Charging Wildcats facing a season of change

Jamie Mitchell was already coming into a rebuilding situation at North Little Rock when he took the head coaching position in May.

Now, he's without his top offensive player and one of the Charging Wildcats' returning defensive starters.

Senior wide receiver Tobias Enlow, who was expected to be North Little Rock's No. 1 wide receiver after the graduation of K.J. Hill (now at Ohio State), tore his anterior cruciate ligament at a recent practice. He had surgery in Fayetteville earlier this week and is out for the season. Enlow, 6-2, 188 pounds, was receiving scholarship offers from Louisiana-Monroe and Missouri State, among others.

Then, the Charging Wildcats lost junior defensive lineman Doc Hatchett, 6-1, 230, to a torn ACL in a scrimmage against Conway on Tuesday night.

"We've had some devastating injuries," Mitchell said. "But we have to find a way to move on."

North Little Rock certainly knows what moving on is all about in 2015.

Former coach Brad Bolding was fired in April after allegedly violating district purchasing procedures and recruiting rules. Bolding had led the Charging Wildcats to the Class 7A state semifinals the past two seasons, but they lost both times -- to Cabot in 2013 and Bentonville in 2014.

Mitchell was hired in May from Starkville, Miss., and comes to Arkansas with a sterling resume of 163 victories and a Mississippi Class 5A state championship in 2012.

The new coach not only has to replace Enlow, but find replacements for Heath Land at quarterback and D.J. Brown at running back. Brown is now at Northern Illinois.

North Little Rock will start with a two-quarterback system of senior Corvasea Cooney, 6-2, 178, and junior Trey Cox, 6-0, 170. Mitchell said the two quarterbacks have looked good in the offseason and that they'll both play in Friday night's season opener against Little Rock Catholic in the school's new football stadium, Charging Wildcat Stadium.

"Corvasea is much more mobile," Mitchell said. "He's very athletic. Trey is a much more polished quarterback. He's been efficient. They're definitely different."

Junior Alex Day, the brother of former North Little Rock star and current Arkansas Razorback Juan Day, will start at running back. Day, 5-8, 190, played behind Brown last season.

Mitchell is high on three sophomore wide receivers -- Joseph Howard (5-8, 155), Aaron Griffin (5-8, 155) and David Chapelle (5-9, 170).

"We may be young at that position," Mitchell said. "But we're going to play some young guys."

Senior defensive lineman Tre Chism, 6-0, 261, and senior defensive back Tony Collier, 6-0, 164, lead North Little Rock defensively. They are two of the Charging Wildcats' four returning starters on defense along with senior linebacker Mitchell Strassle, 5-10, 177, and senior safety Tavious Anderson, 6-0, 200.

North Little Rock will be tested before opening 7A/6A-East Conference play. It will host Class 7A runner-up Fayetteville on Sept. 11 and travel to defending Class 6A state champion Pine Bluff on Sept. 18.

Other key games for the Charging Wildcats include Cabot on Sept. 25 and Jonesboro on Oct. 9, both at home.

"We've got some guys who are fixing to play who are some good players, but have had to wait for their turn," Mitchell said. "I think we're going to be a football team that will get better as the season goes along."

Sports on 08/30/2015