Despite usual setbacks and new additions, De Soto High School’s football team expects nothing short of an exceptional season.

“Considering how new we are as far as starters goes, I’ve been really proud of how much effort we’ve put in and how physical we’ve been,” assistant coach Lynn Hoffman said.

Following their most recent victory against Wyandotte County High School on Sept. 7, the team radiates confidence, on and off the field.

“Whatever [head] coach [Brian] King is doing, it’s working,” junior Wesley Hendrix said.

With the loss of major talent from the previous year such as offensive lineman Marshall Kellner, who is now playing at Kansas State University, King and the rest of the coaching staff spent the offseason trying to fill the gap. The new varsity players, according to King, are improving week by week by being “as disciplined as they can.”

“When you’ve got a lot of talent and experience, you can overcome making mistakes sometimes, but when you’re new and inexperienced you can’t, so it’s important to be disciplined,” King said.

As far as tough competitors go, senior lineman Victor Berumen says that Basehor-Linwood High School may be hard to beat, as they defeated DHS in a previous playoff game. However, he has high hopes nonetheless.

“We’re really good. We lost a lot of starters, [but] our defense is really carrying us,” Berumen said.

Hoffman also acknowledged the effort that has been put forth by this new edition of players to match the success of their predecessors.

“The biggest thing is how much time and energy the guys have put into being ready,” Hoffman added. “That’s definitely shown. I think by the end of the season we’ll be really good.”

After defeating Wyandotte 47-8 on Sept. 7 and Leavenworth High School 42-7 on Aug. 31, the Wildcats will play Turner High School on Sept. 14.