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LITTLE CYPRESS – Last season, Little Cypress-Mauriceville defensive lineman Amier Washington terrorized opposing quarterbacks, who wished they never saw him.

As a senior, Washington wants to create more nightmares for opponents as he looks to have a stellar season helping to guide the Battlin’ Bear defense.

Washington created havoc throughout the 2021 campaign as the Bears improved leaps and bounds on the defensive side of the ball.

That improvement helped lead the Bears to an 11-3 mark under then first-year head coach Eric Peevey and a trip all the way to the fourth round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997.

It was a long ways removed from what Washington and his teammates endured when the Bears went 1-7 during their sophomore season of 2020.

“Last year was amazing,” said Washington. “Coach Peevey came in and changed the atmosphere. We found out early that he believed in us and that he was also going to work our tails off.”

The turnout throughout this summer has been exceptional according to Washington.

“Last year Coach Peevey set up a plan for us and we went by it and it paid off for us big-time. More and more people started to show up. This year, the same thing. We all know what to do to build ourselves up, to stay and shape and get ready for a long season. The intensity, that has what has changed around here the most.”

It doesn’t take much to get Washington’s engine rolling.

After a solid sophomore year, Washington exploded last season.

Washington racked up 87 tackles. He had 18 tackles for losses, including nine sacks to go along with 11 more quarterback pressures.

‘When I saw Amier on film for the first time when he was a sophomore, you could see the motor and drive that he had,” said Peevey. “He basically played on instinct though. Last year, everything came together for him. He picked up more knowledge, knew where to go better and found out how he could use his hands so much better and plus, the biggest thing was, he got stronger. He was a beast for us all season and made it so tough on everyone we faced.”

Washington loves how everything came together last season.

“I always knew I had the talent, it was more about me learning the game more,” said Washington. “I was able to pick up more on what our opponents were doing. I was able to do swim moves more, found better ways to utilize my hands. The offseason was big for all of us too, we all got stronger and got in better shape and we weren’t so tired at the end of the games.”

Washington has some good memories from last season.

“I would say the Jasper game was my best game because I was in the backfield a lot and they couldn’t contain me,” said Washington. “The Lumberton game was a good one for me and the Houston Kincaid game too. The playoffs were great too. By then I was having to adjust to double teams more, which I know I will be prepared for even more this year.”

Washington got a surprise at the end of the football season as he was named a Finalist for the Willie Ray Smith Defensive Award, honoring the best players in the Southeast Texas area. Not many juniors make the finalist list, which was quite a feat.

“I didn’t know much about those awards but when I found out about it and looked at the history of it, I felt so honored,” said Washington. “To be considered one of the better players in the area was awesome. Hopefully I will be back there again this year.”

Washington has goals for the Bear defense and himself this year.

“We’ve got a lot of guys back, especially up front, that knows what it is about, and I think we can be even better on defense this year,” Washington said. “As a senior, I know I’m going to be one of the guys that leads the way and we have some younger guys that are going to step in and be key and we’ve got to help them out. Me, personally, I would love to get at least 16 sacks.”

Peevey and the Bear coaching staff are certainly counting on Washington to pave the way.

“Amier, he knows what is going on out there and he understands it is time to help lead this team,” said Peevey. “He has all the tools. He’s always up here every single day, working out, getting stronger, being more vocal. The younger kids, they feed off of that.”

So what does Washington feel the Bears have in store this season?

“Last year, we proved we can get the job done, and we made noise in the playoffs,” said Washington. “Se feel we can go even further this year. First thing we want is to win district. Of course, the main goal is to get all the way to State. I really think we have a chance to do it. We just have to keep on working hard each and every week.”

Washington plans to extend his playing days as well. He has verbally committed to play at Texas Tech.

“I had a visit to Lubbock a couple weeks ago and man, it was so nice,” said Washington. “The facilities were tremendous and they treated me well. I look forward to it, but the top thing right now is winning here at LC-M. It was so special to see how all of our fans reacted and the crowds grew bigger last year when we were winning. To see all of them fill up big stadiums at playoff games, we took so much pride in that. We want to have those kind of moments again.”