#HSFT16: Stop No. 36 – Water Valley Blue Devils

WATER VALLEY, Miss. (WCBI Sports) – Year in and year out Water Valley is in the mix. Head coach Brad Embry is in his ninth season with the Blue Devils, leading a team that’s been to the playoffs all but one year since 1998.

Water Valley lost some valuable seniors from last year’s team but has a lot of guys with playing time returning.

“We have a small senior class but we’re still experienced,” Embry said. “That shouldn’t be an issue.”

Junior quarterback Ty Varner is back Embry said it’s nice to have consistency at that spot.

“He’s throwing the ball well this summer,” he said. “At quarterback, you can’t beat experience.”

Varner said this team has a mindset that it wants to out-work its opponents.

“We’re not the biggest team but we’re all experienced,” he said. “We all know what we’re doing.”

It’s a program that’s had an incredible amount of consistency, with no rebuilding years. The players acknowledged Embry’s efforts.

“He pushes us to be great and he wants us to play hard,” senior Jalin Morgan said.

Embry said that’s the result of a lot of factors.

“It’s the community. Football is important. It’s important to the kids. We’ve been able to keep assistant coaches. That usually leads to some consistency,” he said.

Embry said he’s excited about the return of running back senior Taghee James and the line will be a strength defensively.