Football: Travis Pleased With Early Returns

 STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Scott Davenport, Lincoln head football coach, talks to his team July 7 during a 7-on-7 scrimmage at Springdale Har-Ber High in Springdale.
STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Scott Davenport, Lincoln head football coach, talks to his team July 7 during a 7-on-7 scrimmage at Springdale Har-Ber High in Springdale.

Pea Ridge has not had any full contact drills this week but Blackhawks coach Tony Travis has been pleased with what he has seen the first four days of August practice. Senior Seth Brumley (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) returns at quarterback and Travis said Dakota Winn, Nick Hardy and Austin Hicks have looked good at receiver.

"All three of those guys have caught the ball well," Travis said. "Britton Caudill and Duncan Truesdell are doing a good job at tight end."

Defensive end Jonathan Small (5-10, 180) and nose guard Cody Foltz (5-9, 245) are expected to anchor the defensive front.

"Jonathan is not the biggest guy, but he is extremely quick," Travis said. "We are having a tough time blocking Jonathan. Foltz is the same way. He is very explosive from that nose guard position. They are both quick and strong. They both play very hard."

Pea Ridge has 62 players on the roster after finishing last season with 58.

"We are between 50 and 60 at practice but I expect everybody to be here Monday," Travis said.

Decatur

Low Numbers, No Problem

Decatur has 15 players out for the start of August practice and Bulldogs coach Shane Holland said at least six more players will join the team when school starts Aug. 18.

"We actually have more than we usually have right now," Holland said. "I'm not as panicked out as I normally would be. I'm just semi-panicked. We expect to have 22 or so when the season starts, and that is a little more than we normally have."

Senior quarterback Victor Urquidi (6-foot, 197 pounds) is back after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury. Urquidi helped Decatur to the Class 2A playoffs as a sophomore but the Bulldogs missed the postseason last fall after finishing 2-8. Urquidi also starts at linebacker.

"Victor looks good and he has a good handle on our offense," Holland said. "He is a guy that we have to keep healthy. We have to keep (running back) Allan Castaneda healthy. The last two years, those two guys have been our offense."

Senior Hector Aguilar (5-7, 180) is the only lineman with any extensive varsity experience.

"We need some linemen to show up," Holland said. "It would be nice if we had some move in. We are really, really thin on the line."

-- PAUL NIELSEN • @NWAPaul

Gentry

Quality Practice

The Pioneers football team may not have much quantity, but they have good quality as practice cranked back up this week.

"Our numbers are down in high school because of a small sophomore and junior class," Gentry coach Brian Little said. "We've had some quit, some decided not to play because injuries. We're working with about 25 right now. But what we've got returning is a pretty good group."

The Pioneers return several good athletes at the skill positions, but Little has not yet decided on a starting quarterback to replace standout Jarod Cousins, who graduated.

Jake and Stone Faulkenberry have quarterback experience and are in the hunt, but so is Kevin Easter, Little said.

"The Faulkenberry brothers are both capable of playing there," Little said. "Stone got snaps as a sophomore when Jarod was hurt and Jake was our quarterback in junior high. But we have another kid in Easter who is a little bit of a late bloomer. He's hit a growth spurt and he's 6-2, 200 pounds.

"We'll just look at who gives us the best chance to be successful as a team."

One dilemma for Little is the Faulkenberry's were both standout receivers a year ago.

Jon Brown and Dustin Stouflet are also returnees with play-making abilities on offense.

West Fork

Filling Roles

Practice may have started in earnest this week, but Tigers coach Brad Lindley has used the summer to fill some holes left by graduation.

"Our two starting outside receivers both graduated and we've had a chance in the spring and summer to look at several guys who might replace them," Lindley said. "We got to look at who can do what with 7-on-7 a little bit. Who understands the offense and who runs better routes."

The Tigers participated in the NWA Passing League in July, along with a 7-on-7 tournament in Charleston in June. They also attended a team camp in June, Lindley said.

Senior Louie Crawford, who saw some action at receiver and defensive back last season, looks to be a front-runner for one of the spots, Lindley said.

Junior Colton Wise won the starting quarterback job midway through last season and has ran with it since.

"He's a good leader and the kids look up to him," Lindley said. "But he won the job. He sees the field reads things real well. He was able to spread the ball around pretty effectively, not lock on to one guy."

-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPAULB

Prairie Grove

No Replacement Opponent

Prairie Grove will be without a Week 2 opponent after the Tigers were dropped by Morrilton. The Devil Dogs replaced Prairie Grove with Pottsville, which is less than a 30-minutes drive from Morrilton.

Prairie Grove tried for months but could not find a replacement for Morrilton, which is the defending state champions in Class 5A. The Devil Dogs won 28-21 at Prairie Grove last year after their first scheduled meeting two years ago was cancelled because of heavy rain and lightning.

