Rams, Leopards set for final nonconference battle
With Lakeside and Malvern coming off losses from last week, both teams are looking to pick up the pace and get back on track tonight as the Rams travel to Claude Mann Stadium.
“We’ve got a good matchup with Lakeside coming to town,” Leopards head coach J.D. Plumlee said. “Coach (Jared) McBride does an exceptional job. He’s got a great staff, and they’re well-coached, and they’ve got some playmakers. We’ve been really concentrating on trying to stop what they do.”
“We’re excited to get to practice another week and play another ball game,” said McBride. “We’re getting better and in better condition — just ready for another chance to play. Working hard to make sure we’re ready for conference play next week. … We just try to be the best Lakeside we can be.”
With multiple injuries on the team, the Leopards (2-1) have spent a portion of this week’s practice moving players around and giving them the chance to become acclimated to those new positions while Lakeside (1-2) focuses on consistent tackling and controlling the line of scrimmage.
The Rams rely on senior quarterback Will Ross and classmate Will Perrigo to lead the team offensively and defensively and Plumlee noted they are among the threats they’ll have to stop on the field. Ross is 51 for 87 (58.6%) passing for 556 yards while Perrigo has tallied 31 total tackles, including 17 solo.
“I think it all starts with the quarterback,” Plumlee said. “He’s a great player and a returning starter. He’s very smart with the football. He’s not going to turn the ball over. … Their backfield with (senior Isaac) Echols — he’s shifty and can run. He’s hard to tackle. Then you’ve got to worry about their deep threat with (senior Logan White). He’s a big target, goes and gets it and uses his hands very well to get open. He’s a matchup problem for anybody. You’ve got coach McBride, one of the best in the business with getting his ball to his playmakers. It’s a great test, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Sophomore quarterback Cedric Simmons’ aptitude on the field for Malvern is evident as he boasts a 69.8% completion rate.
“They’ve got a really good football team,” McBride said. “You’ve got to keep your eye on the quarterback for sure. He’s a dynamic football player, and we’ll have to have a good game plan for him and play fast on defense. We’ve just go to kind of solidify some things on our end and we should be okay.”
Plumlee praised Simmons and the way he’s continued to “take ownership of the offense” and mentioned some of the other talent on the Leopard’s roster.
“He got to play last year and started nine games for us,” said Plumlee. “He kind of came in as a sophomore and (took) ownership of the offense. He understands that it all kind of starts with him, so we’re super excited for him, and he’s fun to watch grow and develop. We’ve got (senior) Malique Reliford that we’ve moved over, and he’s a two-way starter for us. He’s going to play corner, and he’ll play running back, and then (senior) Jacobe Hart is another returning, two-way player for us.
“We’ve got a guy, (senior) Easton West, on our defensive line — he played d-end for us last year, and he’s returning this year. (He) had 15 tackles last week against Lake Hamilton. We’re excited about those guys … and they are the voice of our team. We lean on those guys to make plays for us, and we have a bunch of guys going both ways due to depth and injuries and other things that have kind of gone on. We’re going to play until we can’t. Kind of like last week against Lake Hamilton. We gave them only one or two in the first half and then we just kind of ran out of gas and ran out of bodies. That’s something you run into when you’ve got as many guys going both ways, but we’ll continue to work on that and when we get guys back from injury and stuff like that, we’ll have a bit more depth. Right now, we’re going to play the ones we’ve got and play as hard as we can.”
Lakeside’s overall health remains good while Malvern still has players sitting on the sidelines. In last Friday’s game versus Lake Hamilton, junior running back Marquez Johnson was carted off the field, and his return tonight is undecided.
“I’ve sat him out of practice all week,” explained Plumlee. “It’s kind of a game time decision, and we’re getting some medical advice, so it really will be a game time decision on whether or not, and if he does play, how much he does play due to that injury. We’re getting some back, and some are still out. We’re excited about the group that’s going to be there, and it’s kind of one of those crazy years to learn. ….We’re going to keep playing with the ones we’ve got and have fun doing it, that’s for sure.
“We’re just excited that we get to continue to play football,” he added. “A month ago, you’re telling these guys that you don’t know if they’ll get to play and to be able to sit here on week three playing at home. We’re excited, and we’re grateful that we’re getting to go out and play a game on Friday night. It’s our last non-conference game to get ready and tuned up for conference next week. I think it’s going to be a great high school football game.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.