WEED – The Weed Cougars finished the 2007 season at 2-8 overall, and fifth in the Shasta Cascade League, at 1-4. The Cougars have had a couple of down years, but may be poised for a better showing this season under the guidance of new Coach Steve Neel.

Among other changes, Neel has put in a new offense and realizes that it will take time for his squad to learn and master all the intricacies.

“We put in a new offense this year. And, when you try to do something like that, everything changes—terminology and everything. So, it’s still ongoing. We’ve put in about half our offense, and in the scrimmage (last week) we were very basic. We have other things that our offense has to have in to be successful,” said Neel. “Going into our first ball game against Etna, I feel like we’re getting there.”

Another challenge for Neel is that his squad is very young, with only five returning seniors on the 18 man roster. The Cougars also have two sophomores playing on the varsity.

“We do have some returning senior lineman, and one returning back, but the rest of our team is young at varsity level, “said Neel. “What I saw in the scrimmage against Etna, I think we are as fast as they are. I think we are as physical as they are. That’s what I compared us to in that scrimmage. I’m not comparing us to Yreka; I’m not doing it. And actually, I’m really not even comparing us to Mt. Shasta because they’re not even in our league. But, comparing us to Etna, a team in our league, I feel like we should be very competitive against them.”

While Neel would like to quickly get his team up to speed on all of the changes, he says that it’s important to take a long term approach—to do things right.

“I don’t want to rush what we’re doing because this is a process that hopefully over the next three or four years we’ll be undertaking,” said Neel.

One of the Cougars’ strengths this season should be their big physical offensive line—something that returning running back Danny Casorla may benefit from having.

“We do have, I feel, an exceptional running back, and that’s Danny Casorla, said Neel. “He runs very hard. He’s very fast and quick. He’s a little guy that will run over you.”

Neel is also looking for some help from a pair of sophomores. He feels that running back Brandon Ede will be “a great running back,” and “will be outstanding down the road.”

The other “super-soph” is quarterback Jake West, who Neel calls “smart” and says has the ability to effectively run the offense.

The Cougars are on quest to improve from last year’s performance. Neel feels, despite some setbacks, that they are capable of doing so, but the team’s attitude will have a lot to do with it.

“One of the things we have to do is get that winning attitude back. And, I’m kind of thinking we have it. I think this Friday night hopefully I’ll see it,” said Neel. “The thing that I want to see is our team emotionally knowing that they can win—the kind of commitment that we can go out and beat these guys. And then, go out and do it.”

The Cougars open their season this Friday in Etna against the Lions, at 7:00 pm.