Media Day: Altus Bulldogs

After a one-and-done playoff run in 2009, Altus harbors high hopes this season.

Thursday, July 28th 2011, 5:42 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Aug 21, 2010 4:16 PM CDT

Dave Carty
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – Altus football defines itself on hard-nosed play and that starts on the defensive side of the ball.

The Bulldogs return five players on defense from last year’s 4-7 playoff team. Bob Laub recorded eight interceptions a year ago, impressing coaches along the way.

“That stood right in there at the top of any class,” said head coach Lyn Hepner at CoachesAid.com and Oklahoma Sports First Look Media Day.

The team also returns seniors Tyler George who could set the all-time Altus tackles record and Clint Lucas on the defensive line. Lucas embodies the effort Altus hopes to display on every play.

“[He] may not be the biggest guy but he fills in there with a lot of heart,” said Hepner.

Laub knows he’ll have to take on more of a leadership role with so many young players expected to step into bigger roles.

“It’s a young team. We got a good group coming up,” said Laub. “Once we started gelling together, we starting playing really well.”

Two-a-days and scrimmages have yielded encouraging results, the group says. In Altus, putting a helmet on someone maintains the same appeal in practice as it does during the season. The offensive line, though a bit inexperienced and small, will operate off that intensity level.

“We’re not going to scare anybody with our size this year,” said Hepner. “[They’ve got] good attitudes. [They’re] scrappy kids. [It’s] an offense that’s powered by heart, desire and execution.”

They’ll need to stick by their laurels to take the next step in 2010 against Duncan, Ardmore and Lawton Mac in District 5A-2.

“We’re going to try to build on [last season],” said Hepner. “We have some good ones coming back and we have some holes. We’re really optimistic about the year and we want to perform well.”