Cavaliers finding out that less is more
After skipping spring worked last fall, Carson has College Park focused on summer
College Park skipped spring football last year and went on to make the playoffs for the first time in three years.
It worked so well, they’re doing it again.
The Cavaliers are foregoing practice in pads for the extra week of practice and extra scrimmage this fall, but they’re still staying busy in their athletic period with footballrelated activities.
“A lot of our kids are two-sport athletes, and a lot of them are involved in all the AP testing going on at the end of the year,” coach Richard Carson said. “So it was very hectic trying to get all that stuff in.”
Once a team’s into the playoffs, what it did in the spring doesn’t matter, as the Cavaliers discovered last year.
They still struggled overall, going 3-8 on the season, but they were close in several of the losses, including a 17-6 setback against The Woodlands, and the playoff trip put pep in their step this offseason.
“It was a big deal for us,” Carson said.
“Obviously, we didn’t have a winning record, but we played very well at the beginning of the year. We just didn’t win some of those games. But going into the district season, we won the games we needed to win to get in, and that’s really what matters. So it’s given us some confidence.”
Skipping spring football also kept them healthier last season.
“We’re one of the smaller schools in the district, then you go into the playoffs and play a school that has a 1,000 more kids than you, so numbers, and staying healthy and being healthy when you get there, are a big deal,” Carson said.
The quarterback positions a big deal, too, and the Cavs have a new player there.
With Robert Ferguson transferring out of the program, sophomore Jordan Turnquest has emerged as the new starter.
Turnquest was a varsity backup last year who also saw a lot of JV playing time.
“He’s a pretty athletic kid and we feel real good about him,” Carson said.
“He’s a confident kid. He’s a two-sport kid. He’s a basketball player. He spent some time … on the varsity basketball team also, so he’s athletic, he’s quick (and) he’s a good decision-maker.”
College Park will have all three of its running backs back, including leading rusher A.J. Sanders, Dominic Garcia and Dane Nichols, so Carson expects the run game to be the strength of their offense.
“We’ll move those guys around, and 90 percent of the time those three guys are going to be on the field for us when we have the football,” Carson said.
The team also returns defensive end John Love, who Carson predicts will be one of the top defenders in the district.
He led the Cavs in tackles for loss last year and has put on weight this offseason. “Last year, he was kind of undersized, but nobody plays harder than him,” Carson said.
College Park recently participated in the Greater Houston Football Coaches Association’s 7-on-7 tournament. They have another 7-on-7 tourney this weekend at Oak Ridge.
Carson said Turnquest is nursing a leg injury and probably won’t play, but he’s hoping to have Turnquest back on the field for The Woodlands’ state qualifying tournament June 5.
Junior Connor Kidd will fill in at QB until Turnquest returns.
The Cavaliers start 7-on-7 league play in June at The Woodlands.
All three running backs are heavily involved with 7-on-7, often playing out wide, along with receiver Jack Rust, who is expected to play a big role this year after going up and down from JV last year.
Defensively, Caleb Taylor and Santiago Alvarez are players to watch.
Going into fall practice, Carson said tackling and replacing three offensive linemen, including Ben Shepard, will take priority.
“One of the things I was most worried about (with skipping spring football last year) was tackling in space, especially within our secondary, because you can work on a lot of other stuff and get in position, and fit, but with that one, the only way you get better at it is by doing it,” Carson said.