Cannon Cougars Are On The Prowl

CONCORD, NC – The Cannon Cougars are only two seasons removed from their first ever state championship, and a conference championship the year after. As they prepare for a conference promotion, their past success is the last thing on their mind.

“We are playing Providence Day, Charlotte Christian, Christ School. We are playing the top dogs of the NCISAA and you know it is going to take some scheme. It is going to take putting players in the right position but you know it is going to take full effort the whole time to try and be able to compete with those teams,” said first year Cannon head coach Dustin Martin.

“A new conference, not everyone thinks we can do it. We are sort of doubted, I think somebody said earlier they heard we were the eleventh team in Cabarrus County. Theres just no way, so I mean we got a lot to prove this year,” said senior quarterback Tyler Green.

“Going into a new conference is going to take nothing but just dog mentality. We are not the biggest but a lot of people say you don’t have to be big if you are fast and we have got a lot of fast guys on the team,” said senior lineman Hayes Galloway.

If that weren’t enough of a hill to climb the Cougars make this jump while also under new leadership. Twenty-eight-year-old defensive coordinator Dustin Martin prepared for his first shot at the position after one year with the program.

“It’s special to me. I am not big into titles anyway, Iv’e always been a team guy and I’ve always been, lets do whats best for the team and it just so happens that there has to be a head coach and that’s me. I believe in doing things the right way, we are gonna leave things better than we found them and we are gonna teach these young men to be leaders in life,” said Martin.

The senior leadership took it upon themselves to propel this program forward, working hand in hand with the new coaching staff to ensure they push towards perfection.

“We are a player lead team, which I think is really shown because our detail orience is absolutely next level. We do the little things absolutely perfect or we dang sure try. We just have to look at our selves and compete with ourselves. If we compete with ourselves we can compete with anybody in this league,” said Galloway.

Cannon opens up their season on Friday, August 18, 2023 at home against Christ the King.