The voice echoed far beyond the doors of the Little Rock Southwest weightroom.

Inside the facility the varsity football team stood mostly silent, motionless, with their eyes locked on their strength and conditioning coach.

Referencing a recent game, the coach paced the room, intensely flailing his hands demanding more from the players – starting with their conduct in the weightroom.

The Southwest Gryphon football program is in its first year of existence. Head coach Daryl Patton is planting the seeds to success.

“We’re working toward respectability,” Patton said. “We plan to win big and get to the point where folks don’t want to put us on their schedule. I know we’re going to accomplish that goal.”

TRY ARKANSASVARSITY.COM FREE FOR 60 DAYS - CLICK HERE!

SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION OFFER FOR FIRST RESPONDERS - CLICK HERE!

Southwest is the newest school in the Little Rock School District. It replaces both McClellan and JA Fair which were closed at the end of the 2019-2020 school year.

Kids who attended McClellan, Fair – and 300 from Hall High who live near Southwest – comprise the majority of the student body.

The school features nice amenities intended to enhance the students’ overall experience.

Gryphon Stadium – and the accompanying football complex – has the snazzy look and features as well.

“Our facilities are beautiful. They’re top notch,” Patton said. “But in addition to the great facilities at Southwest, we have a really good coaching staff, great administrative support and talented kids who are tired of being viewed like they’re not on the same level of others. We’re hungry to turn this program into a perennial winner.”

One of those motivated athletes is senior running back and linebacker Jordan Harris. A former team captain at McClellan, Harris sees a lot of promise with the Southwest school and the football program.

“I believe in the potential of this school and Gryphon football,” he said. “I want to help change the perception of the Southwest Little Rock area. I know this school and what it offers regarding education, and our football program, can play a role in my vision.”

Unfortunately, a virus has hindered progress.

Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious virus that there’s no vaccine for. If a person contracts COVID-19, they could become extremely ill or even die.

Arkansas had its first confirmed case of the pandemic this spring. As a safety precaution, in March Gov. Asa Hutchinson shut-down on-site education and ordered schools to switch to virtual learning. School activities were also put on a hiatus.

“I got hired in February. The entire month I was trying to recruit kids to the program and get the coaching staff together,” Patton said. “When I got that going in early March, everything is suddenly shut down because of COVID. We went through March, April, and May without really being around the players. We tried to do Zoom meetings. But a lot of the players didn’t have the technology needed.”

The players did their best to create an off-season program, as school activities were not permitted until June.

“During the months when we couldn’t hold official team workouts, we tried to organize workouts ourselves,” Harris said. “But transportation for everybody was always the biggest obstacle.”

Once the school-year started, Southwest was again hindered by COVID-19. The Gryphons went two weeks without competing due to quarantine protocol.

Roosevelt Turner is the former head football coach at Fair. He’s now part of Patton’s Southwest staff. Of the 80-plus players in the Gryphon program, only 7 were part of Turner’s team last season at Fair. The coach said that COVID-19 has made it tough for coaches to build a tight rapport with the players.

“We haven’t received the chance to get to know the kids,” Turner said. “We’re still in the process of getting to closely know our kids and get a family-like bond with them. We’re really starting from scratch.”

As for the players, slowly they’ve become a cohesive unit, according to Harris.

“We started hanging out. That’s how we got to know each other. Being around one another made a difference,” he said. “Outside of football we called each other and created group chats and that helped us develop a bond.”

“Covid-19 has been tough on our school,” Patton said. “It’s been tough trying to get going and build this program in the middle of a pandemic. But we’re not making any excuses. It’s a process – but I know we’ll get there.”

In football, manpower is important on the field and off the field. Successful programs typically have a connection with, and ample support from, their home community.

The Southwest football program has a group of individuals and ministries, led by Eagle Point Church of God, that feed the players before each game. The church, which is in Southwest Little Rock, started the partnership 11 years ago with the McClellan program.

