By all indications, 2019 was a step back for Eupora.
Stephen Edwards had a talented group of seniors graduate from his 2018 team that contended for the Class 2A, Region 2 title and won eight games. The team won just four games with an injury-riddled team and several key players gone from the year before. They did win a playoff game, but the Eagles didn’t eclipse 1,000 yards passing and had just 1,389 yards rushing. Edwards was looking for an offensive coordinator two years ago and was hoping to get Winona assistant Brad Gray after the two had coached together in the Northeast Mississippi Football Coaches Association All-Star game. This time, it worked out and Gray is coming to Eupora to lead the offense.
“I was really impressed with his play calling and the kids just gravitated to him,” Edwards said of Gray. “I’m so excited to have him and excited for our kids. I knew that Winona was always really good on offense. They had guys going to colleges everywhere from Junior College to Division I. He can slow it down and their play calling was really simple. He’s going to exploit defenses.”
Gray helped the Tigers become a force offensively over the last few years. They played for the Class 2A state championship in 2017 and the offense put up over 2,000 yards passing and another 3,387 rushing. In 2018, star running back An’darius Coffey rushed for 1,445 and he followed that up with 1,665 yards rushing this past season and 2,064 yards passing with 47 total touchdowns.
Edwards believes that the Eagles’ best playmaker next year, Tra McComb could be utilized similarly in this offense. It could also help with the quarterbacks returning as senior Cade Adkins is back for his final year after starting last year and splitting time with sophomore-to-be Ty Murphy who flashed good things.
“We’ve got both quarterbacks back. Cade started at the beginning of the year and then Ty Murphy came on later. We’ll find out who’s going to be the man and that’s good competition,” Edwards said. “We’ve got Tra McComb and most of our offensive line back. We struggled last year with those guys but they’ll be better.”
With the program getting a lift with an experienced coach with stops at Tupelo and even a head coaching stint at Ethel, the Eagles now wait out the start of the season. COVID-19 has prevented them from going through a spring together, but there’s hope that summer sports will resume soon.
When the team finally gets back together and gets to implement Gray’s strategy, then the real fun can begin. It’s what Edwards has been hoping for the last year.
“Hopefully when we can start practicing again we can get continuity,” Edwards said. “I started out doing offense last year and then went to defense. I felt like our kids never got that continuity and that system. With one coach now I feel like things are going to be able to stabilize and we’ll be in a much better place.”
