There will be plenty of new faces on the Eupora football schedule this upcoming season.
After an Aug. 15 jamboree at South Pontotoc, the Eagles will open with a familiar foe when they travel to Winona, who will compete in Class 3A this year. The Tigers were 13-1 last season and lost in the third round of the playoffs to Seminary. Two years ago, Winona beat Eupora 35-18. The Tigers are led by An’darius Coffey who threw for 1,401 yards and 16 TDs while rushing for 1,445 yards on 192 carries.
The Eagles will then host Noxapater on their home opener on Aug. 30. The Class 1A Tigers were 10-3 last year.
On Sept. 6, the Eagles will host French Camp, the only team the Eagles played in non-conference last year. The Eagles won 48-17 while the Panthers finished 7-5.
The Eagles will then begin a two-game road stretch as they travel to Union on Sept. 13. The Yellowjackets were 8-5 last year and made the second round of the playoffs, losing 35-0 to Calhoun City.
The Eagles will then face one of their toughest tasks of the season as they travel to Class 3A Houston. The Hilltoppers were 11-2 last year and lost to eventual 3A state champion Water Valley 20-8.
Eupora will then return home to take on another 2A playoff team in Pisgah for homecoming. The Dragons were 10-3 last year and lost to 2A finalist Taylorsville in the playoffs. Pisgah averaged 288 yards rushing a game last year and features one of the largest offensive lines in 2A.
The Eagles will then open division play as they travel to Bruce, who finished 4-8 last year.
Eupora will then host rival Calhoun City on Oct. 11 in a key division contest. The Wildcats took a 10-9 win over the Eagles last year as they finished 10-5 last year and lost to eventual 2A champion Scott Central in the North State finals.
After Calhoun City, the Eagles will travel to J.Z. George, who is moving down from Class 3A. The Jaguars were 0-11 last year.
The regular season will come to an end with the annual Maroon Bowl as the Eagles host rival East Webster. Last year, the Wolverines opened Division 2-2A play with a hard-fought 7-6 win over the Eagles and finished 6-7 on the season and lost 39-19 to Philadelphia in the second round of the playoffs.
