Devil Dogs have holes to fill in skill positions
T hree years after winning the Class 5A state championship, Morrilton appeared to be contending for another last season when a figurative earthquake hit.
After opening the season with a 14-11 loss to Russellville — which went on to win the Class 6A state title — the Devil Dogs cruised to a 4-1 record after knocking off Little Rock Fair, 60-0; Searcy, 41-13; Harrison, 48-7; and Greenbrier, 35-27.
But when they realized one of their players was ineligible, they self-reported and forfeited all four wins, including conference victories over Harrison and Greenbrier. Morrilton was officially 0-5 heading into the Alma game.
“It was one of those deals that it slipped by several checkpoints,” Devil Dog coach Cody McNabb said of the eligibility issue. “We figured it out, and unfortunately, we figured it out after we had won a whole lot of football games.
“I hated it for the seniors, but there’s not many times you get a chance to teach some life lessons. We have a community and a bunch of kids and a bunch of administrators, just a bunch of people, who reacted the right way to something like that. It made it one of those things you don’t forget. Everybody just did it right.”
From 0-5, the Devil Dogs had to win out to qualify for the playoffs from the 5A-West. That’s exactly what they did. Morrilton beat Alma, 28-26, handing the Airedales their only conference loss as they returned to the 5A-West after a cycle in the 7A/6A Central, which included a Class 6A state quarterfinal finish in 2015. Starting in 1992, Alma had won 10 titles in its previous run in the 5A-West. The Devil Dogs then mowed down Maumelle, 53-21; Vilonia, 35-7; Farmington, 48-6; and Clarksville, 52-6, to earn the fourth seed from the West. The Devil Dogs drew Wynne, top seed from the East, in the opening round and fell, 50-21.
“We knew us or Wynne, whoever won that game was going to make a pretty good run,” McNabb said. “They were just a little bit better. That should’ve been a semifinal game, not a first-round one.”
The Yellowjackets went on to beat Little Rock McClellan in the quarterfinals, 36-8; and Watson Chapel in the semifinals, 77-41; before falling to Pulaski Academy at War Memorial Stadium in the state championship game, 55-16, to close 13-1.
Thus the eligibility issue turned out to be a costly one for the Devil Dogs.
“It wasn’t that anybody was trying to do the wrong thing,” McNabb said. “When we found out about it, everybody did the right thing, from the kids to the administration. It made it a very, very tough first-round game. That’s what stunk. We felt like we were maybe the third-best [Class] 5A team; we just drew the best early.”
On the field, the Devil Dogs were 9-2. From that life lesson of a season, five Devil Dogs return on each side of the football for 2017. They will run a multiple offense and a 3-4 defense.
“Our big thing is we lost some really good skill players — two receivers, a quarterback and
a starting tailback,” McNabb said. “So we’ll be replacing a lot of our skill positions.”
Still, there is much to build around as the Devil Dogs prepare for another postseason run in 2017. Key returners include senior offensive linemen Joseph Canady (5-8, 215) and Garnett Russell (6-5, 315); junior offensive lineman Hunter Desalvo (6-0, 240); senior defensive lineman Isaiah Williams (5-9, 170); senior safety Brandon Russell (6-3, 170); senior cornerback Laken Dillard (5-9, 160); and junior cornerback Dalton Kellar (5-11, 170).
Russell earned 47 tackles as a junior linebacker. Williams notched 33 from defensive end. Dillard had 28 tackles and four interceptions; Kellar added 26 tackles.
Besides Canady, Russell and Desalvo on the line, other Devil Dogs in the mix for starting slots on offense include junior Dylan White (5-11, 200) and sophomore Jacolby Criswell (6-1, 190) at quarterback.
“That won’t be decided anytime soon,” McNabb said in early August of the QB duel.
That’s our challenge — a young team with those kinds of games at the front of our conference schedule.” CODY McNABB MORRILTON HEAD COACH
“Both of them are really good quarterbacks, and whoever doesn’t play quarterback will be good at another position.”
McNabb said White and Criswell are two of the best quarterbacks he’s ever coached.
“Pretty much other than the statechampionship year, I could see either one of those two starting at any point at Morrilton,” he said, adding that he would let the competition work itself out. “I don’t plan on anything; maybe they both play a whole lot of quarterback, and I could see them both splitting snaps in the first game. They are both so good, it’s going to be hard to separate them in practice.”
