Returning Coach Woods commends players’ work ethic

By John Howell
South Panola Head Football Coach Ricky Woods, speaking to the Exchange Club on Wednesday, discussed his decision to return to Batesville.
“I’ve never back-tracked,” Woods said, referring to his 2000 to 2007 tenure at South Panola where he compiled a 74-1 record.
Woods was accompanied by four more guests, two of whom — former South Panola Head Coach Willis Wright and new SP Defensive Coordinator Chuck Friend — have compiled their own state championship records. Other guests were Judge George C. Carlson and The Panolian Sports Editor Myra Bean.
“This is the first year we’ve worked together,” Woods said, referring to Friend. “The offense I ran at Ackerman, a lot of it stemmed from him, and Willis, the ‘I’ that I ran here. I just stole a lot of their stuff and took the credit.”
After Head Coach Lance Pogue announced last August that the 2016 season would be his last at South Panola, Woods said school superintendent Tim Wilder and former head coach Willis Wright contacted him to gauge his interest in the job.
As Woods’ weighed his options, his decision was shaped by a question from his wife, Sue Woods. “She said, ‘We went all over the world through three states. Everywhere we went, when we started talking about football, where did you end up talking about?’”
“And it was South Panola,” Coach Woods said, recalling his reply to her question. “We’re glad to be back.”
“I think our best players are going to be next year’s ninth and tenth graders,” Woods said. “We’ve got a really good quarterback, probably the best quarterback I’ve had in a while, a really good kid, Patrick Shegog.”
“I think our receivers are going to be very adequate,” Woods continued. “Louis Kanoda, the tight end, he’s brought in a blocking tight end.”
“Defensively, we lost our front; we lost our linebackers, so we’ve got a bunch of young kids, but one thing about South Panola kids: they are usually are going to play a lot better than they look,” Woods continued, naming an outstanding SP player from his earlier tenure. “He walked through the door and you would think he’s the manager.”
Woods named another man who as a teenager was an extremely talented but undisciplined player during his first coaching tour with South Panola. Woods kicked him off the team for his entire junior year for a discipline infraction. He returned during his senior year with a work ethic and attitude that launched him into Division One college play followed by an NFL career.
After the player’s retirement from the NFL, he tracked him down and thanked him, according to Woods.
“You just love on them,” Woods said. “The more you love on them, the better they are going to do for you. You’ve got to make them mind and do right, but that’s not real hard.”
“The kids will work here; there’s nothing changed about that,” the SP coach continued.
Woods expressed appreciation to Wilder for allowing him and for allowing Friend to start mid-year to allow time to build relationships with kids.
“Players win games,” Woods said more than once during his remarks.
“Children want to belong to something, and they want discipline,” Woods said.
The coach said he and his wife have themselves become a team.
“My wife always comes anywhere we’ve ever coached and invites them to come to our house anytime they want to,” Woods continued, “because if they’re not welcome at my house and I’m not welcome at theirs, I really don’t need to be coaching.”
“My wife really, really helps me with this,” he continued, monitoring players’ grades and tutoring. “She’s the one — talking about those grades — they don’t want to go mess with her because she wants those grades.
“She loves football; I’ve coached in 415 games and she hasn’t missed a one of them.”