Springdale Offense Finds Rhythm — Eventually

Cua Rose, left, whips his body around Deandre Murray in an attempt to stop his breakaway run Friday during the Springdale Bulldogs’ spring football game at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium in Springdale.
Cua Rose, left, whips his body around Deandre Murray in an attempt to stop his breakaway run Friday during the Springdale Bulldogs’ spring football game at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium in Springdale.

SPRINGDALE — Springdale High’s defensive players bolted off the line of scrimmage, shed their blockers and applied pressure in the backfield.

At times, defensive end Austin Jarrett and safety Cua Rose made things difficult on the Bulldogs’ offense on Friday evening.

But Springdale’s three quarterbacks eventually got the offense into a rhythm during the Red-White Spring Game at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.

And they benefitted from several impressive plays from highly touted running back Deandre Murray and tight end Josiah Wymer in the 90-minute intrasquad scrimmage.

“We’ve got a lot to work on offensively actually, but we’re getting there,” Wymer said. “I feel like we have a lot of room for improvement.”

Early on, Springdale’s defense got the best of the offense as senior Terry Mounce and sophomores Drake Wymer and Fuller Chandler took turns taking snaps from under center.

Jarrett recorded a sack on Mounce, and later senior John Hunter stepped in front of a pass and returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdowns.

Springdale coach Shane Patrick admitted he was impressed with the defensive performance, which caused plenty of offensive series to stall after only three plays. No score was kept during the scrimmage.

“They’re physical, and they’re fast. They run to the football, and they do some really good things,” Patrick said of his defense. “So, I was real proud of how they handled themselves, and they got a lot of pressure at times and they create confusion.

“And that’s what we do defensively.”

But the offense broke through following the slow start.

Murray showed his elusiveness in the opening field when the senior darted through a hole and raced 55 yards for his longest run of the scrimmage. Moments later, Mounce lobbed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Wymer.

“There was a little window to squeeze through, and I just saw grass outside,” Murray said of his run. “I just took it from there.”

Murray scored on an 8-yard touchdown run later in the scrimmage, and all three quarterbacks showed flashes of potential. Afterward, Patrick said the competition for a starting quarterback will continue into the fall.

“I saw all three of our quarterbacks make good decisions with the football when they were under pressure,” Patrick said. “I saw them get rid of the ball and not try to force things, and I also saw them make great throws to receivers.

“So, I was real pleased with how we handled ourselves.”

But Patricks said his players appeared to be nervous early in the scrimmage, leading to missed assignments and the offensive struggles.

“Offensively, I thought at times we looked really really good. And at times, we were a little out of sync and we’ve got some things to work on,” Patrick said. “We’ve got to continue to not put ourselves in a hole, that’s the big deal.

“We can’t end up in long yardage situations.”

The Bulldogs wrapped up spring practice with Friday’s scrimmage. They’ll have a little more than three months to iron out any areas before they open the upcoming season with a road game at Batesville on Sept. 6.

Said Josiah Wymer: “We need to get tougher everywhere really and just come into the game with the ‘We’re going to go and beat them down’ mentality no matter what.”

Upcoming Events