COLCHESTER - After missing out on the playoffs last season for the first time since entering eight-man football, West Prairie/Southeastern head football coach John McCormick is hoping a strong finish to last season will lead to more success on the gridiron this fall.
McCormick, who is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Cyclones’ program, welcomed 24 student- athletes out for the program this season, several of them upperclassmen with experience.
“We’ve got quite a few seniors playing, so that’s good,” said McCormick. “We’ll have a little bit of experience.”
One of those seniors is running back/linebacker Austin Nelson, who led the WP/SE offense last season by rushing for over 1,000 yards. Nelson, whose 14 touchdowns led the team, also caught 11 passes for 237 yards to pace the passing attack.
“Austin Nelson is, obviously, going to be our guy,” said McCormick. “Glad to have him back. He’s looking just as good as he always has. He’s one of those guys who leads by example when he needs to. He’s a good guy to look up to.”
“(Nelson) has been a big part of our offense since his sophomore year, so now we’re looking for him to be a big part of our defense, too. He understands that and the way he works makes other guys work, too, so that’s kind of nice.”
Early in camp overall, McCormick has been pleased with what he has seen from his squad.
“We’re impressed with how we’re working and picking things up,” McCormick said.
“We had to start from scratch a little bit, but they’re picking it up and working hard. We’ve got to make good use of our time because the season will be here before we know it.”
Another senior who McCormick is looking towards is Jack Carpenter, a 6-foot, 2-inch, 240 pound lineman.
“Carpenter has played for a few years and he’s one of those seniors where I’ve seen a lot of improvement,” said McCormick. “He’s a strong guy. I’ve had him in weightlifting class and he’s one of the strongest guys in our school. Now, it’s just a matter of getting that strength to be a functional thing on the football field.”
McCormick will be looking at quarterback Tristen Hester to lead the Cyclones’ attack this season. Hester (5-11, 185) saw limited duty last year at the position, but McCormick is confident in his ability.
“Last year, (Hester) played tight end, so he’s got some experience playing,” said McCormick. “It’s not like he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s doing a nice job and as a senior, he’s pretty poised.”
Last season, the WP/SE offense rushed for 256 yards per game and 29 touchdowns.
McCormick doesn’t see that changing too much this season.
“Our main thing is to run the ball and it’s kind of always been that way,” he said. “We want to run the ball and stop the run. If we can win a game 6-0, we’re alright with that.”
After finishing 6-4 the previous two seasons, the Cyclones dropped to 3-6 last year.
Yet, after starting out 0-6, the Cyclones finished the season on a three-game winning streak in which the defense showed much improvement.
Overall last season, the WP/SE defense allowed 36 points per contest, but during the three-game win streak, that number dropped to only 18 points per game.
Despite some depth issues, McCormick is counting on more size and speed to aid the defense this fall.
We’ve got a lot of defensive line type guys that I feel we can rotate,” said McCormick. “I feel we can stay fresh that way.”
