2026 Capital Cougars Football Preview

A .500 regular season was good enough for second in the Gold Division and a playoff berth — and the first-round draw was the team that went on to play for a state title.

The Program at a Glance

Capital went 5–5 in 2025 and finished second in the MSAC Gold Division at 3–1, its only division loss coming against unbeaten Spring Valley. The Cougars earned the No. 12 seed in Class AAA and drew a first-round road game at No. 5 Nitro, which went 9–1 and reached the Class AAA state championship game.

Note for context on the schedule ahead: Nitro joins the MSAC as part of the 2027-28 expansion, so this first-round opponent becomes a conference game before long.

2025 in Review

Head Coach

2026 Schedule

Source: DUBVSN site. Home/away cross-checked against each opponent's own page.

Coach Turan Interview

First year for you. Excitement level for you going into your first year of your own?

·      Yes, man, it's through the roof, man. The energy is everything, man. To come out here to be on a field that I grew up on, some Little League, and I played at the middle school, and then I finished the high school. Man, it's a blessing, man. Then these kids, they come out here every day so energized and ready to work. So the energy level, it's really not a word to describe the energy level that I'm feeling right now, that I feel every day coming here to let me feel, to get these kids prepared for the season.

What's been the biggest thing that you've had to challenge your guys with leading into these first couple of weeks in the season?

·       Believing then are believing in that I can be the guy that changed this program. Confidence, right? Knowing that I can look in the mirror and be confident in myself as a young man, that'll be a challenge because, as I said, these guys were used to being younger or being the two in the moment. And right now they have to be forced to be the one right on the spot. So now just about building the confidence and telling them that I can be a guy to compete on Friday nights.

What's been the biggest difference, or what's been the biggest thing that you've been encouraged with this group of the first couple of practices?

·      Them stepping up and actually leading. Like you can hear the energy out here. These guys just talk and communicate. And getting guys today to step up surprises me. Who’s going to step up and be the voice? All of them are being the voice, as we got seven eight guys is leading 7 or 8 guys leading by example, being vocal, and the energy is there, like I said, and the energy is contagious.

In regards to just finding a leader with this group. I mean, I know you guys got a mixture of some young guys with some older guys as well. From a former player perspective, how do you go about finding an identifiable leader with this group?

·      Guys that can lead from love and brotherhood and friendship. Right. We don't care about the loudest guy. We don't care about the guy that's making the most plays, but the guy that can bring someone with them, the guy that can lead by example, the guy that can help their brother when they're going down in the moment but things is not going our way. Who's going to be the guy that, like, comes on, fellas, let's, let's, let's, let's change our minds and get this thing going. That's the leader to me. Accolades and stuff don't really make you a leader, because guys can have all those accolades and still not know how to make another guy with them. I'm looking for that type of leadership lift that you find. What are you looking for? You know, going next for the pads on. Everybody look like a superstar in shorts. So next week, man, like I said, if we can defeat blocks, we can block and tackle and we're going to be a good football team. So when we get them pads on that suite, that's where we're going to work. Block and tackle and block and tackle. And then once we see that, we're going to figure out the guys that can play on Friday nights.

Culture-wise, how have these guys been adapting, and how have they kind of been working with what you're trying to create and the identity with this program?

·      Man, the culture, man, we choose it hard, and they have really bought into that. And like, you can just hear them. You get here, guys complaining about bad body language. We got guys getting them immediately because we won’t be choosing hard. That's the mentality we want. That's the mentality we gotta live by every day. Carp seize the day….So that's what we're looking for. It's not a number thing. Let's just win the day.

And then finally, from a schedule perspective, what are you wanting to see from your guys in the first few games of the regular season?

·      First few games, man, we're taking it one game at a time. We open up with Princeton. We got to prepare for Princeton, and each week we're going to do that. But like I said, I want us to keep working and finding out we're not going to care about no scoreboard. We care about the effort. Are we going to care about it? We got guys going after the ball, or we got guys finishing blocks. We got guys hype on our sideline when we made plays. Those are the things we look at early right now. As I said, the play is going to happen. Capital High is going to rebuild. But if these guys are not doing the small things, none of that stuff will matter in their future.

The Takeaway

Capital High School will start off the year against the defending Class AAA champs, Princeton, on Friday, August 28th, in Princeton. Coach Turan Rush has stated that in his first year he’s looking for excitement, effort, and encouragement from his players. Many eyes are on Coach Rush. As a community leader, mentor, and now head coach, Coach Rush has shown his dedication to the community. Capital High’s future is bright with Coach Rush leading the way. The kids there believe in him. It will be a work in progress. But with the community support and the dedication from the coaching staff, Capital will once again blossom.