In tough district, Rabbs will ‘find a way’ to win
ATLANTA, Texas—The Rabbits have their eyes set on a playoff spot and making a run for a title.
Atlanta plays in a highly competitive District 7-4A, which last year had five teams ranked in the top 10 of the region.
‘Find a way’ is the team’s motto this season.
“It’s going to be a war each week, and we have to find a way to win the right games in order to get into the playoffs,” Rabbits’ head coach Matt McClure said. “Once we get in, I believe that we can play for a while.”
McClure was not satisfied with the team’s performance last season, despite having a winning record. The playoff spot went to a tie breaker, and Atlanta did not get in.
The Rabbits had been to playoff for five straight years and had played in the quarterfinals for two years in a row.
“I felt like we had a good enough team to get in and play for a couple of rounds,” McClure said. “The district was extremely tough, and we just didn’t win the right games to get in.”
Atlanta runs an H-back offense in which a team uses a two-player backfield. The H-back is kind of like a tight end, who probably will not carry the ball often, but will block and catch passes out of the backfield.
Junior Andrew Samples
(5-10, 175) starts at quarterback. Last season, Samples played strong safety, inside linebacker, h-back, and saw some time at quarterback.
“Andrew is a tough kid and a really good leader for that position,” McClure said. “He will play anywhere and everywhere he can to help the team. Andrew just loves playing football and has gotten better over the summer in throwing the football.”
Back from last season is standout running back, junior Jawan King (5-11, 190). King is a barrel-chested speedster who has good feet and good balance.
Atlanta will also use King, who has great hands, out of the backfield as a receiving back.
“Jawan is a special player and is well rounded,” McClure said. “He was on our gold-medal state track relay team. Jawan is hard to catch and once he breaks into the secondary, he
will be dangerous. Tacklers tend to slide off of him when they go to tackle him.”
Senior Desmond Webster (5-11, 175) starts at wideout. Webster is the only returning starting wideout from last season.
Webster is speedy and ran track for the Rabbits’ state relay track team. He may see some playing time at running back.
“Desmond can run by most corners and is a deep threat,” McClure said. “He is strong and defenses will have to be accountable for him.”
Austin Brown, the junior starting wideout, was a state track relay member. Brown is fast and will also be a deep threat for Atlanta.
The other starting wideout is senior Luke Anthony. Anthony will be Atlanta’s inside slot receiver and can play at several other positions.
“Luke is extremely smart, is a guy we can move around, and we are excited about him,” McClure said.
Senior Zee Barfoot, junior Daries Allen, sophomore Max Ebarb are training for the h-back position.
“We are looking for someone who has good hands and is physical enough to block inside,” McClure said. “The h-back will have to catch some passes out in the flat and do a really good job of blocking.”
Senior Dustin Williams (6-0, 285) is back and anchors the offensive line along with junior tackles Josh Wiley (6-1, 255) and Shun Hunter (6-3, 290). Hunter will be a two-way starter.
Junior guard Jake Thompson and senior Alex Derman or senior Jack Henderson will be at the other guard spot. Jared Cowgill, a sophomore, will also see playing time on the offensive line.
“Shun is a dominant player and is really fast for a big guy,” McClure said. “He has good feet and is coming into his own and realizing how good of a football player he can be.”
The Rabbits run a 3-4 defense and is working on filling some linebacker positions.
Atlanta has its front three back on defense. Barfoot plays nose guard, Reggie Blaylock, a senior, is back at defensive end, and Hunter plays at the other end.
Gerrod Oliver is a senior and starts at inside linebacker. Senior Demontrae Collins is back at outside linebacker from last season.
Senior Nick Washington will be one of the starting cornerbacks and Anthony will start at safety. Players are competing for the other two starting secondary positions.
“A lot of our kids can play both ways,” McClure said. “We are trying to eliminate that and want to keep the players healthy.
“I think this is a team that is really close, and more players will emerge as we go along. I think they just need more reps and more reps. We have a rich history of being successful, and the kids know that they are the next group who needs to live up to that.”