CASEVILLE — Craig Newton's first year as the Caseville football coach didn't go quite as expected last season.
After preseason excitement surrounded the Eagles and the 16 players that came out for the team, the regular season started about as poorly as it could.
In Week 1 against Morrice, the Eagles suffered a handful of injuries, including injuries to two of their quarterbacks, forcing Caseville to call the game at halftime.
The Eagles were back for Weeks 2 and 3, but more injuries depleted the Caseville roster to just six healthy players, forcing them to forfeit four of their final six games.
Newton feels that all of that however was a blessing in disguise for his program.
"It was kind of a good thing," said Newton, who was previously a longtime assistant at Caseville.
"Anything that could happen, did happen. We went from three quarterbacks to one quarterback in that first game. So, it was a good learning point, anytime you have to go through something like that.
When things are going well, things are going to be easy, so it was good to go through that right away, it was a good teaching moment."
Excitement surrounds the Eagles again this season, as Newton is working hard to get the finer points of his team refined and ready for the regular season.
"Really what we've tried to focus on is getting the kids in early," Newton said. "Get the kids in early working on things. We've always, in the past, even with the old coaches, the weightroom is a thing and we've tried that, but really conditioning and getting them in and just getting them familiar with the language is something we've been working on. That way, when we get going in the season, we don't have to worry about the language or the plays. So, that's what's new, making sure everything is good to go for the season."
Assistant Coach: Frank Konke Jr.