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Wildcats training for 2016 football season

WATERFORD – While Waterford High broke even on the gridiron at 5-5 last year, it has not enjoyed a winning football campaign in four seasons.

The Wildcats also have not competed in postseason play since 2002.

With a relatively veteran green and white team back, first-year WHS varsity football coach Eric McCutcheon is hoping to change all of that this upcoming fall.

“We’re going to try to bring it every night,” said McCutcheon before the start of a scheduled four-hour session (5 p.m.-9 p.m.) at the Waterford Elementary School practice field late Friday afternoon.

McCutcheon, who coached football at the junior high level in past years, smiled.

“I’ve coached pretty much all of the players in junior high,” he said. “I know all of their moms and dads. I’m looking forward to the season. It’s going to be exciting.”

McCutcheon is succeeding longtime Waterford football supporter Tom Tucker. Tucker had been with the program as either a player, assistant, or head coach since 1973.

“An opportunity came up and I interviewed for it,” McCutcheon said. “I’ve always wanted to try it (head coaching position), but just never had that chance.”

Like Tucker, McCutcheon is also homegrown. A 1993 Waterford graduate, he had four different bosses during his prep playing days. He was also a basketball player under the tutelage of Garrett Powers.

From the 2015 squad, Waterford graduated eight players – Montana Brooker, Jaret McCutcheon, Dalton Ball, Dwight Crane, Kyle Schrader, Quentin Havens, Weston Wagner, and Tim Leach.

Eric McCutcheon said that 33 players are on the 2016 roster. Of those, there are a combined 19 seniors and juniors. There are also around “seven or eight freshman” on the squad.

“This is the best group of kids,” the coach said. “They do whatever you want. They’re very coachable.

“They’ve got big hopes and we’ve got big hopes, too. Put that together and it’s a good combination. It’s an exciting time to be at Waterford.”

Added 6-foot-4, 215-pound left tackle Adam Roe, “We’ve got a lot of returning players, and we’re going to have to use that to our advantage.”

Some of the key Wildcat returnees will be quarterback Isaac Huffman, running back Tyler McCutcheon, RB Cody Harris, center Riley Burns, wide receiver Wyatt Lang, RB Braden Bellville, WR Noah Huffman, linebacker Ty McGraw, lineman Teddy Smith, lineman Cylus Boyd, DB Hunter Tornes, RB Taylor Strahler, lineman Clayton Campbell, and Roe to name but a few.

“We’ve got most of our skills guys back,” Eric McCutcheon said. “Lost most of our line. Adam Roe’s the only one that’s returned on the offensive line. So, we’ve got to fill some spots there. Riley Burns filled in a little bit last year. He’ll fit in just fine.”

Said Roe, “Being a senior, the coaches are expecting me to pick up the slack as one of the leaders on this team.”

The first-year boss said that there were 14 linemen on the team. So, depth shouldn’t be an issue.

“We should be able to keep some guys fresh,” Roe said. “The younger ones should be able to give us a break when we need it.”

On Wednesday, the Wildcats were paid a visit by the Ohio National Guard.

“They worked with them a couple of hours,” McCutcheon said. “It was kind of like a boot camp.”

On Thursday, Waterford traveled to Noble County to play Caldwell in a 7-on-7 scrimmage.

“We played pretty well,” McCutcheon said, “and I thought we matched up pretty well against each other.

“We took the linemen with us and used it as one of our contact days. The linemen did their thing down at one end of the field, and the quarterbacks and receivers worked on their passing game at the other end. Caldwell’s got a nice offensive line, but our boys held their own.”

After season-opening practices begin in earnest Aug 1, Waterford has scrimmages on tap at Wirt County in Elizabeth, W.Va. (Aug. 13) and at Shenandoah in Sarahsville.

Three of the Wildcats’ first four scheduled games will be on the road, and all contest this fall will kick off at 7 p.m.

On Aug. 26, Waterford is slated to kick off the campaign at Miller. The following Friday (Sept. 2), the green and white gridders will play their home opener against Wahama.

“We should be very competitive this year,” McCutcheon said. “I feel like we can match up with most everybody. At least, I hope so. But we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

This season, Eric McCutcheon will be assisted by line coach Phil McGraw, defensive coordinator Jeff Welch, Bobby Lemasters, and Darren McCutcheon.

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