WYOMING EAST
WYOMING EAST
Warriors see light at end of the tunnel
By Dave Morrison for the register-herald
Wyoming East third-year coach Steven Cook sees the light at the end of the tunnel.
And that light comes from an interesting point he brought up about a pair of rising sophomores who made their mark last season.
Those players are Grayson Ashley and James Wood, a pair of two-way-players who really shined their light on defense.
“ My first year we got blown out in in several games where we gave up long runs where( ball carriers) got outside us,” Cook said.“ We struggled to find guys who could set the edge and shed blockers.
“ Last year we had those two guys, James Wood and Grayson Ashley, and I don’ t think anybody broke a run that got outside our contain.”
Last year Ashley had 99 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
The defense made significant strides, giving up 289 points, 171 fewer than the 461 of the 2023 season.
Linebackers include Wood, an outside backer, and Miken Smyth, a hard-nosed, downhill middle linebacker, Gavin Clay, Chase Adkins and James Guy, an upcoming freshman who could see varsity reps.
Defensive backs include Owen Biggs, Isaac Ford, Cam Huffman, Guy( who can move to either LB or DB) and Tristan Cutlip.
Improvement this year will come in the interior line.
“ Where we got beat was, we were light in the pants in the interior,” Cook said.“ Our( defensive) line averaged 210 pounds, two of our three linebackers were 130 pounds. We now have options and the guys we can throw in there are now 120 pounds heavier and that’ s going to change things.”
Caleb Hatfield, Gabe
Jim Cook / For The Register-Herald
Wyoming East quarterback Gaige Cooper picks up a short gain before Westside’ s Jody Zou brings him down. Part of the preseason focus has been to find a replacement for the graduated Cooper.
Shrewsbury and Brayden Blankenship are all two-way linemen who will play a significant role.
But Cook, a former lineman at Wyoming East, would like to develop depth.
Among those are Zane Cook( 5-10, 255) a junior who hasn’ t played, Ethan Fraley, Carson McKinney and big freshmen Erby Hall( 6-2, 330) and Tyler Shrewsbury( 6-3, 320).
They will all also be in the mix in on the offensive line, a position Cook is excited about.
Ashley will also expand his offensive role as a running back, something he couldn’ t last year due to a shoulder injury.
It will be more of a backfield by committee with Chase Adkins and Gavin Clay seeing action, and Cook believes a couple more will emerge in August.
The quarterback situation will be decided in preseason camp.
Cruz Cooper got a good jump on things with some action this summer in June ball. He is also the first player in Cook’ s three seasons who enters with a background as a QB.
But senior Miken Smyth enters the season as the only QB to play the position in varsity action.
Owen Biggs is another QB possibility who can play in several spots.
Biggs and Smyth can also line up at receiver if not at QB, along with speedy guys like Isaac Ford and Tristan Cutlip and possibly young up and comers like Cam Huffman and James Guy.
Cook will search for a kicker, after he said he was gifted a good one in the exchange student program last year. The punter role will again be held by James Wood.
Since going 8-3 and making the postseason in 2019, the Warriors have won eight games( 8-36).
“ It’ s hard to be patient but they have the potential to turn it around,” Cook said.“ The culture is changing, and the mentality is changing, and they are committed to working at it. We’ ve had guys this summer that have gone beyond. They want extra sprints. They want extra reps.
“ We might not be flashy but we have but we have guys who can get the job done. If we have the same level of improvement as we did last year, we can turn those close games into wins.”
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