Wyoming East Football Ready to Turn the Corner

Following its playoff appearance back in 2019, the Wyoming East football program fell on some tough times.

Over the last five years, the Warriors have only managed seven wins total and no more than two victories in any of those seasons.

Third-year head coach Steve Cook believes this could be the year Wyoming East turns the corner.

"Most of the progression comes with these guys growing up. We have had a lot of guys that had to play as freshman before they were really ready. Ideally, if you look at successful programs each year, they are coming in with 15-20 seniors on the roster and we haven't had that yet," Cook said. "This will be our last year being low on seniors. We have had a lot of young guys building this up and that will show more as they age."

Even though his team is still mostly underclassmen, Cook sees the experience gained under fire as an asset.

"Our strength will be just having more experience. You can see the difference in practice," Cook said. "There are a lot less questions. We can focus on getting work done rather than having to teach every little minute detail."

As with any team, if the Warriors are going to be successful this season, they will need to own the trenches. Cook is convinced his crew up front can be difference makers.

"We have two or three with considerable experience on the line, but at the same time we will not have any seniors on the line," Cook reiterated. "Everybody is juniors or younger. That group should stick together for the next couple of years at least."

Caleb Hatfield and Gabe Shrewsbury will likely be the anchors along the line.

"Caleb plays at guard. He will be our smallest lineman this year, but he has had more reps on the line that anybody else. He hasn't missed a game. This will be his third year there, so he is kind of the old guy, even though he is a junior," Cook said. "Gabe will be our center. He has played a lot of football too since he was a freshman and is in that same boat with Caleb."

Brayden Blankenship also gathered some experience and the Warriors have some big-heavies joining the experienced threesome.

"Brayden has a lot of potential. This is just his second year of playing football and he has put on almost 50 (good) pounds since last June. He has grown a lot," Cook said. "We have some in coming freshman that will really boost our size too. Herbie Hall is 340 pounds. Tyler Shrewsbury is out for his first year and he is 319 pounds. Our average weight across the line from last year to this year is 46 pounds heavier. That helps."

Cook is looking to use that size up front to control the ball and grind teams into submission.

"If you can block, you can run," Cook said. "I wouldn't say we have a lot of speed, but we have some guys, if they will, that are going to get four or five yards. It will be a methodical, grind it out type of offense."

The quarterback position is still up for grabs and will be a competition among Owen Biggs, Cruz Cooper and Miken Smyth.

"Our goal is to have "a guy" by the beginning of the season. There is a little more to playing quarterback than 7-on-7 style," Cook said. "We are looking for somebody to manage the offense and be a leader. Those are the two priorities. You might not throw the most perfect ball, but if you have the leadership quality and execute every play, that is what we are looking for."

Wyoming East will also have a big play threat on both sides of the ball in James Woods.

"He is a sophomore that played a lot last year on both sides of the ball at tight end and outside linebacker. He did well, as far as a freshman goes, and we are very pleased with him," Cook said. "He is a football player and he has the mindset that he wants to be physical. Having a kid of his stature to play tight end and set the edge on defense is very valuable. As he progresses he should become a real handful."

Cook admits that a playoff berth would involve his team playing prefect football, but the goal this year is simply progression.

"I want to see improvement from last year. My first year was tough and we took our licks. Last year we only won one game, but the point differential shrunk by almost 20 points," Cook said. "We were much more competitive. There were more games that we could have won, but we had injuries and things like that. This year I just want to see the progression continue. Take it one game at a time."