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so there are several that are interested; they just haven’t officially offered yet,” Kramer said.
Kramer said Conway Christian puts a lot on Wood, where in the past, he wasn’t asked to do a whole lot.
“As far as his decision-making goes and making reads, we really put a lot on the quar- terback,” Kramer said. “We expect him to make decisions and get us out of bad plays, and that’s really been the biggest change this year.
“He already knows that. He’s making those decisions and kind of doing his own thing.”
Conway Christian is pretty balanced offen- sively, with its game plan usually dependent on what the opposing team shows.
“I know coaches say this a lot, but we really do just kind of take what they give us,” Kramer said. “We don’t go into a game with a set agenda as far as throwing or passing.
“We just kind of see what happens, and that’s a lot of the decision-making that I was talking about with Jacob.”
Kramer said depending on how the opposing team’s defense is going to play, that is going to dictate what Conway Christian will do.
The Eagles have five wide receivers returning this season, four of whom were all-conference last year.
“That gives us an advantage as well because we are pretty balanced across the board from the receiver standpoint,” Kramer said. “It is pretty hard to single in on one or two. That doesn’t have the same effect as it may in other years because we feel confident with any of our top five guys that they can make plays and catches when they are needed.”
Seniors Nick Scherrey, Bennett Ellis, Brandon Shaw and Jesse Dather return at wide receiver. Junior Carson Bradley didn’t start
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018
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Conway Christian senior quarterback Jacob Wood throws a pass during preseason practice.
last year but did rotate in a lot, Kramer said. “We rotate receivers a lot,” he said. “We try not to rotate secondary [on defense] much. We try to leave them on the field all the time. So that’s how
they get their breaks, is on offense.”
Of the four seniors, all of them play defense
as well, except for Dather, so Bradley got ex- perience last year by filling in when needed, the coach said.
“Just their route development, as far as how they run their routes, has gotten better,” Kramer said. “Again, before in the old system, they would run specific routes.
“But we ask them for post snap reads and ad- just routes based on coverages and what they are getting. It was a lot of learning for them.
“Now they really understand what they are trying to accomplish, so the routes are much bet- ter. A lot of it comes from game-time experience.”
Conway Christian senior cornerback Matthew Dent goes after a pass.
Ellis also does all of the kicking for the Eagles, including punting, extra points and field goals.
“He had a really good year last year, and he has gotten stronger and has spent the summer focusing on it,” Kramer said. “I am expecting to have a really good year at kicking.”
Junior Wyatt Lawrence returns at running back this year. He didn’t start last year but did get a lot of reps at the position. Kramer estimated that Lawrence rushed for at least 600 to 700 yards.
“He’s a track guy, so he has good top end speed,”the coach said. “He is a big strong kid, and then we have two other running backs that rotate with him.”
Juniors Eli Moore and John Michael Scherrey will rotate in at running back. Moore didn’t play football last year, but Scherrey was the starting corner on defense and played receiver.
“John Michael is our backup quarterback and is a real athletic kid,” Kramer said. “This will be his first year as the regular running-back rotator.
“As a whole, our team has gotten quite a bit stronger — it has really been an emphasis for us.” Kramer said that with so many guys who play multiple sports, it is sometimes tough to find time
for the weight room.
“So we try to be real intentional about get-
ting them into the weight room and getting them consistent workouts,” Kramer said. “So we have definitely seen an improvement there.”
He said three of Conway Christian’s starting linemen are back, including senior guard Jevin Callaway and junior Beau Stevenson. Stevenson
played tackle last year, but he will move to guard this year.
“They really understand the system a little better and just have better experience in general,” Kramer said. “I think it has helped at this point.”
Senior Jack Stapleton, who was a guard last year, will move to center this year, the coach said. Conway Christian had a good center last year, but he graduated.
“So we had to find a spot for Jack,” Kramer said. “We have to plug him in somewhere because he is a real athletic kid.”
One new addition to the team that Kramer is excited about is sophomore Robert Taylor, who will mostly play defense for the Eagles.
“He was our running back in junior high, and he’s got real good speed and is strong,” the coach said. “He has long arms and legs, which make him a good defensive end.
“He is a physical kid who is not afraid to hit.”
Conway Christian has a new defensive coor- dinator in Daniel Ellen.
“Our defense is one area that is still new,” Kramer said. “Right now, we are still learning run fits and reads.
“But just by what they have done so far in practice, they seem to have a really good under- standing of it.
“I think we have the right guys in the right places.”
Kramer said that as long as Conway Christian players stay healthy, he believes they are going to have a really good year, defensively.
“I think it will also help fix some of our minor issues from last year that we had,” Kramer said. “We gave up several big plays in key moments, with guys being out of position, so hopefully, we can solidify that a little bit.”
Conway Christian opened the season Saturday against Bauxite High School in the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield Kickoff Classic at North Little Rock High School. The Eagles will play Springhill and Clinton in their other two nonconference games.
“Our nonconference schedule is amped up a little bit,” Kramer said. “It will help us prepare better for our conference.
“Those three games in a row will be a good test of us and a good opportunity for us to see where we can get better and stronger.”
The goals for Conway Christian this year are the same as everyone else’s, Kramer said. The Eagles want to play in the last game of the year.
“I think it is a realistic possibility if we con- tinue to improve and everybody stays healthy,” Kramer said. “We just want to take the next step.
“As a school, we have been to the playoffs sev- eral years in a row, but we want to take that next step and try to finish well, at least.”