After winning five games in a six-game stretch over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, East Clinton football appeared to be on the right track to a winning record for the first time since 2011.
But 13 losses in the next 17 games doomed Steve Olds and the Astros to a 5-5 finish in 2020 and a 2-8 record in 2021.
East Clinton was 2-5 in 2020 before winning two of its final three games. Then a 3-0 start to 2021 had expectations at a high.
But the Astros have struggled from week 4 that season and were never able to capture that magic. They were 2-8 in 2022.
“This group has a short memory and they are eager to get out there and compete,” Olds said. “Their attitude and effort has been consistent throughout preseason camp and we believe that will carry over into the season.”
There are 16 returning letterwinners, with 15 of them being returning starters.
East Clinton post-season honors went to Glenn Peacock and Dameon Williams, who were both first team; as well as Adran Baker who was second team. Baker graduated in the spring.
Williams was a do-it-all offensive weapon, rushing for a team-high 816 yards and nine touchdowns while catching 12 passes for 203 yards and another score. Williams was a special teams standout as well, averaging 23.7 yards on 20 kickoff returns and 42.5 yards on a pair of punt returns. He was named second team All-Southwest District.
Peacock averaged a whopping 8.3 yards per carry with 791 yards. Peacock was given honorable mention All-Southwest District.
Baker was the top tackler with 83 while Peacock had 60 and Williams 50 with two fumble recoveries. Denver Day led with six tackles for loss while Peacock’s three picks led the Astros.
Steve Olds is in his fifth season as head coach. He will be assisted by Scooby Boysel (special teams, offensive line, linebackers), Bryan Floyd (defensive coordinator, running backs, linebackers), Nick Anderson (receivers, defensive backs), Tim Stirr (quarterbacks, defensive line), Noah Stirr (wide receivers, defensive backs). The middle school staf is Jayson Edison (head coach, offensive coordinator) and Logan McPherson (defensive coordinator).
“We have a good group of seniors who have collectively stepped up to fill leadership roles within the team,” Olds said. “We need to continue improving on our attention to detail. We have talked a lot about doing the little things right and that is our focus right now.”
Olds said his squad can compete in the SBAAC National Division if its remains healthy.
“This will be the first time since I took over as head coach in 2019 that we won’t have a couple of freshmen starting for us,” said Olds “Not because our freshmen aren’t talented, because they are. We just have more upperclassmen that are Friday night ready than ever before. We are excited to get out there and see what this group can do.”
