As spring wraps up, Amory looks forward to August
AMORY – Throughout spring practices, Amory’s players and coaches have been able to look a few yards to the west and see the promise of what’s to come.
Construction of the new football stadium is steadily progressing, and the Panthers are eager to play in it this fall. They had to play every game last season away from home after an EF-3 tornado destroyed their stadium the previous March.
“It’s great, being out there and seeing them work (on the stadium). It makes us want to work harder, because don’t nobody want to lose on a new field,” lineman Chris Hampton said.
Amory will christen its new digs on Aug. 30 against Pontotoc. The stadium is being built for about $4.2 million by Texas-based Hellas Construction.
While getting to have actual home games this year is a great source of excitement, being on the road full-time last season had its benefits.
“It pushed us and made us face adversity,” Hampton said. “You’ve got to find a way to dig deep, fight through it.”
Between now and August, the Panthers have a lot to work on. They lost 14 starters off last year’s squad, which went 9-2 and reached the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
The 2024 team will have 15 seniors, and coach Brooks Dampeer is leaning heavily on that group.
“We’ve had the very good fortune of seniors who step up and be good players for us their senior years even though they may not have contributed a lot in previous years. We’re hoping this senior class does the same thing,” Dampeer said.
Amory wraps up its spring work tonight at Houston's jamboree. Tupelo is also participating. Dampeer hopes to see good production from newcomers and prospective first-time starters.
“You’re hoping they come take it on and make plays,” Dampeer said. “We’re going to give them every opportunity we can to do that on film. It’s all about being productive.”
As the Panthers head into the summer, a sense of normalcy is starting to return. It’s been a long, grinding road so far, and there is nothing but optimism among the ranks.
“Playing away was pretty hard for us, and we just had to fight through it,” said safety and receiver Allen Dobbs. “Now, since we can play on our own field, I felt like that helped us a lot to get our minds right.”
