College football is upon us. The Savage Storm have been preparing for a while now, and game week is finally here. As Head Coach Bo Atterberry stated, the team has a lot of experience and “a lot of returners on both sides of the ball.” Some players are also taking on a new role. Senior quarterback CB Cantwell is “thankful for the opportunity” to take over the reigns as starting quarterback, and he is excited to “do the best of my abilities so that the team can succeed.”

The team comes into the season confident that great things will be obtained. With a full slate of games on the schedule, the Savage Storm are confident they can win every game. Senior wide receiver Jordan Gill expressed that confidence saying that “the expectation is to win.” Gill also added that the team has “gotten better every semester since I’ve been here.” The goals of the team are simple. They want a “conference championship, playoff berth, [and to] control our own destiny from there.”

Southeastern had many close games last year, with three of their five losses coming down to the final seconds. So that 6-5 record is misleading. Coming into his third season as the leader of the Savage Storm, Coach Atterberry has “got a lot of confidence in those guys,” that they will obtain yet another winning season. Last year finished with a three game winning streak, where the team was able to run the ball well. Utilizing a talented backfield of seniors Devlon Wortham and Ronnie Green, plus Junior Kenneth Burks, the Savage Storm look to continue that dominant rushing game.

The Savage Storm kick-off the 2016 season tonight, Thursday, Sept. 1, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas against Great American Conference foe Henderson State. The Reddies are the defending GAC champions, and ranked number one in the GAC preseason coaches’ poll. Southeastern, coming off a 6-5 season and ranked number eight in the preseason poll, looks to avenge the goal line loss in last season’s opener. The first start for Cantwell, the quarterback believes that the Reddies are a “very good team, but very beatable.” That is exactly what the plan is for the Savage Storm on Thursday night. To come home victorious.