White got some action in a back-up role as a sophomore last year, throwing for 118 yards and three touchdowns. Criswell led the junior Devil Dogs to a 10-0 record last fall.
“They were both very good,” McNabb said. “It’s a good problem to have.”
So quarterback looks to be a strength for the Devil Dogs for the next several years.
The receiving corps includes senior wide receiver Tory Criswell (6-2, 200), who returns after missing the final nine games to a broken collarbone last season; and junior wide receivers Mason Adams (5-8, 135) and Terry Franklin (5-11, 185).
“They are inexperienced, but I think they’ll be OK,” McNabb said of his receivers.
The tailback position should be manned by junior Brett Jones (5-10, 185) and sophomore Xaviar Clemons (5-9, 155), with sophomore Matthew Warhmund (5-7, 155) at fullback. Joining Canady, Russell and Desalvo on the offensive line will be senior Evan Gray (6-3, 260), with the other position still up in the air, the coach said during the first week of fall drills.
Besides Russell, Williams, Dillard and Kellar, the Devil Dog defense should include senior nose guard Jackson Joyner (5-7, 210); junior end Keywan Shavers (6-2, 250); senior linebacker Blake Poteete (6-2, 190); and junior linebackers Garrett Hendrix (6-2, 180), Andrew Lentz (5-8, 165) and Jake Knowles (5-6, 145).
Seniors Simeon Lee (5-6, 125), Kyren Gilreath (5-7, 130) and Nathan Bowers (5-10, 145) will see action in the secondary.
A team strength is the resolve shown through the difficulties of last season. The Devil Dogs learned the values of persistence and overcoming obstacles. While McNabb said inexperience will be the major weakness this fall, it is something that can be overcome.
“I can see this group — they really like playing football,” he said. “They play hard. They’re just going to be inexperienced. We graduated 14 seniors, and all of them were really good players and key contributors.
“So I think we’ve got some solid football players who play with great effort and practice hard. We’re just going to be inexperienced, but I can see us getting better as the year goes on.”
McNabb said the Devil Dogs “absolutely” bounced back from the 2016 bump.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” he said. “Everybody worked hard. Inexperience will hurt us early, but we should get better as the year goes on, and that’s better than peaking too soon.
“Even a lot of our seniors are inexperienced. You want to be playing your best football at the end of the year. We’ve just got to win enough early to where the end of the year counts.”
The 5A-West has been a traditional power for a generation. Alma and Greenbrier tied for the championship last year. As the top seed, the Airedales beat Blytheville in the first round of the playoffs, 38-13; before falling to Watson Chapel in the quarterfinals, 42-35. Greenbrier, the second seed, lost to Forrest City in the opening round, 60-34. Harrison, the third seed, fell in the first round to Batesville, 35-14.
According to a statewide publication’s Arkansas football’s preseason poll of league coaches, Alma is the pick to lead the conference again in 2017. Morrilton is picked second, followed by Greenbrier, Harrison, Maumelle, Farmington, Vilonia and Clarksville. McNabb echoed those predictions. “I would think we’ll be battling to get into the playoffs,” he said. “I would say Alma is the favorite. I know Alma and Greenbrier are good every year. Harrison has a very talented team. Maumelle had some really good young talent. I don’t know how they’re going to develop, but all their talent was young last year. Clarksville is in the second year under a new coach, and Farmington is always solid.
“It makes for a fun year when you’ve got a lot of good teams that are all well coached.”
Following their 2013 state title, the Devil Dogs graduated a big senior class. They took their lumps in a four-win season in 2014 but rebounded to seven wins in ’15, finishing 7-4 with a tie for runnerup in the 5A-West after falling to Little Rock McClellan in the opening round of the playoffs. McClellan’s magical year ended in the statechampionship game at War Memorial Stadium.
So the Devil Dogs know all about the building and rebuilding process.
They opened the 2017 season Sept. 1 against Russellville, the defending Class 6A state champion. They will visit Little Rock Fair on Sept. 8 and conclude their nonconference schedule Sept. 15 at Class 6A Searcy.
“Our first three games in the conference are the three [other] playoff teams from last year,” McNabb said. “We get Harrison (on the road Sept. 22), Greenbrier (at home Sept. 29) and then Alma (on the road Oct. 6). We’ll either be right in the thick of it or out of it pretty soon.
“That’s our challenge — a young team with those kinds of games at the front of our conference schedule. Can we make enough strides in the nonconference to be ready to play those games?”