East Webster High School Wolverines

CUMBERLAND, Miss. (WCBI) — One of the surprise teams of the 2014 season was East Webster.

The Wolverines blazed all the way to the 2A North Final, finishing with 11 victories. And this season, East Webster has 15 starters returning and 18 seniors.

The expectations, because of that experience returning, are through the roof.

“Very high expectations from the coaching staff down to the players,” head coach Doug Wilson said. “The seniors have high expectations of themselves. The community and the football community around here has high expectations coming off a good year last season and the starters we have coming back.”

“We’re ready to play,” senior Jack Wilson said. “We know a lot is coming at us this year. Our opponents are very good and we’ll have a lot of competition and we’re ready to take on the challenge.”

But East Webster’s biggest hurdle towards getting back to the 2A North Final is their division.

Easily the toughest district in Class 2A will give the Wolverines another challenge to conquer for 2015.

“It was very difficult last year and I didn’t think it could get harder but it did,” coach Wilson said. “Winona is a great team. They have a lot of seniors on their team coming down from 3A. Every Friday night will come down to who makes the fewest mistakes to be successful in our district.”

“Our district is way tougher than the south,” senior Malcomb Jones said. “We’re playing against better, faster teams with stronger and better coaches.”

For 2015, the Wolverines will no longer have the element of surprise.

A bulls-eye is squarely on the back of East Webster, as the Wolverines are no longer the hunters, but the hunted.

“We’re used to being the underdog but this year we have the target on our back,” senior Dillan Silver said. “That will be weird since most teams overlook us because of our size.”

“It will be different because the past couple years everybody overlooks us,” senior Tyler Cosby said. “But now they know we mean business. We’ve been working hard all offseason. I think that will translate on the field. Everybody working as a team and as one unit.”

“Play like we play, don’t try to change anything and play hard,” Jack Wilson said. “We’re not bigger than anybody else, we’re not faster. But we’ll hustle and play with all we got and play as hard as we can and not worry about our opponents.”

East Webster will begin the 2015 campaign at home versus Vardaman before visiting Noxapater the following week.