Wewa leaning on backfield depth and experience

The Wewahitchka High School football team is entering year one under head coach Adam Edwards.

Edwards is a Panhandle native, playing football at Blountstown. He served as defensive coordinator in his first year at Wewa under head coach Bobby Johns.

Edwards is installing new schemes on both sides of the ball but doesn’t want to create a total makeover. His focus is finding what works best for the talent on the field.

“You’re not going to recreate the wheel,” Edwards said. “It’s better to kind of build your scheme around who you have rather than trying to fit them where they don’t fit.”

As one of the smallest teams in Class 1-Rural, the Gators are focused on depth. They are hoping to do that by installing a physical brand.

“If one guy goes down in terms of, if we truly can’t have them in or if they really have to have a couple of plays off,” Edwards said. “That’s better to have them at 90% and not 50%.”

The running back position is one of the groups they are looking to grow. The Gators have an experienced core and want to spread the love. That will also help by giving some of the athletes a rest between snaps.

“It’s going to be dominant this year,” Wewahitchka senior linebacker and running back Antone McNealy said. “We got a couple of guys back there but we feel we have experience.”

With that physical identity, the main attack is going to be on the ground.

“If we have to throw the ball a bunch, that’s a problem,” Edwards said. “In programs I’ve been to, even in Georgia, we want to run the ball to throw the ball. If we’re having to throw a bunch, that isn’t necessarily what we want to do.”

The Gators are returning a key group of seniors, but there is plenty of experience behind that. With the smaller numbers, many players start as freshmen.

Over the last six seasons, in their five playoff appearances, the Gators have never made it past the first round. The goal for the 2024 season is to finally get that first playoff win.

“I want us to go to the playoffs, win a first playoff game,” Wewahitchka senior linebacker and running back Tyran Williams said. “For us to get back in the groove of winning and getting back to being a dominant program.”

Wewa will play Aucilla Christina for the kickoff classic on Friday, August 16, and open the regular season at home against Graceville on Friday, August 23.