Pulaksi County Preview: Little Rock Hall

Scarborough slows down coaching carousel at Hall

Little Rock Hall needs stability, and its second-year head coach plans on providing the struggling program just what it needs.

"The one thing we definitely have to do is change the mind-set," Coach Tim Scarborough said. "Hall hasn't been very successful in the last decade. Right now, we have kids that are expecting to lose."

LR Hall glance

COACH Tim Scarborough

CONFERENCE 6A-South

2013 RECORD 0-10, 0-7

KEY RETURNERS WR Melvin Walker, 6-0, 190, Sr.; RB Devin Meredith, 5-7, 170, Jr.; LB Daveon Martin, 6-1, 175, So.; OL J.D. Morris, 6-4, 280, Jr.; QB Joe Holly, 6-1, 200 Sr.

SCHEDULE

DATE;OPPONENT

Sept. 5;North Pulaski

Sept. 12;at Mills

Sept. 19;at Dumas

Sept. 26;El Dorado*

Oct. 3;at Benton*

Oct. 10;LR Parkview*

Oct. 17;Pine Bluff*

Oct. 24;at Sheridan*

Oct. 31;Texarkana*

Nov. 7;at Lake Hamilton*

*6A-South games

Since 2003, the Warriors have had five different head coaches and the program's combined record in that 11-year span is 16-95. The last time Hall posted a winning football record came in 1993, when the Warriors were 6-5.

"When you have the coaching staff changing every year, it makes it hard," Scarborough said. "We want the kids to know when they come to Hall who's going to be the coach."

Turning things around won't be easy. Juniors and sophomores will dominate the Warriors' starting lineup this fall, and Scarborough said as many as 15 sophomores will have to contribute.

Joe Holly, 6-1, 200, steps in to play quarterback after playing middle linebacker last season.

"Joe has the temperament you want as a quarterback," Scarborough said. "He really doesn't get rattled. ... There are some fundamental things he needs to work on, but he's one of those guys that's going to try to do whatever he can to get better."

Melvin Walker, 6-0, 190, started the final six games of 2013 at quarterback but has been moved to receiver, which Scarborough said is a better fit for the senior.

Scarborough said senior DeShaun Matthews is a versatile fullback.

"He's one of those multiple runners," Scarborough said of Matthews. "He can block. He can run it. He can catch. I'd like to give him the ball back in that single-back set as many times as we can."

Junior Devin Meredith, 5-7, 170, is a scatback who is hard to bring down because of his low center of gravity and has the ability to make opponents miss him, Scarborough said. Sophomore Kevin Williams is "young, but fast and he also has a little bit of power."

The Warriors have two returning starters on the offensive line, senior LaDarrick Conley and junior J.D. Morris, 6-4, 280.

Defensively, Scarborough said the team has switched from a 4-3 formation to a 3-4 and that sophomore inside linebacker Daveon Martin, 6-1, 175, has been impressive during fall camp. Martin started the final two games of 2013.

"Daveon is a kid who was naturally strong anyway, but he got in weight room and got even stronger," Scarborough said. "He's a kid that's not afraid to hit."

Hall, which hasn't won since Week 3 of the 2011 season, will open its season against North Pulaski on Sept. 5. Like the Warriors, North Pulaski was winless in 2013.

"We have to have success early," said Scarborough, whose team was outscored 435-88 in 2013. "That will dictate our whole season. Right now, our players want to win but they don't know how to win.

"When they actually get that win, and they know they can win, then we can build on that and eventually expect to win."

Sports on 08/28/2014

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