LONE GROVE, Oklahoma (KTEN)- Lone Grove's 2022 season ended on a failed two-point conversion against Kingfisher. It's a loss that still sticks with the Longhorn players.

"Just that feeling of a letdown," senior receiver/cornerback Brody Harris said. "Just that last play. We're just looking to get back to where we were and improve from where we were last year."

But any improvement on the field this season began long ago.

"In our program, we're winning games in January through August," head coach Curtis Cole said. "The kids in our offseason work program have been in the weight room, eating it up on the track trying to get faster."

And that work appears to be paying off, especially in the secondary where the Longhorns had double-digit takeaways last season.

"I think we're faster in the backend," senior quarterback Jaxon McClennahan said. "We're going to have more experience in the secondary this year defensively."

McClennahan was one of those secondary members last year, but this season, he'll be taking over at quarterback.

"It's definitely more of an important role for everyone to see," McClennahan said. "Hopefully, I can lead the team in the right way."

Lone Grove returns about half its starters from a year ago, but it will face a learning curve early on.

"We had a big senior class, there's no doubt about that, but we still have a lot of depth underneath them," Cole said. "We're going to have a younger team behind our starters and we've got to get those guys caught up rapidly."

Still, the Longhorns head into the season with high hopes. But you won't catch them day dreaming about November.

"We want to make a playoff push," Harris said. "We'd like to host a playoff game, but we're looking to get better each day and take it one day at a time."

The Longhorns will open their season on August 25 with a trip to Anadarko.