Veteran coaching staff hopes to turn around St. Mary football

Only time will tell how quickly Stiles, who has a career record in Oklahoma of 62-30, can turn the program into a winner. But some are expecting significant strides in Year 1.

“We saw it early in the spring,” Little said. “The first thing you look at are the eyes of those young men.

“Not everything is gonna go perfect, but I've been in these situations and I know how quickly a snowball can start going downhill and building momentum. ... There's some cautious optimism here because we see them doing some things that we ordinarily don't see in a situation like this.”

Stiles said the Rockets have about 60 kids out for football this year, and a freshman class of 26.

“(Mount St. Mary has) success in softball and basketball and other sports, and now it's time for football to be up there with those other programs in our school,” Mussatto said. “It's really exciting to be part of the first team that can change it all around for us.”