The x’s and o’s of football do not constitute the only message that Kingsbury’s coach, Earl Lester, works to convey to his players.

“When it’s all said and done it’s just a game, but being able to use what you learned while playing the game and use it in real life situations can take you somewhere,” said Lester.

Here is an example of what Lester is getting at:

“Week in and week out we go out and leave it on the field in grueling circumstances, but we never quit,” he said. “I think it’s outstanding for the kids. When they become men they won’t quit on their own families and more importantly they won’t quit on themselves.”

Like many coaches, Lester dishes out criticism, but he is ever conscious of the need to be constructive and positive.

“I have to keep it real with them, because in the real world people don’t sugar coat things,” he said. “I can’t baby them now as young men, because they’ll expect that as grown men. Many of the kids are surrounded by gangs and street life, but they choose to play football. That’s a great feeling for me. Positive things like that make me want to work that much harder towards these kids.”

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and Lester made sure his Falcons were aware. Last week, his players wore something pink everyday. They capped off the week wearing pink socks as Kingsbury (4-4 overall and 3-0 in 4A District 15) beat Trezevant 19-6 at Green Hill Stadium.

“It’s things like that that build character,” Lester said. “I’m keeping the kids positive, because it’s not just about football, but also life. I have two daughters of my own, but my players are my sons. I treat them like that too. After every practice I tell them I love them. I give back to them and they give me their all. It’s a 50-50 relationship.”

The Falcons’ season has been a roller coaster ride. Coming into the year there were high expectations, which soon collided with the reality of 2-4 start. Now the team senses that the worst is behind.

“It was tough for us at first,” said junior quarterback Wesley Whitmore. “We played some really hard games in the beginning of the season, but coach continued to encourage us. He kept faith in us. He would tell us to never hang our heads. He made us play better and together.”

Last year, the Falcons relied upon the productivity of the area’s most prolific running back. Gabriel Hunter accounted for a majority of the Falcons offense, rushing for 14 touchdowns and 1,300 plus yards during a season in which he was hindered with a knee injury. In 2007 he finished the year with 2,649 yards and 26 touchdowns.

“Losing a guy like Gabriel is hard to replace not only because of his skill set, but his leadership also,” Lester said. “This year Wesley Whitmore is the Gabriel Hunter of the Falcons. He’s our go to guy right now. No.2 is the true leader of (the) team, and he leads by example.”

Wesley, a 5’9”, 160-pound dual threat quarterback has rushed for 633 yards and 10 touchdowns on 80 carries, averaging 79.1 rushing yards per game. He’s completing 57 percent of passes, having thrown for 714 yards this year with seven touchdowns and only four interceptions.

“I guess you can say they passed me the torch,” Wesley said. “But we have two games remaining and we must finish strong as we move forward to the playoffs.”

On Friday, the Falcons take on Mitchell 6-1 at the Fairgrounds. It’s another non-conference game, and signature one for the players.

“People don’t expect us to win this game,” said senior defensive end Tyrone Bolton.

“We want to let people know that we are for real. Every time we lost we got better, and now we’re unstoppable. Coach Lester corrected our mistakes and we’re winning now. He’s pushing us in a positive way. He’s like a father to some of us. He goes beyond just football.”