T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - East Marshall football’s 16 returning letters are, front row: (from left) Cody Weaver, Jordan Meling, Blake Neuroth, Xavier Slifer, Eli Burns and Gage Searle; middle row: Lucas Bowie, Zach Denham, Jake Farrington, Drew Wheater, Dallas Miller; back row: Christian Little, Kaden Good, Wyatt Stalzer, Carter Pohle and Dorian Alcaraz.

LE GRAND — A season-opening win over BCLUW and a decisive Week 9 triumph over Colfax-Mingo bookended a rough year on the gridiron for the East Marshall football program last fall, but the Mustangs have high hopes coming out of camp nevertheless.

A more experienced roster, a lot of returning letterwinners and an offseason spent in the weight room have East Marshall head coach Greg Lee thinking big this year.

“Going back two years, the wins and losses weren’t a whole lot different, but if you get into it, we won a couple games last year and honestly there’s a couple others we should have won,” Lee said. “We had two games where we turned the ball over seven times, and in both of those we kinda controlled the whole game but we made mistakes. Credit those other teams but we could have easily had four wins last year, which would have been a big step for us in the right direction.

“We kind of feel like that’s our starting point this year.”

A four-win season would be East Marshall’s best since 2017, when the Mustangs won five, but there hasn’t been a playoff banner flying in Le Grand since 1992. Lee hopes a lot of growth through experience, adversity and raw strength goes a long way toward breaking that trend this fall.

The Mustangs return 16 letterwinners from last year’s 2-7 squad in pursuit of a program turnaround. Lee said this year’s senior class of only five have been the ringleaders in the movement.

“This group of seniors is kind of the reason the booster club put some money into the weight room,” said Lee. “We’re getting good participation and they saw that and helped us get up to date with our facility a little bit. The school has really been stressing getting into the weight room, being out for multiple sports, and we’ve got a group going through now led by our seniors who have done that. You can see them physically changing and being mentally tougher and I’m looking forward to seeing how they compete.

“I just thing we’ll be more competitive than we have been mentally and that’ll lead to good things. I’m excited because we’ve put a lot of work in.”

Drew Wheater heads the Mustangs’ senior class as he returns for his fourth season of varsity football. Wheater (6-foot, 207 pounds) was the team’s leading rusher and tackler a year ago, and none of that is expected to change.

“Drew has played since he was a freshman and he’s been great,” Lee said. “We’re looking forward to him having a really good year. He’s had some really good seasons for us but he is primed to have a really good senior year. We’re looking forward to him to to be the leader on our defense and we have him in the backfield again and he’s hard to bring down and he’s a great blocker.

“We’re built around his mentality and he’s a great leader, he’s in great shape and he’s ready to go.”

Quarterback Jake Farrington goes into his third season taking snaps after an improved year making the calls last fall. He threw for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns last season and has a wider array of receivers available to make plays for him on the outside this year.

Xavier Slifer will return to his roles at running back and linebacker this fall, and Gage Searle will do the same at receiver and defensive back. Zach Denham begins his third season as a starting lineman on both sides of the ball.

“We have a lot of returning letterwinners, we have our backfield back and a couple solid receivers and linemen, and on the defensive side of the ball it’s the same thing,” Lee said. “All of our linebackers have a lot of experience and for a lot of guys this will be their third year on varsity, so we think with a big group of juniors and a lot of freshmen coming in we’re a little bit deeper than we have been and we think we should be able to compete on a more consistent basis.”

The Mustangs got knocked around a bit in what Lee considered “the best 1A district in the state” last year thanks to two-time defending state champion Grundy Center and perennial contender Waterloo Columbus, which made it to the UNI-Dome as well last year.

Non-district games at BCLUW and Saydel and the home opener against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont should provide opportunity for the Mustangs to prove their improvements before breaking into Class 1A District 4 action with a trip to Grundy Center.

“We really feel like we could get off to a good start,” Lee said. “We start off with a big rivalry game at BCLUW at their place. That’s been a nice rivalry for us and I’m sure they’ll be ready for us.”

Opening district play against Grundy Center isn’t necessariliy a bad thing, Lee contends, because of the measurement it will provide.

“That’s a chance for us to see where we’re at,” he said. “I’m excited just to see actually where we are at, both how we show up mentally and how we can compete against what I believe is the best program in the state right now. That’s early in the season which in my mind is kinda good to see where we’re at, but it’ll be a tough test for us.”

East Marshall’s big junior class will provide a lot for this year’s contingent in terms of athleticism, especially when it comes to the passing game. Blake Neuroth is the team’s leading returning receiver (18 receptions for 233 yards, 2 TDs), while state golfer Cody Weaver hopes to get more of a chance to contribute after breaking a finger last fall. Lucas Bowie brings back some experience gained as a sophomore as well, both on offense and in the defensive secondary.

Fellow junior Wyatt Stalzer (6-2, 241) is one of the biggest guys on the roster and has played since his freshman season as well.

“We’re going into this season feeling like with half the schedule we’re competing at a high level and we are in a very, very tough district, but we feel like the kids’ confidence is growing and we feel like we’re going to be able to compete pretty much on a nightly basis,” Lee said. “We ended the season on a positive note and we would like to run the ball first then throw it, but we were very competitive in 7-on-7 this summer, we have a quarterback with a lot of experience, receivers with a lot of experience, and we have a couple linemen so we’re hoping we’ll be able to do both.”

East Marshall Football Schedule

Aug. 30 at BCLUW, 7 p.m.

Sept. 6 at Saydel, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 EDDYVILLE-BLAKESBURG, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Grundy Center, 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 SOUTH HARDIN, 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 at Hudson, 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 WATERLOO COLUMBUS, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 ALBURNETT, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 COLFAX-MINGO, 7 p.m. (tentative)