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SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018 | RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
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PERRYVILLE MUSTANGS
New coach revamps Mustangs’ offense
BY TAMMY KEITH
SENIOR WRITER
Perryville football will be different this year.
New Mustangs coach Chris Norton is changing up the offense, based on
what he’s honed in his seven-year career. “We’re changing our offensive philosophy — it was the Flexbone for the past six years when coach [Ed] Baker was here,” he said. “We’re a Spread team; we’ll throw it around
quite a bit in multiple formations.”
Norton, who grew up in Warren, comes to Perryville from Rose Bud, where he spent
one year rejuvenating the school’s team. Rose Bud shut down its high school program after four games in 2016 because
of several injuries and lack of players.
“It was a tough situation; there’s not any easy way around it,” Norton said. “We rolled up our sleeves and got a little better — better
numbers, better participation.”
The 2017 Rose Bud team went 4-6, “which
is as many games as they’ve won in school history,” he said.
Before Rose Bud, Norton was coach at Lakeside High School in Lake Village, Marvell and West Memphis Christian.
Perryville’s 2017 team was 7-4 and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Melbourne, the coach said.
Key players returning this season include junior Hunter Tindall, an all-conference player. The coach said Tindall “is going to be really, really productive. He was the slot back last year; he ran for 645 yards, led us
STACI VANDAGRIFF/RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION
Perryville sophomore running back Ethan Weaver, left, looks to take a handoff from junior quarterback Hayden Gottsponer.
PERRYVILLE MUSTANGS
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*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
junior Hayden Gottsponer for quarterback. The coach said Gottsponer has a bigger body and plenty of talent.
Standridge is athletic and quick, Norton said.
“I think he’s going to have a big year; he plays a lot of sports and is really talented,” the coach said of Standridge. “He’s a really ath- letic kid. He’s done a great job picking up the offense; he’s got a pretty good touch on the football. We’re trying to bring him along as fast as we can.”
Gottsponer, a junior inside linebacker, “has the most important job on the field,” Norton said. “He helps get us lined up, helps make a lot of calls; he’s just a smart kid.”
Gottsponer’s father, Paul Gottsponer, is the team’s defensive coordinator.
Joining Tindall and Standridge on the field
PERRYVILLE continued on 29VV
in catches and receiving yards. We’re moving him to wide receiver. We’ll throw it quite a bit more going forward,” Norton said.
Junior James Patrick racked up 560 yards as an all-conference fullback in the Flexbone. “He’s going to play running back; we’re just a one-back offense. He’s a tough kid; he runs
hard” and can shift positions, Norton said. Quarterback Landon Walker tore his ACL
in the spring.
“He’s a really, really talented kid, a good
kid,” the coach said.
Reid Standridge, a junior who was a wide
receiver last year, is in competition with
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