Kicking Off a New Era … football season to start Friday for GCHS and new coach Larry Dolan

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Veteran football coach Larry Dolan is shown talking to senior quarterback Gage Stinson during a recent practice, while Dandy Dozen receiver Jase Mathews looks on. Wildcat fans will get a good idea of how Dolan, who is in his first season with the Wildcats, plans to use the talented group of skill players he has on the roster this year when the Wildcats kickoff the 2025 campaign this Friday at East Central. Photo by RUSSELL TURNER | Herald Editor

By STAN CALDWELL
Herald Correspondent

The Greene County Wildcats kick off their 2025 football season this Friday on the road at East Central.

The battle against the Hornets from Hurley is not only the beginning of a new season for GCHS, but also the start of a new era for the Wildcats as veteran coach Larry Dolan takes over the reins as the program’s new head coach.

Dolan wasn’t necessarily looking to make another move in what has become a fairly well-traveled coaching career. He had spent the past three seasons in his second stint as head football coach at Forrest County AHS, the program most associated with his career in the business, and it was assumed he’d finish out that career at his alma mater.

But Dolan listens to his internal clock, and that clock was telling him it was time to take on something new. So, in March the 60-year-old Dolan accepted the position as head coach at Greene County High School, replacing Michael King, who left the Leakesville campus for the head job at Hancock.

“I could have stayed there, and Forrest County is a great place,” said Dolan. “It was great the first time, and it was good to come home.

“Sometimes, you just know when it’s time to go, and I thought it was time for me to move on. The Greene County job was open, and I have always respected the program down here.”

The Wildcats are getting a proven successful commodity as their new head coach. In 35 seasons in coaching – 24 as a head coach – Dolan’s teams have posted a record of 177-98 (64.4 percent).

Over the course of his career, his teams have made the playoffs in 18 of those seasons, capped by the 2013 Class 4A state championship, which FCAHS won in a 21-6 upset over Lafayette.

As he explored the GCHS program, Dolan said he saw a lot of things that made the job appealing to him.

“My favorite jobs that I’ve had were FCAHS and D’Iberville, and this school fits both of those molds,” Dolan said. “It’s a football school with a lot of athletes and the community supports them well. So it was intriguing to me, and it’s not that far of a drive for me.

Players and coaches are shown encircling senior placekicker Maisan Tribble as her attempts a field goal near the end of a recent practice at the high school. The purpose was to add a little extra pressure to the process for the kicking team to simulate a game-like scenario.
Photo by RUSSELL TURNER | Herald Editor

“It felt like a good fit, and so far it has been. These kids work extremely hard, as hard as any group I’ve ever had, and I think the community is behind us.”
Dolan takes over a Wildcat team that had its best season since 2019 in 2024, finishing 8-2 overall, including a smashing victory over eventual 4A state champ Poplarville on the road that clinched the Region 8-4A championship.

“The fans here are hungry for a consistent winner,” said Dolan. “I think it’s been a while since Greene County has had back-to-back winning seasons. They’ve been in the playoffs the last few years, but a couple of those times, I think they had a losing record going into the postseason.”

“So that’s something we want to do, build on the success they had last year. Hopefully, we can continue to do that.”

Dolan will have to replace a dynamic senior class from last year, led by three-year starter Coby King at quarterback. King passed for 2,923 yards and 38 touchdown passes for the Wildcats, and ran for 695 yards and another 15 TDs on the ground.

That leaves a big hole that they hope will be filled by senior Gage Stinson, who moves from wide receiver. Stinson isn’t unfamiliar with the quarterback position, as he played for the Wildcat junior varsity last season.

“He’s a big, good-looking kid, got a strong arm; he can throw it a long way,” Dolan said. “He can run it too; not that we’re going to run it a lot with him, but if we have to, he’s big enough to handle himself running it.”

Dolan said that Stinson is as talented as any quarterback he’s had since Carter Hankins led that Aggie championship team in 2013. Varsity game experience is the only thing he lacks.

“I think he’ll be fine,” Dolan said. “He’ll just have to deal with those first Friday night jitters, but I think with a few games under his belt, we’ll be OK there.”

Stinson, who stands 6-foot-2, said he’s ready for the challenge of replacing King.

“Stepping in for Coby, he did a great job in his three years,” said Stinson. “Coming in with a new coach and a new system, I’m really proud of that our team has come together and gotten behind me, with it being my first year starting. But everything’s coming together.”

