FIVE THINGS
Lakeside at Malvern
Former conference foes meet again this week as both Lakeside and Malvern still seek their first win of the season.
Kickoff between the Rams (0-2) and the Leopards (0-2) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Claude Mann Stadium.
Here are five things to watch:
Historic rivals
Malvern was dominant in the series decades ago when the two teams were in the same conference. The Leopards won 13 straight games against Lakeside from 1985-97, winning 16 out of 17 years.
“There is a long line of ball being played between Lakeside and Malvern,” said Lakeside head coach Jared McBride. “It is very well respected between the two coaching staffs and communities. It will be one they play for a long time. Our kids understand it is tough to go there and win and how important it is to do that, and really just to do that and get started in conference in a positive direction.”
Lakeside has won 10 of the last 16 in the series, but Malvern has won four of the last six with the two now in different classifications. The Rams resumed their series against Garland County rival Lake Hamilton to open the season.
“For us, it is important to play local schools,” said Malvern head coach Mike Scarbrough. “It is good for our school. It is good for the other schools. All of us benefit because we are local. These are pretty good gate games. Obviously, gates are huge in high school football because most of us support our programs.”
The Wolves (2-0) began the season with a 3127 victory at Lakeside before defeating Malvern,
56-10, in Week 2. Lake Hamilton was also a longtime conference foe before an enrollment boom.
“These are longstanding rivalries,” Scarbrough said. “The shortest rivalry of the non-conference games is the Glen Rose game.”
“Our conference is non-forgiving and our non-conference is, too,” Scarbrough added. “It prepares us for the future.”
Recent fireworks
Graduated quarterback and Tyler Junior College signee Demias Jimerson accounted for
529 yards and seven touchdowns a year ago as Malvern outlasted the Rams in a 67-58 shootout at Chick Austin Field. Graduated Lakeside running back Dupree Swanson averaged 10.2 yards per carry for 265 yards and five touchdowns in the losing effort, while running mate Michael James averaged 13.7 yards per carry for 123 yards.
The teams combined for more than 1,000 yards of offense.
Jimerson accounted for 260 yards of offense and five offensive touchdowns, as well as a 73yard fumble return for a touchdown on defense, in Malvern’s 48-32 win against Lakeside in 2016.
The Rams won the 2015 matchup, 49-35, behind 242 yards on 39 carries by running back Colt Housley.
“A couple of years back, they got us really good over there, but for the most part, it is really close,” McBride said. “It comes down to the end. There are always big plays and usually a lot of points on the board.”
Injury toll
Scarbrough said senior London Florence and junior Chris Maxie are day-to-day with injuries that have hampered them in recent weeks. Both were expected to be key running backs in a more methodical offense this season for the Leopards.
“We have a good plan going in,” Scarbrough said. “We feel like there are some things we can do. We are just going to have to play a lot of different people and put some people over there that have not played much running back.
“It is difficult to game plan, but that is the nature of high school football. We do not get to go out and pick the ones we want. We get what we are dealt. We are going to monitor and adjust and do the best we can.”
McBride said his team is also looking to heal from injuries sustained in the first two weeks of the season.
“We are beat up all over the place,” McBride said. “We have to have some young kids step up and play that we have not counted on yet. They are going to have to play for us for a little while. No excuses. We have to play.”
When Malvern has the ball
“Offensively, they are going to spread it and they are going to try to throw it,” McBride said. “Their quarterback can run it also. They are going to try to put us in space and make us tackle. We are going to have to be good on the back end.”
Scarbrough said the offensive line has been a bright spot for the Leopards through two games.
“The stats are not showing it, but the offensive line is doing a really good job up front,” Scarbrough said. “There are things we can take advantage of when we get over our injuries at running back.
“We need to be a ground and pound team. We need to come right at you, but right now we do not have the depth at running back to do that. We could run our quarterback more, but it is Week 3. In Week 3, I don’t want to have a quarterback beat up. We are trying to get ourselves healthy and eventually get to doing what we need to be doing.”
Lake Hamilton ran for more than 400 yards against Lakeside. Fountain Lake (2-0) added another 198 yards on the ground and 190 through the air during a 40-27 victory against Lakeside in Week 2.
“We would like to be able to run the football at them,” Scarbrough said. “Fountain Lake was effective running it right at them. We hope that we can do that. I just don’t know we will have the personnel.”
When Lakeside has the ball
“They seem to be physical on defense,” McBride said. “They are not gambling much. They are playing pretty solid. Lake Hamilton got a few big plays on them, but, for us, it is going to be methodically moving the ball down the field.”
Lake Hamilton punished Malvern for 311 rushing yards, but the Wolves were also 5-for-5 pasing for 114 yards and two scores. Glen Rose
(1-1) found more success on the ground with 27 carries for 157 yards versus 5-for-22 passing for
80 yards in a 12-9 win against the Leopards to open the season.
“We have to do a better job in the secondary,” Scarbrough said. “We will play a little bit different style of defense versus them, but Lakeside, when they are really going good, they are going to run the buck sweep and then they are going to playaction pass on you. They will certainly run the football, too. We just have to defend both aspects of the game.”
An early pick-six was the first of three interceptions thrown by Lakeside senior Taylor Gillham against Fountain Lake. He finished 16-for-32 passing for 206 yards and a touchdown.
“I think we were all off last week,” McBride said. “We had a slow start. I was proud for him for bouncing back and getting some key completions in the middle of the game, but with the start we had, it was hard to bounce back from. We all learned from it and, hopefully, we keep progressing and move forward.”
Week 3
Other matchups on Friday include Lake Hamilton at Hot Springs (0-2), Dover (0-2) at Fountain Lake, Magnet Cove (1-1) at Mount Ida
(2-0), Magazine (0-2) at Cutter Morning Star
(1-1), Jessieville (1-1) at Dierks (0-2) and Centerpoint (1-1) at Mountain Pine (1-1).