After a return to the playoffs last season, Eastland-Pearl City wants to make the postseason a habit again.

It’s going to take a blend of veteran leadership and new faces to do so.

Last season’s 7-3 finish ended a four-year playoff hiatus, following a stretch where the Wildcatz earned a postseason berth 19 times in 22 seasons from 1998-2018 – but a first-round loss to Rockridge in Class 2A saw several key starters’ careers come to an end.

Now, the guys who are coming back from that team are providing guidance and setting the tone for the newcomers to step in and step up.

“They were showing some leadership skills last year. We’ve had a leadership council and we’ve met with those guys to kind of teach them how we want them to be leaders, and they’ve really taken a big step in the leadership category,” eighth-year head coach Jared McNutt said. “I think they’re speaking the same language that we are, and that’s really, really nice. Everything that we say they reiterate, and it kind of gets the message sent double, basically, through us and them.”

That group is led by second-team all-state linebacker Will Birchen, who will also anchor the offensive line with two-way lineman Teigan Dyson. First-team all-conference running back Draven Zier is also back, and he will play defensive back as well. Zyacn Haverland returns after earning first-team all-conference honors as a linebacker, tight end and punter a year ago.

Brody Simons, an honorable mention all-NUIC linebacker last year, will step in at fullback this fall, and McNutt is also looking for guard/linebacker Clayton Downs and receiver/defensive back Sawyer Williams to play big roles this season.

Veteran leadership will be key as the Wildcatz break in a new quarterback in sophomore Deacon Hoffmaster.

“I’m hoping that we can keep our guys rolling. Even though we lost some key players to graduation, we have a lot of guys who like stepping up and filling in,” McNutt said. “I think that we’re very fast, our team speed is good, and running the football obviously has to be a focal point – and obviously stopping the run, too. I think we showed that last year, and I think our experience coming back helps us do both of those things.”

Offensively, Zier will be the focal point, and McNutt feels that if the ground game can get going, there are lots of things EPC can build around that.

“I’d say giving him space is the key because if he hits the second level, he’s tough to stop,” McNutt said. “It’s going to be tough for a defensive back to bring him down. So if we give him space to run, I think that’s going to be really key for us.”

Defensively, the Wildcatz must match their opponents’ physicality at all three levels – and in arguably the best 1A conference in the state, it begins up front.

“I think our defensive line is where it starts,” McNutt said. “We’ve got some guys that we really like, but we’ve got to make sure we’re consistent across the board. We’ve got to be tough in the trenches, and making sure that we hold our gaps.”

While the Wildcatz would like to earn another trip to the playoffs, McNutt said that big-picture goal isn’t at the front of his players’ minds. Instead, it’s more important to focus on the day-by-day, week-by-week accomplishments.

“We talk about the big picture, but I think it’s obviously a step-by-step process for us,” he said. “Our guys have really bought into making sure that we stack good practices on top of each other, and then that will translate to the games. The little things will transition into the big things as the season goes on.”