But we just still haven’t finished to the level we intend to reach,” he said. “Creating that sense of belief and a sense of encouragement for our kids to understand they can complete the task is changing the culture. It does not occur overnight, it takes time. So we’ve been doing a lot of things for our kids.”
The players have shouldered their share of the responsibility.
“Each year we have our kids give us three standards to define who we want to be as a team. They came up with commitment, accountability, and toughness,” said Felton.
“Once we have all three standards established, we’ve got to understand what the definitions of those three standards are and what is required to sustain them, what that truly means. Because we can sit here and say that we’re going to be committed, we’re going to each other accountable, we’re going to be tough but, it doesn’t work until we actually don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk. Ultimately they’re going to be out there playing the game. If they set those goals, we’re going to hold them to that and our coaches have done a really good job with that.”
Entering the 2026 season, Felton believes Grant football is on the rise.
“We’re right there,” Felton said. “I tell our kids, it’s the little things that can define who you are, and I don’t think not just not them, but I don’t think us as coaches, everybody in our program fully understands how small, detailed things can affect the overall outcome, the big picture. Getting our kids to understand that is what you’re trying to do.”
The short-term goal for Friday night’s meeting with Tioga?
“Just execute. There were times this past week when we weren’t executing as fast as we could have, or should have, what we expected to do at this point. This is about fixing those mistakes. Also, we have some tweaks in spots, offense and defense, to evaluate kids and see where they fit. Grant typically hasn’t had the numbers to have good competition for playing time but now we do, and that has helped a lot this offseason.”