Page 26 - Demo

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018 | RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
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CLINTON YELLOWJACKETS
Yellowjackets hope for similar success in 2018
BY MARK BUFFALO
STAFF WRITER
The Clinton Yellowjackets are coming off one of the best seasons in school history, going 12-0 before losing to Junction City 50-43 in the quarterfinal round of the Class 3A state playoffs.
The 3A-1 Conference championship was their second consecutive title, but they are in a new conference this season, the 3A-2, with traditional power Harding Academy and upstarts Melbourne and Mountain View.
“We had a really good year,” Clinton coach Chris Dufrene said. “We got beat by Junction City with about nine seconds left in the game, and they ended up playing in War Memorial for the state championship.”
Clinton, which has 35 players on its preseason roster, returns 10 who started at times on offense and nine on defense, so expectations remain high.
Returning offensive starters include senior tackle Kelley Collins (6-2, 275), junior center Cade Treadaway (6-2, 245), junior guard Jayden Exzabe (5-7, 174), senior tight end Keaton Gresham (6-3, 215), junior wingback Ethen Drake (5-6, 135), junior quarterback Weston Amos (5-11, 165), senior running back Caleb Bowman (6-3, 230), junior running back John-Riley Hinchey (5-11, 165), senior running back Sky Davidson (5-10, 185) and junior receiver Austin Drake (5-7, 135).
Defensive returning starters include Ethen and Austin Drake at cornerbacks, Davidson at outside linebacker, senior outside linebacker Mason Powell (5-9, 185), inside linebackers Bowman and Exzabe, senior lineman Cort Bagley (5-10, 225), senior tackle Caleb Kirkpatrick (6-1, 248) and junior nose guard Cody Edwards (5-10, 230).
PHOTOS BY MARK BUFFALO/RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION
Clinton senior Keaton Gresham, left, and sophomore Tye Pruitt work on a defensive line drill during fall camp.
Junior quarterback Weston Amos carries the ball.
CLINTON YELLOWJACKETS
AUG. 31 ...............................HEBER SPRINGS SEPT. 7 ...........................CONWAY CHRISTIAN SEPT.14 ....@CENTRALARKANSASCHRISTIAN SEPT. 21 .................... @HARDING ACADEMY* SEPT. 28 ...............................@MELBOURNE* OCT. 5 .................................... CEDAR RIDGE* OCT. 12 ...........................YELLVILLE-SUMMIT* OCT. 19 ............................................STRONG OCT. 26 ...................................... MARSHALL* NOV. 2 ............................. @MOUNTAIN VIEW*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
Clinton will open the season Friday at home against Class 4A Heber Springs.
“That’s always a big rivalry game,” Dufrene said. “Really, Weeks 4 and 5 are Harding Academy and Melbourne, back to back. That will be two big games.”
Both games are on the road. The Wildcats were 7-5, and the Bearkatz were 9-3.
“Our first two conference games will be our toughest two,” Dufrene said.
Clinton’s first conference home game will be Oct. 5 against Cedar Ridge, which finished 6-5 last year.
“They should be pretty good,” Dufrene said. “We’re in a new conference. I don’t know a whole lot about some of the teams, like Harding Academy. I know they are going to be pretty good. I know Melbourne is going to be really good.
“We’ve got to work hard. I’m a believer that hard work pays off. That is something that we’ve got to do from now until the end.”
Clinton runs a base Wing-T offense. A year ago, the Yellowjackets rushed for 3,819 yards and passed for 1,138 yards.
“We can go from that to Spread,” Dufrene said. “We have [Spread] for 7 on 7. We do it some if we need it during the year.”
A year ago, Clinton averaged 41.6 points per game while averaging 381.3 yards per game.
Amos passed for 1,085 yards and 11 touchdowns against only 4 interceptions. He also rushed for a team-leading 732 yards. He scored 11 touchdowns.
Davidson rushed for 338 yards and 11 touchdowns. Ethen Drake had 662 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns. Bowman rushed for 408 yards and a team-leading 14 touchdowns. Hinchey also scored 8 touchdowns.
On defense, the Yellowjackets gave up 16.8 points per game.
Austin Drake is the team’s returning leading receiver, with 9 catches for 108 yards.
Bowman led the Yellowjackets with 108 tackles. Davidson had 89. Bagley had 48.
Ethen Drake led the defense with 6 interceptions. Davidson and Powell had 2 picks each.
Dufrene said the key to another successful season is limiting injuries.
“That is something you have no control over,” he said. “We had very few injuries last year. But if we can limit any injuries we have, that would be great. That would probably help us to get back to where we need to be.
“If we start getting the injury bug, it kills us.”
Dufrene said experience is a strength of histeam.
“We have it on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We have kids who have been there and know what they are doing. There is not a lot of re-teaching right now. We’re just improving.”
The biggest weakness is finding two players to play safety after the graduation of safeties Nate Lonnon and Charleston Sowell, who combined for 9 interceptions in 2017.
“We’re trying to fill those two spots,” Dufrene said. “‘They were both three-year starters.”