Walker Valley Seeks Record Win Total

Coach Drew Akins returns to Walker Valley for his second year as the Mustangs’ head coach. Gone are the first year growing pains. In comes a confident coach … with an equally confident team.

Said quarterback Tucker Pope: “Last year, he was just getting into his groove, and this year, it’s his second year, so he’s just going to be a lot more confident with us and I think we’ll have a better season.”

Said receiver Brody Swafford: “He knows who can play. He knows what our abililties are and what we can do. So I feel like, just his confidence is going to grow, and our confidence is going to grow in him.”

Said Akins: “Our confidence level is the biggest difference. I think we have a group now that understands what it takes to win. … I think this year we have the confidence to deal with any adversity that we have to face.”

The Mustangs will also have the experience. Five starting offensive linemen return to protect veteran playcaller Tucker Pope.

Said Pope: “They play the biggest role in this. They’re my dirty men. They do all the work for me, so they get most of the gratitude.”

Said offensive lineman Skyler Mullins: “It’s going to be a great experience because we have all the schematic and all the chemistry built up from like years behind, and now it’s all going to be combined into one unit.”

Walker Valley needs that foundation to meet the goals they have for this year.

Said Akins: “We’ve never had an eight game win season, and I think it’s attainable. We put high expectations on our kids, and if you meet those expectations, then our goals will meet themselves.”