West Carroll football is 3-0 for first time since 2009

ATWOOD — Winning streaks aren’t something the West Carroll football community is really used to, at least not in recent years. The War Eagles haven’t posted a winning record since they finished 9-3 in 2012 and made it to the Class A quarterfinals. 

Starting off the season on a winning streak is something even more foreign to the War Eagles. It’s been almost a decade since West Carroll last started the season on three-game winning streak. That 2009 West Carroll team started the season 3-0 but finished with a 6-5 record.

But after a 3-0 start to the 2018 season, fans are starting to talk, and the idea of a possible playoff run late in the season doesn’t seem like such a long shot.

"We’ve executed really well, and I think our mindset going into these past few games has been a lot different than the previous three years,” West Carroll coach Josh Wolfe said. “We talked to them about trying to compete those first couple of years because our schedule was so brutal. In year three, we really wanted to win some games, and then this year, we’re expecting to win.

“They’ve really bought into that and they’ve gone out and really performed these last three weeks, and I’m really proud of that.”

Wolfe is in his fourth year at West Carroll, and to say the first few years were bumpy would be an understatement. During his first year, the War Eagles went 2-8. The following season they won only one game. The 2017 team showed signs of improvement, finishing 4-6.

For the seniors who have been along with Wolfe since the beginning, the start to this season has been a welcome change. 

“It’s been amazing because this is the first time in my high school career that we’ve gone undefeated for a while,” senior back P.J. Odom said.

Odom along with junior back Jarrius Weatherford have been key factors in West Carroll’s undefeated start. The duo has combined for 399 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.

Behind one of the most experienced offensive lines in the area, senior quarterback Trace Fuller has passed for 145 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 222 yards and four touchdowns.

“It’s been a lot of fun playing behind those guys,” Fuller said. “Luke Blankenship is 6-5, 200-and-something pounds, and when you’re running behind a guy like that, you really can’t be stopped. I love running behind all of those guys up front.”

West Carroll is entering arguably the toughest part of its schedule. After beating their first three opponents by a combined 77-49, the War Eagles' next three opponents – Dresden, Gleason and Gibson County – have a combined 6-2 record.

Still, hope remains high for a program that is really getting its first taste of success in half a decade.

“The fans are pretty excited, and you see a lot more shares on Facebook when you’re winning and stuff like that,” Wolfe said. “I think it’s renewed the sense of pride around here for the community, and it’s been pretty nice these last three weeks.”

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Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com, 731-425-9657 and on Twitter @joe_spears7.