Trojans looking to surprise 5A-South in 2016
SEAN SAUNDERS
Despite a winning (6-4) record, Hot Springs coach Chris Vereen was displeased with the 2015 campaign.
After winning the 2014 5A-South championship, the Trojans appeared on pace to defend their first outright league title since 1988 with a 3-0 nonconference record before star running back Cleo Floyd went down with an ankle injury during a 14-7 loss at Watson Chapel. Hot Springs started conference play 0-3 before a failed two-point conversion Week 9 at Camden Fairview, a playoff team like Watson Chapel, resulted in a 21-20 setback that knocked the Trojans out of playoff contention.
“Six and four sounds like a good season for us, but we were really disappointed with last season,” said Vereen, entering his seventh season at Hot Springs. “It wasn’t because of effort. It was because we couldn’t stay healthy. That was it. We started out 3-0 healthy, and we went into the Lakeside game finally healthy, but unfortunately, it was too late as far as the playoff picture is concerned.”
The Trojans were fueled during the offseason by a rare feat in today’s high school football — a season-ending win. By dominating possession, Floyd carrying a career-high 41 times, Hot Springs upset rival Lakeside 17-15, costing the Rams an outright claim to the conference championship.
“Coaches will tell you that Week 10, especially if you’re not in the playoffs, is the biggest springboard into offseason,” Vereen said. “It gives you something to look forward to. You don’t come in with your heads down. The kids talked about it a lot, and they still talk about it now.”
Younger players in the program are charged with replacing Vereen’s most successful group of Hot Springs seniors, the class of 2016 going 13-9 its final two seasons with an appearance in the quarterfinals two years ago. Key losses include Floyd, signed with Northwest Mississippi Community College and looking to go NCAA Division I, along with linemen Jacob McNeill and Dante Ibarra, both Henderson State signees, among the recent graduates.
“They were just tremendous, and they’re hard to replace,” Vereen said. “But at the same time, they left that legacy of winning. Every coach will tell you that winning is a habit, but unfortunately, so is losing. That was the group that broke that barrier for us.”
Because Hot Springs lost most of its notable performers of the past two seasons, Vereen is hoping his team can contend in the conference while flying under the radar. The past three league champions were all picked by the coaches to finish outside of the playoffs, and those coaches have the Trojans tabbed fifth this year.
“I think the conference is wide open again this year,” Vereen said.
Ethan O’Riley, last year’s No. 1 quarterback, moved to Texas during the offseason, but Hot Springs still has a familiar face in senior Korey Wasson. Although his throwing was limited by a broken hand, Wasson led a winning drive in Week 2 against Mena after O’Riley went down with an injury. Wasson was then 1-1 as a starter, rushing 16 times for 80 yards and three touchdowns at Arkadelphia before accounting for the Trojans’ lone touchdown at Watson Chapel.
“It’s great to have Korey coming back with some experience under his belt, and again, it’s just not the offensive side. He’s going to have to help us on the defensive side as well,” said Vereen of Wasson, also starting his second season at strong safety. “We’ve got some good players, but our depth is going to be our main concern this year. We’re going to have kids go both ways, and unfortunately, he’s one of them. I hate to do that with a quarterback, but we feel like he can handle it.”
With a healthy hand, Wasson will try to throw the ball more than Hot Springs attempted last year running Vereen’s signature, option-heavy Flexbone attack. Senior Nehemiah Dangerfield, an all-state high jumper with 4.6-second speed for 40 yards, is the Trojans’ most potent deep threat. Sophomore Terrance Floyd, Cleo Floyd’s little brother, figures to be another first-team wide receiver.
The Trojans also have a pair of targets coming out of the backfield in junior Kenny Byrd and sophomore Damion Walker. After the older Floyd carried the ball a combined 80 times in their first and final home games last year, Vereen is pleased with his depth at running back this season, naming sophomore Chris Stewart and senior Tre Elliott as more first-team candidates.
Byrd has the most experience in the backfield, starting last year when Cleo Floyd went down. Stewart carries the most potential, working out with the varsity during the spring of his eighth-grade year before coaches decided to start him at quarterback for the junior Trojans instead of senior-high running back.
Vereen prefers to two-platoon at fullback, rotating a pair during his conference title run, and he has the same setup with juniors Rashad Wells and Colby Wallace. Of course, when Hot Springs sets up in the Power-I for short-yardage plays, senior offensive tackle Isaiah Gulley (6-2, 340 pounds) lines up as a second fullback.
Gulley anchors the line starting his second season, joining guard and classmate Dante Orosco with the most experience up front. Junior center Isaiah Calhoun started the Lakeside game at guard after graduated Nicho Fontanelli was injured in a car accident the previous night. Vereen said senior guard Michael Kelley and junior tackle Nick Walker need the most work, but both are talented after taking first-team defensive reps last fall.
Gulley is also the foundation of Hot Springs’ defense, starting his third season at tackle. College scouts are already looking at him, possibly going D1.
“When recruiters come here and see that he’s 6-2 and 340 pounds, they think he’s fat before they meet him, and he’s not,” Vereen said. “I’ve never met a 340-pound guy at 6-2 that wasn’t fat, but he’s not. He’s just big everywhere. He is a wall. The deal with him and with our whole team is that we have to be in tremendous shape because when Gulley is full speed, he’s unblockable.”
Kelley returns for his third season at end, and Walker spelled both Kelley and graduated Quindell Smith on last year’s line. Vereen is still looking for candidates for the second tackle spot, hoping not to task another linemen with going both ways.
Byrd had a breakout sophomore campaign at outside linebacker, leading the team with 131 tackles. Senior Kilan Murry also returns at outside linebacker, but a big hole remains in the middle after losing three-year starter Kamar Brown. Vereen has named junior Joseph Westbrook as Brown’s successor.
“He’s got some big shoes to fill from Kamar Brown because Kamar was good. He really was,” Vereen said.
Surrounding Wasson in the secondary will be Dangerfield at free safety and Wells and Walker at cornerbacks. The Trojans will miss the departed Floyd’s bigplay capabilities at safety, which could be his college position moving forward.
Vereen is pleased that after surrendering just 17.3 points per game, near the top of the Class 5A rankings, the defense is once again the team’s strong suit during fall camp. The ‘D’ also gets a big boost from all-state senior Erick Guadron booming kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks nearly every attempt.
Guadron, the state’s all-time scorer at 136 career goals after leading the soccer Trojans to their first state title last spring, also gives the offense a lift, capable of blasting 55-yard field goals.
“It is a weapon,” Vereen said. “I call the defense, and it’s a defensive coordinator’s dream to say, ‘Hey, they’re going to start at the 20 every time and they have to drive 80 yards.’ It’s a huge advantage. If you break down the studies, and they’ve done it in high school football, the average starting spot is about the 35-yard line. So every time you’re getting a 15- to 20yard advantage, and by the end of the night, you’re just getting a touchdown every 80 yards.
“It’s a big, big advantage to win the special-teams battle and have Erick put it in the end zone, and then to know that if you get inside the 30, you can get three points. That’s huge for us.”
Vereen just hopes his remaining weapons are capable of returning to the postseason.