“It’s great how different people have come together to make this work,” said Jerry Riddle, pastor of Eagle Point. “Coach Patton, and his staff, and Southwest Principal Marvin Burton have been great to work with. Christ took time to feed people who needed food. That’s the model for what we want to do.”

“We want to get out in the community and help the young men,” Riddle said. “The players are always appreciative.”

Patton plans for his team to follow the example of Eagle Point and find ways to uplift the residents of Southwest Little Rock.

“We understand that McClellan and Fair are our bloodlines. That’s where we come from,” Patton said. “We want to give back to the community. Help the people in our area and connect with them. We also want to give people a program they can be proud of academically and on the football field. At the other places I’ve coached I’ve always had my teams do community service. It will be no different here at Southwest.”

Harris, who lives in Southwest Little Rock, is aware of the area’s bad reputation. However, he’s confident that things will get better and the new school can be a catalyst to the improvement.

“We must change people’s thought process about our school, our neighborhood,” Harris said. “We have kids from Southwest that are going to school in North Little Rock and Bryant and we have to get them to come back home. That starts with this school, this football program doing well.”

“We have to dedicate ourselves to doing our jobs in the community and in the classroom,” he added. “That’s what being a winner and winning each day is all about. That will lead to Southwest becoming a good football program.”

Harris has the kind of viewpoint that Patton is looking for.

“I hold the players accountable for everything,” he said. “We’re going to work hard. We want to be winners. That’s on the field and out in the community. We can make a positive impact. I’m going to hold the players to a high standard in the classroom, especially.”

Riddle has spent time around the Gryphons. He loves what he’s seen thus far.

“Right now they’re taking their lumps,” he said. “But coach Patton is still getting to know the players. I’m confident Southwest will have a successful football program.”

Going into tonight’s game at Fort Smith Northside, the Gryphons are winless. Competing in Class 7A without having a true off-season and going two weeks during the regular season without a game or traditional practice is not ideal.

Additionally, most of the players are new to the level of play offered by Arkansas’ largest classification.

McClellan and Fair were both in Class 5A. McClellan had experienced success in recent years. Meanwhile, Fair struggled.

“With the kids from Fair, they now see what we were attempting to do,” Turner said. “When we were at Fair, there weren’t many kids who wanted to play football. That made it tough for us to win.”

The players from Fair like having position meetings and competing for playing time.

“The numbers create true competition in each practice. They enjoy it. At Fair I basically had to play who I could because we didn’t have any depth,” Turner said. “As an adult, you’re competing against a wide variety of people on a regular basis. So learning the importance of being competitive each day is something these kids needed.”

Sotuhwest’s players competing for everything and “winning the day” is the foundation to something big.

“One thing I do know, is the future of Little Rock Southwest football is bright … it’s very bright,” Harris said. “Watch and see.”

Turner referenced a group of talented, dedicated freshmen, and the opportunity for everyone to have a true off-season as potential game-changers for the program.

“I’m excited. I know for a fact we’re going to get a lot of great work done this off-season,” he said. “That means everything from spring ball, team camps, to 7-on-7. This upcoming off-season is big for us.”

Patton shares Turner’s optimism.

“There are a lot of things our current seniors are doing that may not show up in the win-loss column,” Patton said. “They’re doing a lot of great things that are helping to build something great at Southwest.”

“These players want this to be one of the top programs in the state. And we as a coaching staff made it clear that we’re going to be successful and we’re going to coach them hard and challenge them to live up to a high standard. No excuses.”

TRY ARKANSASVARSITY.COM FREE FOR 60 DAYS - CLICK HERE!

SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION OFFER FOR FIRST RESPONDERS - CLICK HERE!

------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are not an ArkansasVarsity.com subscriber, you can become one by CLICKING HERE. It costs less than a cup of coffee per day to get access to the most in prep sports and recruiting information anywhere in the state.

Want to become a partner with ArkansasVarsity.com? Email Luke Matheson at Luke@ArkansasVarsity.com

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @LUKEMATHESON - @ARKANSASVARSITY