The Tigers must replace the quarterback (Hayden Holmes), running back (Jakeem Johnson) and receivers (Hunter Rasberry, Randall Smith) who accounted for most of the offense and 30 touchdowns last season.
"Some people are gonna be counting us out because of who we lost, but I'm excited for what we have coming back," Burcham said.
A few good senior athletes return along with others who showed potential as first-time starters as sophomores last season.
"We just need some guys to grow up. We're not gonna be that far off from where we've been," Burcham said.
Last year, the Tigers went 6-5 and were close to being quite a bit better. They lost three games decided by a touchdown or less. They also upset eventual 5A champion Carl Albert and came within an eyelash of erasing a 33-point deficit in their first-round playoff loss to Bishop Kelley.
Defensive starters as juniors, Tristan Butcher and Caleb Wheeler are now prime candidates for playing time at Johnson's old spot in the offensive backfield.
Another likely contributor is sophomore-to-be Key'landus Colton. "He's shown the potential to be really, really good," Burcham said.
Ryan Fitzsimmons and sophomore-to-be Jake Northern, who started at third base as a freshman on the varsity baseball team, are competing at quarterback.
"They're really '1' and '1A'," said Burcham, 32-24 in his first five seasons. "They'll rotate evenly, but Ryan will go out first because he has a couple of years in the system. I just see them having a really good competition."
The Tigers return a solid nucleus on defense with linebackers Butcher and Sam Dawes, defensive back Wheeler and linemen Michael Bogner, Kent Graham and Bill Perry.
Another standout is senior offensive lineman Craig Stunkard, who was part of the seventh-grade class when Burcham arrived as head coach.
"It's fun to see these guys develop," Burcham said. "Stunkard goes from being a backup cornerback as a seventh-grader to one of our best offensive linemen as a senior."
COWETA TIGERS
Original Print Headline: Capable players await their turn for Coweta
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