pation in the summer , working out and everything like that .”
Junior quarterback Hunter McCoy returns to lead the new offense and be in his own true element as a passer .
“ He is more of a spread offense kind of guy ,” Cox said . “ We are moving to a spread offense this year , but Hunter did a great job last year for us in the triple option . He rushed for about 1,500 yards and threw for about 1,600 yards , but we didn ’ t throw that much .”
With the new offense , Cox has high hopes McCoy will excel while playing in his element .
“ We can ’ t wait to see what he does in that offense ,” the head coach said .
Expected to make an impact alongside McCoy is running back Brayden Bork , a wide receiver corps of Blane Ditto , Brayden Ditto and Brodie Clark and offensive linemen Boston Cox and Bryson Ross .
Heading into the season , the Lions have a chip on their shoulder as they look to prove the critics wrong , including a preseason prediction by Dave Campbell ’ s Texas Football that has Weatherford Christian finishing third in district .
“ The mindset of these kids is that we are going to win state ,” Cox said . “ That is our next step . We were at the semifinals last year with an overachieving team . We have better athletes this year , we even have some bigger athletes and even more athletes .
“ To say being in the state championship on Dec . 4 or 5 , that is our goal . That ’ s what we talk about .”
One of the keys to achieving that goal is a one-game-at-a-time approach and not looking past teams .
“ We take it one game at a time ,” Cox said . “ Just think about the first game of the year to where we have been sending them stuff about that game , about Valley Mills down by Waco , which is a public school first . Keeping them focused on that game . When we get into district , it is going to be a lot tougher to keep them focused on the game ahead because there are some teams that will sneak up on you .”
Dallas First Baptist and Lubbock Christian , which moved down a division , are two challenges standing in the Lions ’ way . But WCS is ready , with two years of 11-man football already under its belt .
“ It feels a lot different because last year . We were going in after our first year in 11- man and we finished 2-8 and we just got molly whopped all over the place , didn ’ t know what we were doing ,” Cox said . “ We start last year with 13 kids during two-a-
2021 LIONS
10-4 OVERALL
3-3 DISTRICT
2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 63