WATER VALLEY, Miss. (WCBI) -- "I told you we'd play championship football at Water Valley!"

Those words resonated throughout Yalobusha County and all of Class 3A thanks to coach Brad Embry after the Blue Devils defeated Aberdeen on October 21st,  the perennial power in 3A-2.

With the victory and the wins ahead, Water Valley claimed the school's first division championship in 11 years. But the title isn't enough for a team that returns a bevy of players.

"We have 81 kids on the roster and a big group of seniors returning," said coach Embry. " We're expecting a lot of kids to have high expectations and their work ethic has shown it."

Having 81 kids on a team in class 3A is unheard of these days, but it isn't a case of quantity over quality for the Blue Devils.

Along with the endless depth on both sides of the ball, Water Valley returns a stout offensive and front five led by recent Troy commit Taylor Edwards.

"We have a lot of experience returning on offense and a lot of leadership coming back," Edwards said. "And we're trying to lead our team to something we haven't been in a long time: back to state. We don't see any other option. Falling short if unacceptable."

Can the Blue Devils channel their inner 1990? If they can, that happens to be the last time Water Valley saw themselves in Jackson holding up the gold ball championship trophy. That's the goal and the Blue Devils will settle for nothing less.