Next man up for Scrappers for upcoming season
NASHVILLE, Ark.—For the past two years, the Nashville Scrappers have had to replace the Most Valuable Player in Conference 4A.
Head coach Mike Volarvich and his staff have proven to mold prolific offenses in a short amount of time.
“Our expectations at Nashville are the same year in and year out,” Nashville head football coach Mike Volarvich. “We want the Nashville Scrappers playing for a championship at the end of the season. That’s where we as coaches expect to be, that’s where our players expect to be and I think that’s where our community expects us to be. This year is no different.”
“The guys we lost to graduation we really dynamic players for us. We’ve gone through this scenario before, so it’s time for some of the young guys to step up and do their part.”
The Scrappers return senior quarterback Tyler Hanson (5-10, 170), who was an All-Conference selection last season and also threw for 2551 yards and 32 touchdowns.
“We’re really excited about him coming back. He brings experience and also a knowledge of the offense,” Volarvich said. Senior Trent Harris (5-7,
169) returns to tote the rock the Scrappers. Harris rushed for 930 yards in nine games before a season-ending injury. Sophomore Carmillias Morrison (5-7, 145) will backup Harris in the backfield
“Harris has been a productive back for us the past two years and now it’s his turn to be our main guy,” Volarvich said. “Carmillias done some good things with our junior high, so we’re expecting great things out of him.”
Nashville returns their top receivers seniors Ty Pettway (6-0, 195) and Domonick Kight (6-0, 175), both accounted for more than 1300 yards and 22 touchdowns.
“We’re really excited about what they can bring. Both were All-Conference performers for us last year,” Volarvich said.
The biggest question mark for Nashville will be the offensive line. The Scrappers graduated five seniors from last year’s line.
Seniors Shun Childress (5-10, 260), Tyae Harris (5-5, 190), juniors Miguel Hernandez, Robert Dunham (6-2, 237) and sophomore Ryan Brown have some awfully big shoes to fill.
“We have about 10 guys we can interchange with on the line. We’ve had a good fall camp with those and hopefully they will get some snaps this fall,” Volarvich.
Nashville’s secondary has garnered their coach’s praise in the preseason.
Seniors Kailus Hughes (5-8, 160), Davion Holmes (5-9,
150), Jhalon Finley (5-8, 152) and junior Jordan White (5-7, 140) will be asked to roam the secondary against the some of the state’s most high-powered offenses.
“We feel really good about this group because they know what we expect. They have some experience, so they know what they’re doing,” Volarvich said.”We have eight to 10 guys that we can rotate in and out throughout our defense. Our defensive situation is a lot like our offensive line, we’re replacing a lot of kids to graduation on tbat side of the ball.”
“I think our coaching staff has done an exceptional job this offseason with our kids. Our tradition is rich here and it starts with our administration. Plus, we play real hard and try to keep our kids coached up. Our kids have grown up as Scrappers and know what it means to play for Nashville.”