Page 5 - TR Football Preview Sept 2016

THREE RIVERS EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW |
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2016
5SS
JACKSONVILLE TITANS
Titans senior receiver Marcus Casey grabs a pass during the first day of practice Aug. 1.
We’re trying to build a
sense of brotherhood, a sense of family within our program.”
BARRY HICKINGBOTHAM
JACKSONVILLE HEAD COACH
Jacksonville senior quarterback Rowdy Weathers drops back to pass during preseason drills.
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weren’t high on the food chain over there (at PCSSD). You can tell by the facilities, which has been tough on us.
“When you have schools around you that are getting new stuff and you don’t get to reap any of that reward ... kids get to choose where they want to go to school. We’ve been fighting that battle. Now, we’re trying to keep our kids in our schools.”
Hickingbotham said the district will have growing pains early on, and that will affect his football team.
“When people start seeing the vision for the facilities, it’s going to be awesome,” he said. “It will be a great selling tool to show people that we are committed to our kids to have the best possible facilities.”
A year ago, football players from North Pulaski High School were allowed to play football at Jacksonville. The former Red Devils finished
2-7 in Class 5A. Their two wins were over Little Rock Fair (44-6) and Mills (49-7).
“Injuries hurt us early, and we never could recover,” Hickingbotham said. “The team fought hard and had some tough losses to Beebe and Sylvan Hills.”
Beebe beat Jacksonville 13-12, and Sylvan Hills won 29-14.
“We’re going to be real young this year,” Hickingbotham said. “We’ve got 13 seniors. Our biggest class is our sophomore class. I’m just looking for our kids to get out there and compete like we competed in the spring, com- pete like we’ve competed in the weight room. We’ve probably got 55 players on a sheet of paper, but we’ve got about 40 strong out. Those 40 core are showing up. Those kids that are having trouble making a decision, we’re going to make the decision for them.”
Jacksonville will be in the 6A-East this season.
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PHOTOS BY MARK BUFFALO/THREE RIVERS EDITION