Second-year East Webster football coach Ron Price knows what’s in front of him. The Wolverines return just six starters on a team that went 5-6 last year and have just 12 seniors on the roster. “It’s a really young football team,” Price said. “At a lot of positions, it’s going to be a lot of kids' first opportunity to be on the field. We have preached to them time and again that’s it’s their time to play. How we do depends on how quickly those kids react to being the man. They may be young but they are giving great effort. I think they will be in good positions because they are doing what we are asking them on do on Friday night.” One position of concern is quarterback and replacing Charlie Brand. Price said he has been asked all summer who the quarterback is going to be. Competing for the position are Gray McCarter, Sedric Taylor and John Austin Roberts. “I have been asked that question a lot and the answer is still not settled,” Price said. “I’ve got three kids competing for the starting position. Nobody has taken the lead there yet and the competition is a great thing. We are going to have to give them all reps and hopefully one of them will separate themselves from the other two. It’s hard to replace Charlie Brand because he was a great high school quarterback. The pressure is on the next man up.” At running back, Hunter Gilbreath, John Austin Roberts, Ronnie Thomas and Tyreeke Pittman are all expected to see playing time. At wide receiver, Conner Shurden returns to the starting lineup while senior Sloan Hillhouse is expected to be a solid starter. Also expected to play major minutes will be Keevon Patterson, Steven Betts and Daniel Rogers. If not at quarterback, Sedrick Taylor will be the tight end while Hasting Gibson, Isaac Jones and Garrett Womack will all get on the field. On the line, Noah Hatcher is the only returning starter at right guard and could play any of the five positions. Junior Cohen Clark will be at center while senior Will Harpole will be at left tackle. Junior Caleb Massey will be at right tackle while sophomore Cameron Jennings will be at left guard. Also expected to see playing time on the line is Zach Langford while Preston Hill, Rashad Hamilton and Peyton Mitchell will all get reps. “I think our strength is our offensive line,” Price said. “We are trying to produce a quarterback and we are trying to be patient so we don’t want to put a lot of pressure on him. So we need the line to step up and be productive. We have to find the plays and formations that are going to keep us in the game. But I feel good about us controlling the line of scrimmage. We just have to be patient and give our team a chance to win in the fourth quarter.” On defense, Cooper Reed is a “very high-energy guy” and expected to lead the defensive front from tight end. He is joined on the line by Caleb Massey, Cameron Jennings and senior Hunter Dendy. At linebacker, senior Cason Pate returns with a lot of playing experience and will be joing by Hunter Gilbreath, Conner Chrisman and Martis Flowers. In the secondary, Sloan Hillhouse gets high praise from Price while Gray McCarter and J.A. Roberts are competing at free safety. At corner back, Daniel Rogers and Tyreke Pittman are expected to start while Aaron Kelly will get reps at both corner and safety. Senior Keevon Patterson will also work into the rotation when healthy. Others expected to provide depth are Isaac Jones, Conner Shurden, Zach Langford, Noah Hatcher and Rashad Hamilton. “It’s a very young group of players and not a lot of experience,” Price said. “We are moving that unit as fast as they can to be successful. The kids are giving us great effort. They are aggressive and we will have a lot of question marks but most teams do. We have a lot of candidates and it’s our job as coaches to get them where they need to be. We would be worried if they weren’t quality candidates. We just have to get them where they need to be.” The Wolverines are guaranteed a playoff position with only four teams in the division with Winona being moved to 5-3A. They will compete with Calhoun City, Eupora and Leflore County. “One thing we have to do is believe we can compete every Friday night,” Price said. “We open the division with Eupora and Calhoun City. We will know exactly where we are right off the bat. One thing we have used this offseason is the way we competed against Calhoun City last year. That drives us every day in practice and in the weight room. I want to know that our kids are going to compete. But I think our district is wide open but it won’t be an easy task. There are quality teams from one through four. All I know is the team that has won 2A North the last few years has come from out district. We just hope we have the chance to be that team.”
