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Posted: Aug 03, 2026 8:02 PMUpdated: Aug 03, 2026 9:02 PM
Lions Ready to Eat
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Fall camp is back in Oklahoma, and the Friday Night Lights are officially starting to buzz. While some local squads are running midnight drills in Pawhuska or sweating it out at 2:00 p.m. in Oologah to battle the heat, the South Coffeeville Lions are just putting their hard hats on. Second-year head coach Rich Giesen has 17 guys showing up for this 8-man football gauntlet, ready to build off a massive culture shift. After breaking a grueling playoff drought last season, their first postseason ticket punched since 2017, the boys are back in the lab, surviving the Summer Pride grind, and looking absolutely electric for year two of the Giesen era.
If you want to talk about a schedule built for a run, look no further than this absolute gift of a slate. The Lions are hosting a whopping seven of their ten regular-season games right in their own backyard. Coach Giesen knows they might pay for it on the road next year, but for now, they are fully prepared to ride that home-field energy. Instead of bringing in outside noise for a preseason tune-up, South Coffeeville is keeping it in-house with a Red and White intrasquad scrimmage. Plus, they’re finally cracking open the playbook. After being super limited offensively before Giesen took the reins, the Lions are ready to let it fly, expand the scheme, and keep opposing defensive coordinators tossing and turning.
Day one of camp brought the classic high school football reality check: some guys spent July grinding on the track, and some clearly spent it on the couch. Coach Giesen noted he could easily tell who hadn't been running, but the team's energy is sky-high as they round the roster back into shape. The ultimate goal? Bring home the district title. They’ve got a revamped district featuring familiar heavyweights like Covington-Douglas and Medford, plus some fresh blood in Crossover Prep and Oilton. If the Lions can survive the non-district warmups and impose their will, they’ll be chasing the ultimate 8-man football dream every Friday night: hanging enough points on the board to head to the house with a mercy-rule win at halftime. Buckle up, South Coffeeville.
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