Heading into his first year at the helm of the West Lincoln Bears, head coach Charlie Jackson had the utmost confidence in his team.

The head coach had stud at wide receiver in Chase Owen and a veteran quarterback in senior Jayden Rushing to get him the ball.
The defensive unit, led by Lofton Sills, was expected to be solid also. The Bears planned to use their strength to overpower opponents in 2015. They did not plan, however, to be bitten by what proved to be a hungry injury bug.

That bug ravaged through the Bears’ depth chart, dwindling their numbers down to the point where Jackson was forced to look to junior varsity players to remedy the problem.

It took irreplaceable West Lincoln stars like Owen and others out, leaving destruction in its wake. The result was a 2-8 overall record and a winless record in district play.
Without those injuries, Jackson said he believes his team had the potential to be much better.

“We were just snake-bitten last year,” the second-year coach said. “I think last season’s outcome would have been different if we kept all our guys the whole season.”

Jackson has spent much of the offseason taking steps to try to ensure his team does not have to battle injuries the way it did last year. It starts, he says, in the weight room.

“We have started lifting our kids in junior high and we lift earlier and more often. One leg up we have this year is that we lifted the entire year including in-season,” he said.

Jackson said that despite the injuries there were some positives to draw on from last season.

“We scored on Bassfield for the first time in school history and set passing records,” Jackson said. “A benefit of the injuries is that a lot of guys we will have to count on this year got experience last year.”

Experience will be crucial for the Bears as they look ahead to what could be a tough schedule featuring 2A state champion Bassfield, Amite County and 4A teams Sumrall and Pass Christian.

On the offensive side, West Lincoln will run a spread offense. Jackson’s team does not return any starters on the offensive line and will look to the skill positions for experience.
Sophomore Matthew Case is expected to start at quarterback for West Lincoln. Senior running backs Julian Anderson and Le’Darrious Jones return to handle the load at running back. The receivers will be led by two standouts in Chase Owen and Gabe Nations.

Defensively, the Bears will hope to keep offenses honest by employing multiple fronts.

Linebacker Brandon Smith will lead the unit. In the secondary, Ladarius Jones and Michael Brothern should see significant playing time at defensive back.
Jackson said the Bears’ scrimmage against Magee before the season should give the team a gauge of where they are before the season.

They will begin the regular season on Aug. 19 with a visit to Mount Olive.