PRESEASON SUPER SIX

Dawson ready to scrap again

Nashville head football coach Billy Dawson during pool play Friday at the 7 on 7 Shootout of the South in West Little Rock.

Special to the Democrat-Gazette/JIMMY JONES
Nashville head football coach Billy Dawson during pool play Friday at the 7 on 7 Shootout of the South in West Little Rock. Special to the Democrat-Gazette/JIMMY JONES

— Tim Perry said an elderly man approached him at a local store in late 2010, shortly after Perry had gone 10-3 in his first season as Nashville’s coach.

Perry said the man told him: “Don’t worry, Coach, it will get better.”

Clearly, it didn’t.

Nashville slid to an uncharacteristic and, for many in the football-crazed Howard County community, an unacceptable 6-7 last fall.

Perry resigned in December and Nashville turned to the man with the Midas touch, Billy Dawson, who coached the Scrappers in 2005-2009.

Dawson lost the first and last gamehe coached at Nashville during that stint. In between, his Scrappers were 65-2, highlighted by a 33-game winning streak and three consecutive state championships (2005-2007).

“Sixty five and four, I don’t know if anybody can do that,” Dawson said. “That was just a special run. Can we turn the attitude? Can we turn the tempo? I don’t know how long it will take, but I think we’re getting there.”

Nashville, with 12 returning starters, is No. 1 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Class 4A Super Six.

Dawson left coaching following the 2009 season to become pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Nashville, but he said he missed working with kids and jumped at the chance to coach the Scrappers again.

A former Nashville player, Dawson said he is aware of what he’s getting - back - into.

“Competitive doesn’t cut it,” Dawson said with a laugh.

Dawson said he spent much of the off season evaluating personnel by breaking down the 2011 Scrappers on film, but he added “last year” has never been mentioned to the players.

Dawson said what struck him was poor tackling and Nashville’s inability to hold fourth-quarter leads in several losses.

“Just seemed like it was a snowball,” Dawson said. “We were expecting something bad to happen. When it started snowballing, we didn’t handle it very well. Those are the things we’ve been trying to fix.”

Dawson said he has made several personnel changes, has tried to rebuild the team’s confidence, and everything surrounding practice - even dressing for workouts - is done at a crisper pace.

Nashville’s returning headliners include senior quarterback Joel Hendry, who completed 183 of 326 passes for 2,072 yards and 22 touchdowns last fall.

Senior utility back Tesean Green ran 126 times for 734 yards and 8 touchdowns and caught 61 passes for 677 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Senior running back JaKaree Gaines, one of the team’s fastest players, ran 179 times for 958 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Dawson said senior two way lineman Jalen Whitmore, 5-10, 290 pounds, is the equal of any he has had at those positions.

A handful of sophomores, including quarterback Lucas Liggin and wide receiver/ defensive back LaMichael Pettway, are expected to contribute after going 10-0 in junior high last fall.

“The kids are working hard and they’re attentive,” Dawson said. “I think we’re going to be competitive, for sure.”Nashville Scrappers CONFERENCE 7-4A ENROLLMENT 436 (based on 2012-2014 classification cycle; ninth among 48 Class 4A football-playing schools) HEAD COACH Billy Dawson (first season, 0-0) ASSISTANTS Boomer Brown, defensive coordinator, linebackers; Brian Bearden, defensive backs; Jerry Baker, defensive linemen, strength coordinator; Paul Ernest, offensive coordinator, receivers; D.J. Graham, offensive linemen.

2011 RECORD 6-7, 3-4 7-4A, fifth-place tie PLAYOFF RESULTS Beat Highland 35-21 in first round, beat De Queen 28-21 in second round, lost 28-16 to Malvern in quarterfinals PLAYERS TO WATCH OL/DL Jalen Whitmore, 5-10, 290, Sr.; RB/WR/DB Tesean Green, 5-11, 205, Sr.; RB JaKaree Gaines, 5-10, 190, Sr.

RETURNING OFF./DEF. STARTERS 6/6 OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE FORMATION Multiple/ 4-3

Sports, Pages 17 on 08/23/2012

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