SALEM, Va. – Thursday, July 27 marked the beginning of the 2023 high school football season in Southwest Virginia. We begin our tour in Salem, where Don Holter and his team took to the practice field.
The Spartans are coming off of a 10-3 season that ended in a loss in the Region 4D final to E.C. Glass. But in usual Salem fashion, they never missed a beat in the offseason, returning talent like Tennessee commit Peyton Lewis, who are bigger, faster, stronger, and ready to roll.
“It’s great motivation for us seniors coming up, because last year, we did fall short, and didn’t win in December,” Lewis said. “So you know we all have that running in the back of our minds. You know, that keeps us going every day, being in these environments, we’re working hard, grinding, that’s what brings us together.”
“We return seven on defense, six on offense, and they’re all outstanding young men. They’re even better people than they are football players, they spent the off-season really preparing mentally, and particularly physically,” Head Coach Don Holter said. “A lot of them have gotten bigger and stronger and faster and a sort of renewed focus. They understand success is not a continuum, they have to constantly work at it. Are you going to be the hunter or the hunted?”
Salem opens their season on Aug. 25 at home against LCA.