The Tigers will open the season against former conference rival Farmington Sept. 5 then play at West Fork on Sept. 19.

"Yes, it hurts us," Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier said of the open date on Week 3. "You always want to play. We contacted schools from as far away as north of St. Louis and couldn't get a game."

Prairie Grove will hold a black-and-gold game Aug. 22 before facing Green Forrest in a scrimmage game on Aug. 29.

-- RICK FIRES• @NWARICK

Lincoln

Wolves Learning New System

Lincoln will complete its first week of practice today by putting on the pads.

"We didn't have a lot of 7-on-7 when I played," said Lincoln coach Scott Davenport, a former offensive lineman at Arkansas. "It's good for quarterbacks and receivers but it's an entirely difference game when the lineman are out there and everyone is in pads. That's real football."

Davenport is still evaluating players after taking over in May for former head coach Brad Harris, who accepted the defensive coordinator's job at Benton. One of Davenport's biggest challenge is to find a replacement at quarterback for Drew Harris, a two-year starter.

Sophomore Harrison Swayne is the leading contender.

"We're still a work in progress," Davenport said. "We're small in numbers with 32 players, but our effort has been tremendous. I'm pleased with how everything is working out."

Lincoln and West Fork will scrimmage Aug. 26 before the Wolves open the season Sept. 1 against Lake Hamilton at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

-- RICK FIRES• @NWARICK

Farmington

Installing Scheme

The Cardinals put on the shoulder pads for the first time Wednesday after two days of workouts in t-shirts and helmets, with more than 50 players in attendance for the opening of fall drills.

"We've still got like three guys on vacation who will be joining us a little later," Farmington coach Mike Adams said. "So we won't have our full team for a little while longer."

Farmington is using the first week to work on installing its offense, defense and special teams. With the move up in classification this fall and into the 5A-West Conference, the Cardinals must prepare for an entire set of new opponents. But Adams said that preparation is still a little down the road.

"We're still working on ourselves right now," Adams said. "Here in a couple of weeks we'll break down those teams' film and start spending a couple days a week on those teams."

-- VERNON TARVER • @NWAVERNON

Elkins

Focused On Conditioning

The Elks have 27 players out for the first week of practice, a number just down from last season. But second-year coach Thurman Shaw has no complaints about to turnout for the Elks.

"We had about 31 last year at this time, but one year we had a few as 17," Shaw said. "So I'm happy with 27. That's a good number for us."

Elkins will don the full pads on Monday. Until then, the focus has been conditioning this first week.

"Basically we do a lot of CrossFit," Shaw said. "We've been lifting tires the last 35 minutes each day and working to get in shape."

Once the pads are put on, Shaw said the focus will be perfecting the running game. Elkins features a talented offensive line led by senior Garrett Daniel and a power run game will be the first order of business Monday.

"We've got to get our power run game together," Shaw said. "We've got a good line so we'll work on that running game first. Then after that we'll work on our passing. We didn't have that great of a 7-on-7, so there's some things there we need to work on."

-- VERNON TARVER • @NWAVERNON

Huntsville

Eagles In Midst Of QB Competition

Senior Drew Garrett and junior Wil Weaver are locked into a battle for Huntsville's starting quarterback job during fall camp.

The duo competed throughout the spring, summer and through the first four days of fall camp. Huntsville coach Tom Tice said the Eagles will only play one quarterback this fall and he will name a starter before the season begins.

"I think Garrett's a little better passer and is more experienced," Tice said. "Weaver's probably a better runner. But it's a good competition right now."

Whoever wins the job will lead a team highlighted by a nice mix of 15 seniors and a strong sophomore class that only lost one game in junior high a year ago.

"They bring a lot to the table, as far as knowing how to win ballgames," Tice said. "Their enthusiasm is rubbing off on the rest of them."

-- Jimmy Carter • @NWAJimmy

Greenland

Numbers Down For Pirates

Greenland has three players competing for the starting quarterback job, but just 27 other players on its roster.

Numbers are down for the Pirates as they begin fall camp thanks in part to defections from the sophomore class, an unexpected disadvantage for a program hoping to compete near the top of the 3A-1 Conference this fall.

"It's kind of perplexing for us," Greenland coach Lee Larkan said. "I've heard some other schools say they've got their numbers down. And Fayetteville's got 157. So I'm trying to figure out where you play 157 kids. We've got 30 and all of them have a place to play."

In the meantime, sophomore River Rogers or juniors Spencer Lyons and Cole Self are competing for the starting quarterback job. The next few weeks of camp and an Aug. 18 scrimmage against Pea Ridge should aid the decision-making process.

"Next week, we'll probably try to move it down to one or two, then get it to one after the scrimmage," Larkan said.

-- Jimmy Carter • @NWAJimmy

Sports on 08/08/2014

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