TIGERS:

Progressing Well

high coach John Elder was pleased to see progress.

“Some good things I saw out there,” Elder said. “The first team offense looked a little crisper than we had in awhile. They’re starting to come around.”

Elder admitted the junior Tigers still had a few wrinkles to iron out.

“We still made some mistakes,” Elder said. “They’ve come a long way from the first day of practice.”

On defense, Elder said the players must learn to get into proper positioning.

“Defensively, there are some things we’ve got to adjust,” Elder said. “We’ve got to work on our alignment. Sometimes, we were out of alignment.”

Yet, overall, Elder said the defense did good, too.

Senior High

Prairie Grove head football coach Danny Abshier has quietly become an unsung offensive innovator with an effective use of a passing game out of a Wing-T run formation. Last season, the passing game combined with the traditional Tiger running attack, generated an explosive offense that only two teams were able to limit. The Tigers lost their 2015 season-opener to rival 5A Farmington then reeled off a school-record 13 straight wins to advance to the 4A state championship.

Thursday’s Black and Gold game may have masked that somewhat with the Tigers using their ground game as Black went in front, 6-0, on the opening series. White came back to tie the scrimmage at 6-6 on a series of runs, featuring halfback Anthony Johnson, including a 33-yard trot as he turned the corner and raced up the left sideline. Fullback Kyle Sam punched the ball in from 3-yards out.

Johnson later scored again to put Black ahead, 12- 6. Junior tight end DeMarkus Cooper showed his athletic ability by stretching out to pull in a pass on a 2-point conversion attempt. He was out of bounds, but showed a concerted effort to try to come down with his feet in-bounds. The final touchdown came after senior starting quarterback Zeke Laird threw to fullback Reed Orr on a crossing route for 19-yard gain on first-and-20. Orr capped the drive with a touchdown run.

In the aftermath, Abshier said dividing players into separate teams doesn’t allow for an accurate assessment.

“Whenever you split your team it’s not as smooth,” Abshier said, noting the separation put the Tigers at half-strength.

“It was a good, solid scrimmage,” Abshier said. “There were a few mistakes, penalties, fumbles. We’ve got to hold onto the ball.”

Abshier said there are lots of things to work on, but enjoyed the scrimmage.

“I had a good time,” Abshier said. “It was fun.”