Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Junior Tigers Evaluating Talent Pool
PRAIRIE GROVE JUNIOR HIGH PREVIEW
PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove head junior high head coach John Elder’s work was cut out for him while evaluating the talent pool for the 2021 football team.
“There’s a lot of question marks, not just on the offensive line but a lot of places on offense until we see [how individuals perform],” Elder said.
That opportunity arose during an Aug. 19 scrimmage at Clarksville with coaches scrutinizing individual performance on film to find out in Elder’s words, “who can go and who can’t.”
OFFENSE Quarterback
Ninth grader Caleb Carte has the most experience which gives him the nod at starting quarterback.
“Caleb’s got the experience and we’re going to let him give it a shot and see what he can do to move the chains for us,” Elder said.
Eighth graders Isaac Moss and Cole McGarrah are the backups.
Halfback
Chase Edwards saw spot duty at halfback as an eighth grader last year gaining a little bit of experience on the field and the Tigers expect him to nail down the starting job.
“Right behind him we’re still looking for that next kid to step up. We’ve got a new kid this year that’s moved in, Cale Bray, he’s played some halfback before, he may be able to help a little bit too in that area,” Elder said.
Fullback
A pair of freshmen, Tate Cox and Braxton Breshears, will carry the ball some from the fullback position, and Elder sees a promising young athlete in Mark Stucki.
“I’m looking at an eighth grader to get him going, Mark Stucki. He can play either fullback or halfback in one of those spots. He can carry the ball and he’s probably the fastest kid on the team. As an eighth grader he’s pretty good so we’ve got to get him the ball and figure out where he’s going to help us the most,” Elder said.
Wingback
“We got some young ones,” Elder said. Luke Bannon, Ethan Richardson and Maddox Ogle compete for the starting job at wingback with Bannon projected to start.
“Luke Bannon is the one right now. Luke and Mark are our two fastest kids. Luke and Mark are up there together running neck-and-neck. If we had a race, a 40-yard dash, those two would be the fastest on our team. They both ran track last year and I know what they’re like and they’ve got some good speed,” Elder said.
It’s not an accident that Ogle wears No. 44, one of the distinguished numbers worn by outstanding runningbacks including Robert Newhouse of the Dallas Cowboys and Chuck Foreman of the Minnesota Vikings
Split End
Alex Abshier, grandson of Prairie Grove head varsity football coach Danny Abshier, leads a quartet of receivers including Cooper Stevens, Jordan Martinez and Tyler Tyggert.
“He’s going to be a good one. He caught a couple of touchdown passes in 7-on-7 this year. He runs good routes. He’s smart, He’s got a lot of help around him with his dad and his poppa and he’ll be alright. All those guys right now they’re doing a good job,” Elder said.
Tight End
Baylor Kissinger works at tight end after playing wingback last year.
“He’s got some experience, he’s a big body, he’s got some soft hands and so we’re kind of moving him to tight end for that big block for us right there and he’s adapted pretty well,” Elder said.
Eighth grader Elijah Sugg serves as the backup.
Offensive Line
Prairie Grove has no returning starters on the offensive line. The Tigers are going to operate with a fresh crew up front. Morgan Cobb will start at center.
“He’s a good one, working hard and doing what he needs to do,” Elder said.
Backup center Parker Dougan can also play guard and Elder said he could be a starter depending on how he does coming off a scrimmage against Clarksville.
Caden Rochier and Caleb Wilson work at guard. Elder sees potential in Wilson.
“He’s a guy that’s got a big body. He works hard, does what you say, we just got to get him a little more reps, be aggressive, he’ll the one who’ll be out there if he does that. He’ll be a good one for us,” Elder said.
At tackle Trace Board, Dane Piper and Cole Bromley compete for two starting spots. Trace has a little bit more experience than the other two after starting in seventh grade.
Pinkley considered several candidates on the defensive front with four kids vying for playing time at defensive end.
“We started team camp with Trey Froud and Caleb Rochier will definitely be in there and then Wyatt McNatt, an eighth grader, showing a lot of promise, big tough, fast kid,” Pinkley said.
Eighth grader Corbin Stearman adds depth at defensive end.
“Defensive tackles, we have so many, we’re just kind of waiting for some guys to elevate themselves,” Pinkley said.
Freshman Calvin Crawford is a defensive specialist with eighth grader Conner Reed also playing defensive tackle. Both will be in the mix as will freshman Caleb Wilson. Two big bodies, Dane Pifer and
Cole Brumley help stuff up the middle.
Linebackers
Inside linebacker Baylor Kissinger got a lot of playing time last year. The other spot was up for grabs.
“Parker Dougan’s been doing it all summer long, but now he’s got some competition with Morgan Cobb and that Cale Bray kid that moved in. He shows a lot of promise,” Pinkley said.
“They’ll all play some. We play a lot of guys on defense.”
Stucki and Sugg, who impressed coaches with his effort in seventh grade, add depth and hunger for playing time to the mix.
“Sugg’s in a good spot,” Pinkley said. At strongside outside linebacker Carte returns a lot of experience from last season at Bandit. Blake Coughran played the position as a seventh grader.
The weakside outside linebacker is designated as “Rover” in the junior Tigers defense.
“Our free safety and rover are kind of interchangeable,” Pinkley said
Secondary
Breshears, Edwards and Cox battle for two starting slots at safety.
“Those three guys will kind of take over those two spots. We’ll try to get rest for the odd one out.
Eighth grader Jace Oxford can play either safety or rover. Ethan Richardson will push for playing time. Eighth grader Cooper Hull hasn’t hit his growth spurt yet brings intensity.
Three good freshman candidates are also challenging one another to start at cornerback, Alex Abshier, Cooper Stephens and Tyler Tigert.
Classmate Wyatt Parker is new to football. He’s a soccer player and when running drills Pinkley discovered Parker has really good spatial awareness.
“I got a bunch of good eighth graders who are pushing for playing time at cornerback, Isaac Moss being kind of the foremost.
Jordan Martinez fights to overcome missed time over the summer. Eighth graders Aaden Istre, Colt Meyer and Ryland Smith are also in the mix.
OVERVIEW
Coaches got their first look during a summer team camp at Springdale and since then much progress has been made due in part to simplifying the scheme.
“There was a lot of moving around in parts and pieces trying to figure out who plugs in best where,” Pinkley said. “Then we had a bunch of 7-on-7s. We got leaps and bounds better. By the end we were very competitive winning most of our games.”
“Especially on defense we were figuring it out, but we keep everything very vanilla. We run two coverages and it all looks the same and we were figuring it out.”