Eupora High School football coach Stephen Edwards doesn’t want to say the Eagles will be young this season.
But the Eagles only return 10 starters from a team that went 8-5 and lost in the third round of the playoffs to eventual state champion Scott Central.
“We are somewhat young but I don’t want to say that because that’s just an excuse,” Edwards said. “You have got what you have got and you just coach the ones you have. We do have a lot of skill guys coming back that are going to be able to help us. We have to find out what we are good at.”
One area the Eagles should be talented at is the skill positions. Senior Zak Morris returns at wide receiver and will line up opposite of junior Daniel Brown, who is coming off a knee injury last year. Tyjuan Hughes, Marcus Booker and Brayden Allred will all be getting reps at the receiver slots.
“They can all make plays,” Edwards said. “If people load the box on us, we have to be able to get them the ball. Daniel Brown is coming back from a torn ACL and has looked good. He has a lot of talent and we expect a lot out of him. He’s just a junior but he will have a chance to play somewhere. Zak Morris was an all-district safety last year but will be a threat at receiver as well. We have some speed, we just have to get them out in space.”
In the backfield, junior Cade Adkins is expected to start at quarterback and will be backed up by freshman Ty Murphy while Morris could also line up there as a wildcat quarterback.
“Cade has thrown the ball well this summer,” Edwards said. “I expect him to get better week by week. He’s going to be more of a handoff guy. In today’s game, he will have to run the football some. He probably won’t run it as much as Edwin but you have to have a quarterback that can run some.”
Joining Adkins in the backfield will be Tra McComb who returns at tailback. Also expected to get some carries is senior Travon McMillian along with senior Abraham Hodges and junior Landon Davis.
“We’ve got to be able to run the football,” Edwards said. “With the people on our schedule, we have to be able to line up and run the ball and then throw the ball when we want to. Every team in our non-division schedule had a winning season last year and is ranked so we are going to have to be physical and be able to run the ball.”
On the line, Edwards said sophomore Trey Bright and freshman Aiden Pence are repping at center while Quintavis Morris and Payton Collums will be the guards. At tackle, the Eagles have two returning starters in senior Parker Blaylock and M.J. Thomas. Edwards said Sammy Bowie is backing up at the tackle spots while Jacob Collum is backing up at the guard spots.
“We are limited up front,” Edwards said. “It’s slim pickings. We have to be smart about how we rotate kids and use them on defense. We have to be in good shape, that’s for sure. It’s a concern but it is what it is.”
On defense, the Eagles return six starters including all state defensive tackle M.J. Thomas, who was second on the team in tackles last season. Joining Thomas on the defensive line will be Parker Blaylock, Quintavis Morris, Jordan Sheffield and Sean Conley at nose guard.
At linebacker, De-Unte Watson returns after a big junior season and will be joined by Jacob Collum, Landon Davis, Travon McMillian and Chris Robinson.
In the secondary, Abraham Hodges and Daris Brown will be the cornerbacks while Daniel Brown is working there as well. At safety, Tra McComb and Zak Morris will be the starters while Tavern Ford and Ty Murphy will be the backups there.
“I think we have some good speed on defense and have to be able to utilize that,” Edwards said. “A lot of people we play are getting into the spread and we feel like we have guys who can run and can defend the spread.”
On special teams, Kimble Dillinger will handle placekicking and punting while Lyndell Boatman is also working hard to get some reps. Jacob Collum and Cade Adkins will handle the long-snapping duties.
The Eagles will play in Division 2-2A with East Webster, Calhoun City, J.Z. George and Bruce.
“I think it’s Calhoun City until somebody beats them and it’s been that way for a long time,” Edwards said. “We can’t circle a game on the schedule and say that’s a win, It’s a tough schedule. We have to protect the ball and play good special teams. I think we have a lot of teams that are gunning for us. Our kids have to match that intensity. When you have teams that don’t like you, it’s like their Super Bowl every year.”
The Eagles will open the regular season on Aug. 23 at Winona.
