The football season has arrived, and for the East Mills Wolverines, that means an early start to the season as they prepare to travel to Griswold for a week zero matchup with the Tigers. Coming off a 5-4 season a year ago, things will look a little different for the Wolverines. East Mills graduated 8 seniors from last year’s roster. This included quarterback Caleb Urban (who threw for more than 2,000 yards), their top rusher in Sheldon Vandenberg, their top two receivers, and the leading tackler in Jackson Embree. Despite the departures, head coach Trenton Turney is confident in his group, but expect to see a more evenly distributed play sheet in the season opener.

Junior Mason Camden will get the nod in week zero at quarterback. Although making his first varsity start, he does not come in with a lack of experience and has benefited from playing behind Urban.

Other playmakers will need to step up for the Wolverines, and they have guys at each position that could be ready for a breakout year. At receiver, sophomore Jhalil Reed will serve as the team’s utility knife, as a freshman, he hauled in 18 receptions for 308 yards and a touchdown. Senior Quinn Poorker was not far behind him with 11 receptions for 211 yards. On defense, Senior Cooper Hagen was third on the team in tackles last season with 35 and Turney feels confident in him and his front four.

Last year’s matchup between the two was a shootout. The squads combined for 114 points while East Mills had 378 yards of total offense as they slipped by Griswold 58-56. Of course, with game being moved to week zero, Turney is expecting a lot of unknowns but also knows that Griswold will be prepared.

Although East Mills lost a lot in the offseason, the Wolverines are excited to get back on the field and prove what type of team they can be. KJAN will have the coverage with the pregame show at 6:30 pm with kickoff schedule for 7 pm.