Troy mounts playoff bid from Spread
After only three wins in a lackluster 2016 season, missing the Class 5A playoffs for the second-straight year, Hot Springs head coach Chris Vereen made some changes.
One was adding a Spread package to the team’s Flexbone offense, an experienced unit.
“We’ve changed some things,” Vereen said. “We’ve added a wrinkle or two. We feel like we need to throw the ball a little bit more this year.
“Every one of those guys in the backfield is coming back with a lot of experience. Every one of them, no matter if it’s a different position or not, started all 10 games last year. We feel really good about that.”
Junior Chris Stewart (5-11,
185), a 10-game starter at running back, moves to quarterback. Senior Kenny Byrd (6-1,
185) returns with three years starting experience at running back along with classmate Coby Wallace (5-10, 230) at fullback. Junior Damien Walker (61, 195) also provides a running threat for the Trojans, while sophomores Deante Sanders
(6-0, 175) and Devin Hill (5-7,
165) provide backfield depth. Even with 44 players on the roster, “Our team weakness is depth,” said Vereen. “However, that is one position, in the backfield at running back, that we feel like we have some depth. That’s our most deep position. We feel really good about our team. What I don’t feel good about is if we get riddled with the injury bug or we lost one or two key players, we’re going to be in trouble.”
Senior Nick Walker (6-0,
244) returns at offensive tackle with classmate Corliss Brewer (5-11, 145), and senior Isiah Calhoun (6-2, 226) and junior Ramello Cason (6-3, 240) return at guard.
Senior Joseph Westbrook
(5-10, 210) returns at tight end, and Vereen’s son, sophomore McCoy Vereen (5-9, 215), moves to center after starting a year ago at fullback.
“The majority of our upfront guys are back,” the head coach said. “We feel real comfortable about it.”
Junior Damien Walker (6-1,
195) joins Nick Walker, Calhoun and Cason on the defensive line. Junior Kendall Anderson
(5-11, 270), who moved into the district a year ago from Alabama, joins the rotation.
“This is where now, instead of five guys up front, you only gotta have four,” Vereen said. “So we can start rotating those guys some on defense. We feel really good about our front seven.”
Junior Aaron Williams (5-7,
153) and senior Dylan Lowe
(5-11, 166) join Byrd at outside linebacker while Westbrook fills in the middle.
Junior Terrance Floyd (60, 170) is the only returning starter in the secondary, “but we feel a lot better going in this year.”
Senior Leotis McClure (510, 180), an Arkadelphia transplant who attends the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, joins the secondary after sitting out a year, and junior Desmond Howard (6-0, 175), a move-in from Memphis, adds speed to the secondary.
Sophomores Santiair Thomas (6-2, 185), Dayton Clayton (58, 160), Sanders, Hill are young, but capable, additions to the backfield.
“We’ve got some young guys,” Vereen said. “(McClure) is a player. (Howard) is the fastest kid on our team right now. They’re very talented. Last year, we felt good about our front seven; our secondary we really struggled back there. If we don’t give up a lot of deep balls, then we’re good. We really feel like with an influx of, whether it’s young talent or not, some talent, we’ve secured the secondary up.”
With the graduation of Erick Guadron, who averaged more than 61 yards per kickoff and made six field goals, the Trojans found the kicker they need in Guadron’s cousin, Cristian Jovel (5-9, 165).
Calhoun returns as the team’s punter. “Honestly, he may be the best punter I’ve
ever coached once he gets consistent,” Vereen said. “Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the work (of) a regular punter.”
Vereen expects McClure, Howard, Thomas and Floyd to receive kicks.
“We feel real good about our receivers,” he said. “(This is) probably the best group of receivers we’ve had here in eight years.”
The Trojans have a tough nonconference season with rival Lake Hamilton in the Sept. 1 opener before facing top-level 4A talent against Mena and Arkadelphia.
“Obviously, Lake Hamilton is a big rivalry game,” Vereen said. “It just seems like any rivalry game, no matter how good they’re going to be, how good we’re going to be. It really doesn’t matter on that rivalry game, it’s going to be a tight, tough game. We feel like those are two teams (Mena and Arkadelphia) that legitimately could contend for the playoffs in our conference. Even though there are two 4A teams in there, it’s pretty tough.”
The 5A South is a conference that is “very competitive and very tough.”
“It’s like I tell our guys, ‘We don’t want to be picked one or two,”’ Vereen said. “It seems the last four years, the team that’s picked sixth or seventh ends up winning the conference. Anything can happen on any given Friday night in this conference.”