#HSFT17: Stop No. 44 – Eupora Eagles

EUPORA, Miss. (WCBI) — Eupora is eager to turn the page towards 2017 following last season.

The Eagles were riddled with injuries and fell short of making the playoffs for the first time since 1999. But the past is just that…and with an older, wiser and more experienced team returning, Eupora has their sights set on big things this year.

“We have an older bunch now,” said head coach Stephen Edwards. “The seniors have had to start for 2 years. We have 8 guys back on offense, 7 on defense. Experience is the main thing I’m excited about. That and attitude. We’ve had real good attitudes this summer.”

“I like how we have young guys coming up willing to work hard,” senior Ash Dumas said. “Seniors we’re motivating the younger guys. We had adversity last year so we know how to do deal with bad stuff.”

That bad stuff that Ash is referring to is 3 of Eupora’s 6 losses coming by a grand total of just 4 points.

But last year is driving the Eagles to bigger and better things in 2017, and with the talent & speed returning, the sky is the limit at Eupora.

“We have older guys in the skill positions and you better have speed and we have that in the right spots,” Edwards said. “Hopefully we can compete in our division and make a playoff run.”

“It killed us last year,” senior Tanner Knight said on missing the playoffs. “That’s the big thing this year is we want to do more than make the playoffs. We want to win a State Championship for Eupora.”

“We want to put Eupora on the map,” senior Al Dumas said. “We want to change the history here and start something great.”

And Al Dumas is one of those seniors that’s poised to put Eupora not only on the map but in the State Title game as the Eagles will settle for nothing less in 2017.

“We want to go to State,” Ash Dumas said. “Put Eupora on the map and go to State. We haven’t won State in a long time. We didn’t make the playoffs last year so we felt left out.”

“That would mean the world to us seniors,” Knight said. “We missed the playoffs last year so that hurt us big time so we want to win a State Title this year.”

“Last 5 years, the team that won our division played for a State Championship,” coach Edwards said. “That’s our goal again this year.”

Eupora will begin the season with a 3-game homestand hosting Water Valley, Newton and French Camp.