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RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW |
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018
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MORRILTON DEVIL DOGS
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a physical front seven on defense,” McNabb said. “But our weakness will be depth on the offensive and defensive lines and inexperience in the secondary.
“Still, just having more experience in a lot of spots, ... in the offensive line and some ex- perience on defense, will help us. I think just a more experienced team certainly lets you sleep a little better.”
Other expected starters on offense include junior Xaviar Clemons (5-8, 165) and sophomore Jackson Moll (6-2, 180) at running back; junior Matthew Wahrmund (5-11, 195) and sophomore Tucker Granberry (6-1, 193) at tight end; senior Mason Adams (5-10, 155), senior Lamar Wofford (5-10, 155), senior Terry Franklin (5-11 190), sophomore Reggie Toney (5-9, 155) and Shacoby Criswell at wide receiver; and senior Hunter DeSalvo (6-2, 265), junior Gustavo Santos (5-10, 265), senior Dane Arndt, senior Parker Dean (6-0, 275) and junior Keith Wilson (5-11, 235) on the offensive line.
Clemons earned 578 yards and 8 touch- downs as a junior. Adams had 39 catches for 485 yards and 3 scores and also ran for 3 TDs and averaged 12 yards returning punts. Wofford had 3 scoring receptions. Franklin averaged 16 yards per catch as a junior.
Defensive starters are expected to include senior Keywan Shavers (6-2, 270), senior Brett Jones and junior Steven Rector (6-2, 255) on the line; senior Garrett Hendrix (6-3, 215), se- nior Jake Knowles (5-7, 170), senior Andrew Lentz (5-10, 185) and senior Dylan White (6-0, 185) at linebacker; and senior Dalton Kellar (5-10, 178) and junior Marquise Criswell (5-8, 139) at defensive back.
Shavers recorded 31 tackles last season at defensive end. Knowles and Lentz combined for 150 tackles at linebacker. Hendrix notched 48 tackles and 2 sacks as a junior.
Senior Jesus Arias (5-7, 150) will handle kicking and punting duties, the coach said. Last season, Arias hit 54 of 55 extra points and made 8 field goals.
“When you know you’ve got a returning kicker who was very accurate last year, that’s another thing that helps you as a head coach,” McNabb said of Arias. “He just was very accu- rate. It’s nice to know that once you get in the red zone, you’ve probably got points. To know you’ve got a guy who’s punted and kicked and does it all well is a big deal.”
Arias handled kicking duties half of his sophomore season as well.
STACI VANDAGRIFF/RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION
Morrilton junior running back Xaviar Clemons looks for daylight during a preseason practice.
After the Arkansas Activities Association’s realignment, Maumelle leaves the 5A-West for the 5A-Central, and Huntsville comes in from the 4A-1.
“Huntsville’s been back and forth since I’ve been in the league,” McNabb said. “It will prob- ably be a different style of offense. Maumelle was always very talented.”
According to a statewide publication’s preseason poll of league coaches, Harrison is picked second to Morrilton in the West. Green- brier is third, followed by Alma, Farmington, Clarksville, Vilonia and Huntsville.
The Devil Dogs opened the season Aug. 24 against Searcy during the new Week 0.
“Searcy was our Week 3, and we flipped them to Zero,” McNabb said. “We’ll play [Weeks] Zero, 1 and 2, then have a bye week before we get in the conference [schedule].”
The Devil Dogs will conclude their non- conference schedule at Russellville on Aug. 31 and with Little Rock Fair on Sept. 7. After the bye week, they’ll open 5A-West play against Harrison on Sept. 21, visit Greenbrier on Sept. 28, play host to Alma on Oct. 5, travel to Huntsville on Oct. 12, play host to Vilonia on Oct. 19 and close the regular season with back-to-back road trips to Farmington and Clarksville on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, respectively.
“I think we’ll like it,” McNabb said of the bye. “In theory, it gives us a chance to heal up. We get Harrison, Greenbrier and Alma — the three other playoff teams again 1, 2, 3 — so I think we’ll like it.”