#HSFT18: Stop No. 12 – East Union Urchins

BLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (WCBI) — East Union enters their sixth season with the football program, and now are aiming for a division title.

“They’ve been here,” said head coach Kevin Walton. “They’re probably one of the first groups from the 7th grade till their senior year. They’ve stuck it out. They know what it takes to play football. They are great kids.”

The East Union Urchins are back to work again after finishing 5-7 last season.

The Urchins return eight starters this season with only four seniors on this year’s team, including running back Joel Wilkinson.

The team looks forward to getting the season started.

“We are going to be young,” said senior tight end Josh Basil. “But we don’t have a really big senior class. The seniors that we do have stuck with it for a while. I feel like with our leadership we can get everybody up and going. I think it will be a really good season.

“Really just how the changing of the offense a little bit,” said senior running back Joel Wilkinson. “Not much, and changing up the defense to where making it more simple.”

The Urchins finished fourth in the Region 1-2a division last season, and made the playoffs.

The team that returns this year will be young once again playing a lot of underclassman, but the team also feels that can take that next step to bring home a division title.

basil: “we defintely can. if everybody stays healthy. we can get through it. we have a lot of skill guys this year, i feel like we can finish at least top two or three in the division.”

“The way we play football,” Wilkinson said. “It’s just head on. Hit them as hard as we can. Just keep on giving everything we’ve got, and their teams I wouldn’t say have gotten worse, but just they’ve lost a pretty good amount of seniors as the years have gone by.”

East Union made the playoffs each of the last two seasons, but have been eliminated in the first round.

Coach Walton believes his team this year has a chance to make a good run deep into post season.

“I do,” Walton said. “With work ethic, and the seniors that we have. We don’t have many. They are great leaders, and I think that the young guys are going to follow their lead. I’m exciting about the upcoming season.”

The Urchins will open their season on the road August 17th at Falkner.