Wildcats, Cardinals set to meet
Former El Dorado defensive coordinator Jake Monden kicks off his second year as Camden Fairview’s head football coach. Monden would like nothing better than to show everybody how much his program has improved in a year at the Wildcats’ expense.
The teams hook it up tonight at 7:30 in Camden.
Fairview ended its preseason by thumping Monticello 31-6 in a scrimmage. El Dorado coach Scott Reed said the improvement is noticeable.
“I think you generally see big improvement in a coach’s second year at a place. He’s made some staff changes that he feels good about. The kids have been in his program for a year. I know my first head coaching job, I felt like I was behind all the time that first year. The second year, you’re much more settled and you feel like things get done better, smoother,” said Reed.
“And, you could see that in their performance against Monticello. I
think he’s good defensively, his front defensively. The back end runs well. I think they’re more physical than they were a year ago defensively. They have a couple of guys and the quarterback, also, is a threat to make big plays at all times, offensively. Their two slot receivers are really hard to tackle in space. The quarterback is a dualthreat type guy. I think they believe they’re much better. I also think our kids had a real good summer and they’re ready to play a ball game, too. I have high expectations for this group.”
“We’re improved, stronger, bigger from a year ago,” said Monden. “We’re looking at a team that’s in our second year in a program. We’re improved. I like where we’re at, right now. We still have a lot of improvements to make, obviously.”
The scrimmage against Monticello only last three quarters but the coach saw enough to please him.
“I thought we were more active defensively. I thought we were stronger at the point of attack,” said Monden. “Offensively, I like where we’re at as far as our explosion and people getting in the open field and making things happen. I thought we were really efficient at quarterback for most of the night.”
Monden described quarterback Keith Johnson as a dual-threat. Reed said the Cardinals can get the ball down the field through the air, though.
“He threw the deep ball well the other night,” Reed said. “They don’t do a whole lot of five-step concept stuff, yet, like we do with Darius. But, there’s a lot of quick screens and stuff. He gets the ball out of his hands quick. And then when you go up to press them, he made a couple throws over the top they hurt Monticello with. So, he’s not just a run-only guy.”
Traditionally, the Cardinals have been a spread-to-run offense. Monden said one of his goals was to get stronger up front to complement the program’s history of speed at the skill positions. Junior left tackle, Stacey Wilkins (6-7, 275) anchors the offensive line.
“They’ve been mostly four-wide offensively but I think they’re going to be more like us and put a tight end in some. I don’t know whether they’re going to get under center or not but it wouldn’t surprise me,” said Reed. “Defensively, they’re a lot like we used to play here, mostly a 4-3, two cover and some man coverage. We shouldn’t have an issue with not being familiar with what they’re doing.
“Speed-wise, I think that’s going to be a really good matchup. We’ll see where we stack up.”
“We got a chance to see them a few times this summer at team camps and 7-on-7. Obviously, we went and scouted them last week when they played Nashville at SAU,” said Monden.
“It’s typical El Dorado, very big up front, good on both sides of the ball up front. I really like their size at linebacker and their ability to run to the ball. I think Coach Reed has a great combination of those two quarterbacks, one being a dual-guy, does a great job of reading stuff in the gunrun. I think they’re pretty good at receiver, right now.”
El Dorado used both Darius Holly and sophomore Alex Hicks at quarterback in its 29-19 scrimmage win over the Scrappers. Both had impressive stints and gave the Cardinals something else to worry about.
“I think we’re going to see both of them,” said Monden. “Obviously, we’ve been preparing for Darius. He does some good stuff in the run game, too. You prepare for both of them but I expect Darius to get the majority of the reps.”
The coach said getting the Wildcats off the field on third down will be crucial. But, he acknowledged El Dorado could have more big-play ability than in recent years.
“Yeah, I think they’re faster than they’ve been in the last three or four years. They have that move-in kid, number two, he’s an explosive guy that can go,” Monden said of Taliq Ellis. “They’ve got a rangy guy in Keshun Greene and, obviously, with Shun Levingston in the slot, putting him in motion, I think they’re a lot more explosive than they have been in the past. And then they have three good tailbacks that we saw. They force you to defend the whole field.”
For his part, Reed said Fairview’s second is solid, especially safety Jarred Lockhart but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to challenge the Cardinals over the top.
“I want to be able to do both and I’m always looking for a way to get the ball over the top,” he said. “If we were playing Deion Sanders at one corner and Lester Hayes at the other corner and Ronnie Lott at safety, we would still be trying to figure out ways to throw the ball over the top.”
El Dorado, notoriously poor in preseason scrimmages, actually had a good performance against Nashville. The Wildcats hit more and sooner in the preseason in an effort to be ready for early-season contests.
“I was impressed with the way our kids played in the Nashville scrimmage,” he said. “But, what really impressed me the most was for the first quarter or so, it was back-andforth and we got behind a few times. We were behind at least twice and you could tell we have a team with a bunch of guys who have played awhile because there wasn’t any panic. It was more of an analytical approach and people were calm. I thought we settled down and played much better in the second quarter. I thought our kids, after the game, felt good about how they played.”
The Wildcats returned from the scrimmage with solid practices this week.
“We had good Monday and Tuesday. It was competitive,” said Reed. “I thought the offense had a really good Monday. And then Tuesday it turned around and the defense was much better. It’s been competitive this week. (Wednesday) we did mostly walkthrough.”
With the weather forecasting cooler temperatures, for once, the heat might not be a factor tonight. When asked if that might mean seeing more Wildcats going both ways, the coach answered quickly, “I hope not.
“This early in the year, I don’t want guys playing a lot both ways. It’s a long season. I would prefer that we’re playing, maybe, almost a full game on one side of the ball and less than half the time on the other side. That’s what I would prefer. The other thing is, we’re playing on grass and it’s going to be really wet. That means it gets heavy and it takes a whole lot more out of you than playing on a fast, dry surface. If that’s the case, I want to make sure we have fresh legs in the second half.”
As for the El Dorado-Camden Fairview rivalry, Reed said it’s exciting regardless of the coaches. But, it amps up a bit when four former Wildcat coaches are wearing Cardinal Red. Former Fairview standout DeAnthony Curtis, meanwhile, is a first-year linebackers coach at El Dorado.
“El Dorado and Camden is always good because it’s a rivalry game. I think our kids are going to be jacked up about playing ball. I think it’s a great way to start our season,” said Reed.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Monden. He did a good job while he was here. He’s a good person. He’s good with kids. I can’t wait to get a hold of him.”