El Dorado football team holds first practice of the year.
El Dorado took advantage of a rare, cool July afternoon and went through a spirited twohour practice at the high school on Monday. The Wildcats welcomed 100 athletes out for the first day of football, which drew a sizeable contingent of on-lookers.
“I thought the first day was awesome,” said El Dorado coach Scott Reed. “We were locked in. For day one, the level of play was really good. The speed was good. We got a nice deal with the weather. But, for six stations, you know how you say you were looking for something good? The whole day was pretty good.”
Ouachita Baptist University was well represented as former Wildcats and current collegiate Tigers, Lucas Reed, Ernest Reed and Lake Tucker all watched from the sidelines.
But, the day wasn’t all sunny as Coach Reed confirmed senior defensive tackle Terry Hampton is out of action with a torn ACL and MCL. Hampton, who verbally committed to Arkansas State over the summer, still hasn’t been ruled out this season.
“The kid thinks he could play tomorrow,” said Reed. “But, the MRI showed that there was a problem and he needed surgery. And, honestly, he thinks he could play tomorrow. I mean, he’s a tough kid. I’m not ruling anything out with him. He heals fast and he competes. He wants so bad to be out here.”
The Wildcats went through station work and also competed in
passing drills against the secondary. Senior quarterback Darius Holly made several connections to speedy Lincoln, Nebraska move-in Taliq Ellis at receiver.
“I thought we threw and caught it well. I was really pleased with Darius and then it got contagious,” said Reed. “All the quarterbacks picked it up. And, there were tight windows because the defense moved well. I saw some really good things for day one. You can tell the summer work, there were a lot of guys that put it in. They were ready to go.”
Defensively, El Dorado’s secondary had the look of ball hawks, especially when the ball was in the air.
“It gets competitive. And, that’s what you want. You want guys that don’t like it when they get beat,” said Reed. “One-on-one is a competitive drill. We’re promoting that up and down the line. That’s the way the game is. It’s about being competitive. You could tell. It’s important to win. It’s important to win your drill. It’s important to win the ball when it’s in the air. We talk about the 50-50 balls. Offensively, we’ve got to get them. Defensively, we’ve got to get them out. They understand.
“I liked what I saw out of Mon-Trae Marshall, leading, defensively. He was vocal. It’s important. Those guys kind of feed off that. I thought Kameron Bowie had a good day. I thought he did some good things at corner.”
Bowie is returning from a torn ACL.
“I think he’s going to be fine,” said Reed, who added, “Our new kicker, I thought (sophomore Grayson) Hubbard kicked the ball pretty well. He’s doing a good job.”
The coach said the practice included two different sets of team drills in an effort to increase depth.
“We’re working some guys both ways. In case you get into week five and you get a couple guys with twisted ankles or something,” he said. “We have a really strong senior class and some of those kids can do some things both ways. We’re working them. They have good ball skills.”
Overall, Reed credited the Wildcats’ summer camps, workouts and 7-on-7 tournaments for Monday’s success. Even though it wasn’t hot, none of the players showed signs of fatigue late in the two-hour practice.
“I was really pleased with the way our guys moved. The team situation, we did red zone and field goal. Coach (Claude) Johnson and Coach (Kris) Borosvskis did all the signaling. The communication was good. The kids were locked in. And then defensively, I thought we were quick to line up,” said Reed. “I thought we communicated well. Mon-Trae and the linebackers and Cecil (Delphin) and some of those guys … for day one, you can tell we’ve got some guys who have played some ball, which is good.
“Overall, just for a day one, what we know, what we have in, what we can execute is good for a day one. The challenge is to keep doing it. But, I was really pleased for a first day.”