Gravette Defense Gains Steam
LIONS RESPOND TO PRAIRIE GROVE LOSS BY SHUTTING DOWN VALLEY VIEW
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
GRAVETTE — There was an energy in Gravette’s defense Friday night.
The Lions were excited for the first round of the Class 4A playoff s. But they were more excited for the opportunity to erase the memories of an embarrassing 44-17 loss to Prairie Grove in Week 10.
“We had to respond,” senior defensive back David O’Brien said. “We just came out (last week) a lot more excited, had a lot more fun. We didn’t want to get embarrassed again like that. We needed to come out and win that big game defensively.”
The defense delivered, holding Valley View to 101 yards during a 12-7 victory in Lion Stadium.
The Lions will need another big performance this week when they host a Heber Springs off ense that features Arkansas commitment Braylon Mitchell and dual-threat quarterback Wes McMullen in the Panthers’ backfield. Mitchell (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) has rushed for 1,332 yards and 24 touchdowns — including a 228-yard and threescore performance in last week’s 45-26 playoff win against Arkadelphia.
Mitchell ran for a school-record 1,784 yards last season on the way to All-State honors.
McMullen (6-3, 210) passed for 167 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 50 yards in last week’s playoff win.
“We’ve faced some good running backs, but I don’t think we’ve faced anyone of (Mitchell’s) caliber yet,” O’Brien said.
The Lions got a confi dence boost Friday, holding the Blazers’ big running back Ron Hubbard to just 39 yards.
“We came out and played with intensity,” Gravette defensive coordinator Duke Mobley said. “We played with a sense of urgency. The biggest thing we did Friday night was we went out and we ran what we’re supposed to run.”
Mobley said the Lions (9-2) spent the week leading up to the Valley View game practicing technique.
The defensive linemen worked on their aiming points, the linebackers practiced their reads and the secondary repped pass routes. “As a result, it just all came together,” Mobley said.
Coach Bill Harrelson credited the defensive front — Kahlief Steele, Travis Eden, Kit Kane, Shannon Buckner, Cody Bullock — with controlling the line of scrimmage and slowing the Blazers’ running attack.
“We were able to control the line and it always starts with that,” he said.
“We’ll definitely have to control the front line once again to have any chance of stopping (Mitchell) because if he gets going, he’ll defi nitely be hard to stop.”
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