For Zebras, anticipation for season is heating up
A new season is dawning at Pine Bluff High School, but to get to this point, the Zebras had to beat the afternoon heat in practice.
The heat of the moment at game time — even if the sun is going down — will likely be a different story.
“The main thing is the atmosphere and intensity picks up, which builds up everything, the enthusiasm and excitement,” third-year Zebras Coach Rod Stinson said. “Your energy level goes up. You’re sweating probably 10 times more than you would in a regular practice. Those things, you want to try to control and do in the heat and try to make practice as game-like as possible.”
With the mercury nearing 100 degrees, the Zebras have worked out indoors and taken to the Jordan Stadium field later in the day in preparation for the heat that comes with the first game of the season. Pine Bluff will host longtime rival Watson Chapel at 7 p.m. today, hoping to reassert its dominance in the crosstown rivalry.
Last year’s game was canceled because of the impact of covid-19. Pine Bluff won each meeting from 2010-17, tied Watson Chapel in 2018 and lost to the Wildcats in 2019.
“You want to try to get back to some type of normal, and this is a good game to do it because you’re bringing in a rival school,” said Stinson, a Zebras running back in the 1990s. “Those are guys they grew up with and played little league with. All that mixed together, we hope we get a pretty exciting football game.”
Covid-19 forced two more cancellations on the Zebras’ schedule last year, yet the players still earned a spot in the 6A state playoffs. They’re going into this season with 60 on their roster.
“Our numbers are down, especially this year, but the quality is still there,” Stinson said. “Covid kind of hit us. You have kids who didn’t come out and kids who got jobs, so that hit our numbers just a little bit, but overall I like the flow of our team. We’re going to move guys around who may play one position but they’re athletic enough to spell somebody in another. That’s what you want to create early in the season. You want to be able to see who can do what, and that’s what nonconference games are for, to be able to experiment a little bit.”
A point of emphasis in Stinson’s experiment is the secondary, where running backs X’Zaevion Barnett and Tyrea Campbell, and wideouts Courtney Crutchfield and Blare Hegwood will share time with Malik Paul and Cedric Qualls. Braelyn Starks worked out in the secondary but will see action at linebacker.
Junior Will Howell will start at quarterback, but Stinson expects sophomore Landon Holcomb to take a few snaps as well against the Wildcats, which are starting the season with their own two-quarterback system. Also for Pine Bluff, Glenn Barnes will share carries with Barnett and Campbell.
“My main thing is, this early on, let’s keep guys fresh, let’s keep guys learning, let’s be consistent, and let’s make sure we can get out healthy, No. 1. That’s kind of the plan,” Stinson said.