Published: May 14, 2008 09:11 pm            

Wolves look to bounce back in '08

The Santa Fe football program was left with a bitter taste in their mouth after missing out on state playoffs for the first time in seven years, but as it turns out, that could have been just the spark the Wolves needed.

“The kids have great enthusiasm, and that’s the thing we’ve really been looking for,” Santa Fe head coach Dan Cocannouer said. “They want to come out here. They are just like I am, they are so upset that we didn’t have the season that we expected. It just leave a bad taste in your mouth, and they’ve worked unbelievably hard in the offseason.”

Santa Fe returns four legitimate Division I recruits — Willie Okwounu, Randy Ponder, Daeshon Bufford and Steve Sumpter — and with the help of some talented underclassmen, they should return to their winning ways.

The Wolves are loaded on the offensive side of the ball, as they arguably have one of the deepest backfields in the state, with Ponder (556 yards), Sumpter (687 yards) and talented junior Brian Mills, who was clocked at 10.57 in the 100 meter dash at the regional track meet this year.

“What we’re trying to do here is have a bunch of one-way players, but those guys are going to play on both sides. What we like about it, is those guys are so interchangable, that we can play one on the offensive side, and one on the defensive side, and then switch it when you want a change in there,” Cocannouer said.

The team will surely miss standout reciever Matt Jackson, who has since joined the University of Central Oklahoma. But they expect Jordan Lopez and Ade Amuda to be more than capable.

“I’ve been real impressed with Kevin Nolin that is a senior. We’re talking about a kid that’s 6-2, 6-3, that runs well, has good size. Then we have a sophomore that played a bunch for us last year in Lopez, you’re talking about two pretty good kids there, and then Ade Amuda has been impressive,” the head coach said.

Cocannouer believes his offensive line will be much improved next year.

“We’re taking the two guys from the offensive line last year, and moving them to the defensive side this year, just to see what happens. I feel like we have three very good offensive lineman, and we just have to find the other two, and we have four or five guys battling for those spots,” Cocannouer said.

The Wolves will be holding a team scrimmage on Friday, beginning at 3:30 p.m., then another one the following Friday. Santa Fe will then head to Broken Arrow for team camp on May 28.

        

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