Roster turnover plays a natural part in every football season, so sixth-year Eagle Point head coach Erik Johnson isn’t as much concerned about the voids left by last year’s graduating class as he is intrigued about which players are now going to take advantage of the opportunities before them.

“You always have to have the next guy step up and we feel really good about our leadership and the veterans we have right now,” said Johnson. “They’re really just helping those younger, inexperienced guys learn day to day and week to week.”

“We’ve got a hungry young group that are bought in and are doing all the right things,” added the coach. “They’ve been showing up all offseason and now it’s time to show what they can do.”

Helping that cause is the fact that Eagle Point is coming off its second straight appearance in the Class 5A state playoffs, which hasn’t always been the case for the Eagles over the past two-plus decades. Eagle Point finished third in the Midwestern League a year ago.

“Anytime you can get that experience is huge, and it’s just kind of showing where the program is going,” said Johnson. “Anytime you get experience like that it obviously just carries over to the next year.”

“With this group, I just like their energy and their effort,” he added. “They’re willing to be coached and they’re listening to the veteran guys that are bringing them up.”

Although there was a heavy senior presence last year, a lot of the headway made in the trenches came through the efforts of returning veterans Whiatt Deutschman, Brian Cortez and Logan Brown.

“You’re always leaning on your line, whether it’s on either side of the ball, so having those guys returning is a huge plus,” Johnson said of the senior trio. “You can tell that they’ve already had that experience under their belt the way they are treating practice and helping the younger guys.”

The most decorated of the returners is senior receiver and defensive back Easton Raber, who earned all-state recognition after a breakout campaign saw him haul in 40 receptions for 685 yards and 12 touchdowns to go with another 149 yards and a score on the ground. Raber also posted four interceptions and was among the team’s leading tacklers.

“It does a lot for us,” Johnson said of Raber’s return. “You’re always looking for that guy that you want to get a lot of touches to in the game, but one thing that separates Easton is when you go into your senior year, sometimes it’s really easy to feel that entitlement — especially with the honors that he’s received with the all-league and all-state.

“It’s really easy to have a feeling of being satisfied and just expecting that it’s your spot but he doesn’t treat it like that. He approaches every day to get better, and it’s really good to see that.”

With a newcomer set to take over at quarterback — junior Mason DeVry and sophomore Thomas Wippel are vying for the top spot — the Eagles are moving to a fly offense to adapt more to the talent on hand.

“It’s just going to allow us to get the ball to more players consistently,” said Johnson, “and not necessarily depending on one position or another. It’s just kind of the core offense where you can get multiple guys the ball.”

Senior running back Peyton Smith showed promise last year after averaging 6.2 yards per carry to go with three touchdowns, and will also move to the slot to create more options on offense. Sophomore Pierce Brown is also in line to get some touches at receiver.

On defense, Deutschman and Smith ranked second and third, respectively, in tackles last year for EP. Deutschman will move to inside linebacker this season as an anchor next to sophomore Camden Murray, while Smith will fly around on the outside with sophomore Griffin Womack.

Kai Peters joins Cortez in setting the tone on the defensive line, while the secondary carries experience behind the return of Raber and Wippel.

“We feel really good about our defense,” said Johnson. “We’re going to simplify things and just let them fly around with confidence.”

As for a third consecutive trip to the playoffs, the MWL expects to be an even bigger chore to navigate this time around.

“The top half of the league is probably going to be the most competitive and toughest since I’ve been here,” said Johnson. “In order for us to be in that run, we’ve just got to grow every day and every week. We’ve just got to get better and take one play and one game at a time.”