The roar of a hard-earned overtime win still stands out for Sallisaw’s Jackson Harris. “Beating Grove in OT last year,” he said, recalling it as his favorite memory in a Black Diamonds uniform. That moment fueled his hunger for even more success in his senior season.
Harris knows what it takes to raise the bar, and he’s holding himself accountable. “Matching my rushing yards from last year at 1000 or more,” he said of his personal goals. That drive is matched by the team’s work ethic. “We hit the weight room a lot harder this past offseason than last year. We don’t want to come up short again.”
The results have been obvious. “Our gains in the weight room have been incredible—you can see everyone’s gains trending upward.”
Harris believes the progress will carry over to the field. “To win a district championship and then go win it all,” he said of the team’s vision. The offensive side of the ball, in particular, has him excited. “When our offense is clicking, nobody can stop us.”
His role is central to that success. “Running back and outside linebacker,” Harris explained. Preparation, both mental and physical, keeps him sharp for those responsibilities. “I take time to scout and see the weaknesses of the defense, and I try and target whatever that may be.”
When games demand heavy workloads, he leans on recovery. “Getting the proper rest and recovery is important—a lot of ice baths and rest.” By Friday nights, the mental switch flips. “That nobody can stop me but myself. You have to go on the field thinking you can run through walls, and nobody can stop you.”
For Harris, though, legacy means more than big plays. “Not that I just was a good athlete but a good person and that I treated everyone with respect.”
He believes his team embodies that same resilience. “We might be undersized on paper, but it doesn’t matter—we can hang with anyone.”
With “Blind” by Korn blasting pregame, Harris takes the field determined to lead.