Stinson believes his experience as a wide receiver gives him a different look at the quarterback position.

“Seeing the field and how it works from that perspective is going to help me catch on to things quicker than other guys might,” Stinson said.

“One big thing I learned from watching Coby is the ability to improvise when the play breaks down and make something happen, use your legs when you need to. But always trust your arm.”

Greene County does have two returning senior standouts that Stinson will work on get the ball to as much as possible in Jase Mathews and Lakeus Franks.
Mathews has been courted by all the top college programs, and committed to Auburn earlier this month. At 6-2 190, Mathews is long and athletic, posting phenomenal statistics in 2024, with 68 receptions for 1,138 yards and 15 touchdowns.

“I can’t let the people get to me; I just have to keep my head on a swivel, and come with it all every week,” said Mathews. “Coach Dolan brings the intensity, which is what we needed for my senior year. He brings a lot more grit than we’ve had in the past. I’m looking for a great year with him.”

Dolan had an earlier experience with a top D1 recruit when he coached Greene County native Justin Walley at D’Iberville from 2019 to 2021. He later went on to star at the University of Minnesota and was a third-round draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts in April.

“Justin was a super athlete, super person,” said Dolan. “It’s kind of hard to compare them, because Jace is pretty much exclusively a wide receiver, while Justin was a DB, running back and quarterbacked us a little. He did a lot more than play wide receiver.

“Jace is a lot more like Jaden Walley, Justin’s brother who went to Mississippi State, long athlete, can make plays. Jace is a really good receiver, a good blocker along the way.”

Franks is back after putting up 1,277 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns. He had 653 yards and 7 scores rushing on 85 carries, 464 yards and 6 TDs on 35 receptions, plus another 160 yards in kick returns.

“He’s solid,” Dolan said. “He makes me want to get back under center and run the Wing T trap, because he can hit that thing in a hurry. He’s so explosive, and he’s really good coming out of the backfield catching the ball.”

Dolan spent the first 10 years of his coaching career as an assistant coach under Perry Wheat at FCAHS, then took over in 2000 when Wheat moved on.

Following the championship season at FCAHS in 2013, Dolan took on the job at Columbia Academy for two seasons, then spent two years as head coach at Pearl River Central. After spending the 2018 season as defensive coordinator at Oak Grove, he went to D’Iberville.

Dolan’s teams have generally been run-oriented, which will be a change for Wildcat fans, who have gotten used to seeing the ball flying all over the field. But Dolan is practical, and he’ll do whatever it takes to succeed offensively.

“They are (used to throwing the ball a lot),” said Dolan. “If we can throw it, we’re going to throw it. If I’ve got an athlete I can throw it to like Jase, we’re going to throw it and get the ball into his hands any way we can.”

“However, I do believe you have to run the ball to be successful late in the year, because you’re going to have those cold, bad-weather games.”

The Wildcats seem to have bought into what Dolan has been teaching them since his arrival in March.

“I love Coach Dolan, the way he makes us work,” said Stinson. “He really pushes us past what everybody thinks they can do. He doesn’t see just the outside, but inside us as well. When all of us want to give up, he keeps pushing us.”

Dolan got to see the Wildcats up close the past two seasons as FCAHS coach, having played Greene County in a home-and-home series. This year, the Wildcats and Aggies will once again square off, but this year it will have added meaning, with FCAHS moving into Region 8-4A, replacing Poplarville, which moved over to Region 7-4A.

The two teams will play at GCHS on Oct. 30, the regular-season finale, and Dolan knows it will be a different feeling.

“I told the kids at Forrest County when I was leaving, the one I will do is motivate them,” Dolan said. “They looked at me funny, and I told them, because that last game, you’re going to want to whip Coach Dolan. And I think that game is going to mean something for the playoffs.”

“I mean, our region looks wide-open. From the spring, the way people talk, Pass (Christian) is the front-runner. Their quarterback is really good, and they beat Poplarville in their spring game.”

Right now, Dolan is 0-0 as Wildcat coach, and everyone is happy. Whether that remains the case as the season kicks off for real depends on wins and losses.

“The work ethic of the kids in these type schools is always a little bit different from some other places, and these kids have exceeded everything we’ve asked them to do.” Dolan said. “I really think we can be competitive with anyone we play. I don’t know if we’ll win them all, but I think we can play with anybody.”