Southern Wildcats team president Stacy Fells Jr. could have given up at any moment. He could have stopped knocking on doors after having them closed in his face in denial numerous times.
He could have stopped attempting to recruit children to his team and his program.

He could have stopped trying to convince parents in the area that he was on a mission with a cause that could transcend the 100 yards of a football field. But quitting is not what Fells is about. It never has been.

His strong conviction to make a difference in the community of Brookhaven kept him motivated.

“I wanted to give back the best way I knew how,” Fells said.

Being a former standout football player at West Lincoln High School and Southwest and Co-Lin community colleges, he said he felt football was the best way to do that.
Now, five years after he planted the seeds for the peewee football program he is beginning to see the fruits of all his labor pay off.

The Southern Wildcats have enjoyed relative success since their humble beginnings in 2012. Fells welcomes the success but still admits he could not have predicted the rapid growth of something he envisioned years ago.
“I never expected it to grow like it did,” he said. “The year before last I had around 50 kids, the next year it shot up to 80. It got to the point where I had to turn a couple of them away because we were at our limit.”
The 6- to 8-year-old Southern Wildcat squad captured championships back-to-back in 2014 and 2015 and each squad has regularly advanced to the playoffs.
Of course, Fells and his group of coaches welcome the success but for them it is about so much more than wins or trophies.

Fells and his coaches repeatedly stressed that the mission is to try and make a difference in the lives of the children under their tutelage while also instilling values in them that extend far beyond the confines of the gridiron.

“We don’t just teach the game of football. We stress the importance of grades, listening to parents and being strong-minded and disciplined,” he said.
“Football is just a good way to emphasize those things to these kids.”

Sometimes, he said taking that path has not always been the path of least resistance. It has sometimes meant benching key players because their grades dropped or because they were disobedient at home. Whatever it takes to get the point across to the kids is what Fells and his group will do.

For 9-and 10-year-old Head coach Jason Dixon that means showing tough love to his group, even his nephew Kenneth, who was one of the star players on his team last year. Their methods have proven to pay off though.

“If he comes in and shows me a report card or progress reports  with an F he has to sit out until his grades improve,” Dixon said.
“Last year, that meant I had to sit him three or four games,”he said.“He came back just in time for the first round of the playoffs and still scored about 20 touchdowns and rushed for about 1,200 yards  on the year and we went 9-2 and lost in the Super Bowl.”

Dixon said he wants the kids to put forth their best effort in all they do and refuse to settle for less.

“What I want them to learn most is to work hard pay attention and always put God first,” the head coach said.

Offensive coordinator of the 11-and 12-year-old team Laramie Green said a love of the game and a desire to instill similar values in his son led him to become involved in the Southern Wildcats.
His son currently plays on his team.

“I want to be a better influence for them not only from a father perspective but also from a man perspective,” he said.
“Some of these kids don’t have a father figure so it’s up to us to make sure they stay on the straight and narrow.”

Last season was tough for Green and his team as they went winless on the year, but he said his group never gave up.

“They came out every day and were dedicated to getting better,” Green said. “They’re willing to learn.”

As one of the initial members of the coaching crew, Green said it is great to see how far the program had come since it began five years ago.