2023 Football Frenzy First Look: Belpre Golden Eagles

BELPRE, Ohio (WTAP) -

The Belpre Golden Eagles football team wants to start fresh for the 2023 season. After a combined record of 2-17 in 2021 and 2022, many changes are being made to get the Golden Eagles back to their winning ways.

Kevin Welsh takes over for Jimmie Bell as the Belpre head coach, and he is working to change the mindset and identity of his team. So far, it seems to be working, as the roster has doubled in size. Players that have been on the roster for a few years are starting to notice the changes as well.

“Our coaches care about what type of people we are,” said Willis Starcher, a senior on the team. “He wants to build character, he wants us to be good people, but another thing is attitude. The past couple years there’s been some negative attitudes, and we’re not here to be negative, we’re here to be positive, learn, grow, and play ball and win as a club.”

Coach Welsh is glad to know that his players are retaining what his coaching staff is teaching them.

“If they’re saying that, then we’re doing the right things,” Welsh said. “We told them at the beginning that the teams that are successful, the teams that win, are disciplined and work hard, and do things right. We’re getting that out of all of them, it’s a slow process at times, but they’ve improved 100 percent since the first day. We have kids that haven’t played before, kids that hadn’t played for years, kids at new positions, so it’s still a learning process for them.”

Belpre opens the season on August 18 on the road against their rival, the Warren Warriors, and the players are excited to show their city what this team is made of.

“Everything on the field is different,” Starcher said. “There’s more experience going around, more discipline, so on the field you can expect to see a new ball club.”

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