Cobras ‘want to create a little havoc’ in title rematch
FOUNTAIN LAKE — Mountain View, riding a 12-game win streak, comes to Fountain Lake tonight looking to keep its streak alive as the Yellowjackets swarm toward another state championship.
Mountain View is off to a 3-0 start on the season.
“They are a really good team, well coached,” Fountain Lake head coach Kenny Shelton said. “They are very disciplined, but our kids definitely have had this game circled on their calendar. They got the better of us both times last year and we are getting better each week.”
Eight-man football in Arkansas is usually an offensive shootout. Mountain View and Fountain Lake matched up twice last season, and both times the Yellowjackets stung the Cobras. Mountain View took the regular season game 30-27 and the state championship 52-32.
“We are definitely going to enjoy playing at home and not having to go to their place, like we did twice last year,” Shelton said. “They are the No. 1 team in 8-man football in the state for a reason. They have not been beat since they have joined 8-man football.”
It is a three-hour commute between the two schools. Mountain View is nestled off of Highway 9 in the heart of Arkansas 8-man football country.
The Cobras (1-2) have faced some offensive hardships in the early stages of this season. The Cobras lost both of their quarterbacks to injury, but last week pulled out a win against Cedar Ridge 28-20. Fountain Lake promoted a senior wide receiver to quarterback.
“We are slowly getting there,” Shelton said. “It is Caden George. With Caden at quarterback, he is starting to feel a little bit more comfortable every game, every practice. He is a young man who has never played quarterback until two weeks ago. This will be his third game at quarterback and to just see the improvement in these two and a half weeks has been pretty amazing. He has got average arm strength. What he brings to the table is he is steady. He does not get rattled. He is a tough kid. He is starting to really pick up our new offense.”
With George taking the snaps, Fountain Lake had to revamp its offensive style.
Shelton explained what mountains the Cobras had to climb thus far.
“We had to revamp and change our whole offensive scheme,” he said. “Not too often do you have to change your entire offensive system a week into the season. Due to losing our first two quarterbacks, that kind of was where we were at. He has definitely bought in. He has taken that leadership role and has ran with it. Could not be more proud of him.”
Senior running back Abram Davis has been key for the Cobra offense.
“Abram has been a great player for us for all of the years he has been here,” Shelton said. “He had his best game of the season last week, for sure. We have to put the team on his shoulders. We can only go as far as he can carry us, literally. He ran the ball well, would have had even more yards, but had a couple of big runs called back with holding penalties.”
Penalties can affect the momentum of a game.
“We have got to clean that up,” Shelton said. “Last week, I think we had 15 penalties, couple of key turnovers and if we played a little bit more mistake free football last week the outcome would have been much different. We would not have had to fight to the very end to pull it out.”
When teams commit penalties, have turnovers and do not execute, it can make for a long night on the football field.
“Cannot do that against a really
good team like Mountain View,” Shelton said. “You cannot have those turnovers, silly penalties and cannot have missed opportunities. We have got to play as close to mistake free ball as we can. We have to try to keep the ball out of their hands.
“I think our best defense this week is going to be our offense. We are going to try to snap it under five seconds each time we got it and try to have 10, 12 and 15 play drives. Hopefully, we can pull together some good seven to eight minute drives and keep their offense off the field.”
Shelton said Mountain View’s quarterback is dangerous to defend. The Cobras must be ready to strike.
“It has got to be their quarterback,” Shelton said. “Ironically his last name is Shelton, no relation. Drew Shelton, he is definitely their leader. He can run, he can throw and he is a tough kid. He definitely did a great job last year leading their team. He is their guy. He is what gets them going. We definitely have got to contain him.”
The Yellowjackets average 44 points per game with their prolific offense. Shelton discussed what Fountain Lake’s defense must accomplish.
“We have changed up a few things defensively,” he said. “We are going to try to give them a few different looks that they have not quite seen yet. Hopefully, we can confuse their offensive linemen a little bit on some blocking responsibilities. We want to create a little havoc and hopefully slow them down just enough for our offense to move the ball and put some points on the board.”
Fountain Lake and Mountain View will clash in a state title rematch at 7 p.m. from Larry Beckham Memorial Stadium.