Midnight Madness Kicks Off Choctaw High School Football Season

Three words every Oklahoman loves to hear: Football is BACK!

High schools across Oklahoma are allowed to start fall camp on Monday, and a handful of local schools wasted no time getting started.

Choctaw is among the teams that started fall camp at 12 a.m., calling it 'Midnight Madness.' 

Hundreds of students and fans filled the stands and braved the rain to get their first glimpse of the 2024 team in a tradition beloved to the community. 

"It literally gets your blood pumping; you have the hair on your arms standing up when you walk in the stadium," Senior Linebacker Braven McConnell said. "The fans are different here. I mean, the stands are packed at midnight in Choctaw, Oklahoma."

"I always joke with my wife, like, this may be the last year we do it," Head coach Jake Corbin said. "You know, you get older, and it is a little tougher to stay up this late, but the kids like it, it brings a lot of enthusiasm, and I can't believe how many people show up to watch this practice."

This is the seventh consecutive season the Yellowjackets have gotten off to the earliest possible start, but this may be the most anxious the kids have been about getting back on the field. 

Choctaw is coming off an 8-2 campaign that ended with a four-point loss to Stillwater in the state semifinals, and the players did not take that lightly. 

"I replay that loss almost every day in my head. We have been working our butts off since that loss," Junior Runningback Mayor Morgan said.

Senior Athlete Hayden Mounce said he has been waiting to get back to practice since that night.

"It has been a long time coming. I was shaking getting here; I was so excited," Mounce said.

Senior Linebacker Cole Rowley said they have been eager to get back on the field the entire off-season.

"We have been working for the past five months in the off-season," Rowley said. "As soon as it turned to midnight, we got out here on the field and started working."

Choctaw opens the season on August 30 against Monterey High School out of Lubbock, Texas.