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RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW | SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018
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POTTSVILLE APACHES
Pottsville seeks conference championship this season
BY SAM PIERCE
STAFF WRITER
The No. 1 goal for Pottsville this season is
to win a conference championship. Head football coach Bryan Rust said that while it is still early in the season, his team has
been preparing, and the team has a good mix of veterans and youthful talent.
“The last couple of years, we have been really slow as a team, as far as big play ability, but this year we have some potential to have big plays be- cause we have several fast kids,” Rust said. “Now, we’ve got some threats. The past couple of years, we didn’t have many threats, and we just had to prolong drives over and over in order to score.
“Now we have the ability for guys to go and score.”
Pottsville finished 6-5 last season, losing in the first round of the 4A state playoffs to Prairie Grove High School. Pottsville will return five starters on offense and six on defense.
DOVER PIRATES
Rust, who is in his 12th year as head coach, said the team will continue to run out of multi- ple formations on offense as a lot of experience comes back.
“Even some of our nonstarters got some play- ing time last year,” the coach said. “We have some really good football players, especially some tal- ented sophomores.
“We’ve got quite a few strengths.”
Returning at fullback is senior Kurtis Kemp. As a sophomore, Kemp started five games be- fore he got hurt. In that short time, he rushed for 800 yards. And last year, in the very first game, he got injured again and was out till the first round of the playoffs.
“He has been good in his seven games in his high school career — he is probably our best run- ning back,” Rust said. “He has big-play ability from the fullback position, and hopefully, we can keep him healthy.”
Returning at the offensive line are right guard Miguel Paramo and right tackle Hayden
Weatherall, a three-year starter. Rust said Weatherall started at guard as a sophomore and moved to tackle last year.
“Hayden has been really good for us,” the coach said. “He really understands it and has been kind of a leader of that group up there.”
Junior tight end Drew Rust gives Pottsville a “little bit of a spark,” said Coach Rust, Drew’s dad.
The coach said sophomore running backs Elijah Bradley and Shawn McBride could add a good mix to the team’s backfield.
Starting at quarterback this year is junior Ben Jones. He played quarterback as a freshman and was the starter for the junior varsity last year.
“He has really come a long way,” Rust said. “He has gotten physically stronger. We like to run the option a lot, and he reads it a lot and explodes out of the mesh.
“Ben has really grown and understands what we are trying to accomplish. He looks primed for a breakout year.”
POTTSVILLE APACHES
AUG. 31 ........................................ NEWPORT SEPT. 7 ................................... @BOONEVILLE SEPT. 14 ................................PRAIRIE GROVE
SEPT. 21
SEPT. 28 ........................................... MENA* OCT. 5 .......................................@WALDRON* OCT. 12 ............................................ OZARK* OCT. 19 .........................................@ELKINS* OCT. 26 ......................................... @DOVER* NOV. 2 ........................... SUBIACO ACADEMY*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
Jones will also work at the corner this year on defense. Assisting him will be junior inside linebacker Emiliano Torres and senior outside linebacker Spencer Bradley.
Pottsville will open the season Friday at Newport.
.............................. @DARDANELLE*
Dover’s goal is to get back to 4A state playoffs in 2018
BY SAM PIERCE
STAFF WRITER
The Dover Pirates have the same two goals
every season — defeat rival Atkins in Week 1, and make the playoffs. Although the Pirates missed the playoffs last year,
they had made them the three previous seasons, which was a Dover record.
“We have also beaten Atkins four years in a row, which is another school record,” head football coach Greg Smith said. “Our last four seasons have been the most successful years for Dover football.
“We are definitely at new heights.”
The Pirates finished 5-5 last season, missing the playoffs after losing their last two games to Waldron and Ozark. Smith, who is going into his seventh season at Dover, said the biggest strength for the team this year is its line.
“It is made up of mostly seniors who have played a lot of ballgames, having started as soph- omores,” Smith said. “Joining the line this year is sophomore Graeme Phillpotts.”
Junior quarterback Justin Loveless re- turns for Dover after starting as a sopho- more. Smith said Loveless had to learn a high school level of offense and did a “really good
DOVER PIRATES
AUG. 31 .......................................... @ATKINS SEPT. 7 .......................................... DANVILLE SEPT. 14 ............................ @FOUNTAIN LAKE SEPT. 21 ..................... @SUBIACO ACADEMY* SEPT. 28 ......................................... ELKINS* OCT. 5 .............................................@MENA* OCT. 12 ................................... DARDANELLE* OCT. 19 ......................................... @OZARK* OCT. 26 .....................................POTTSVILLE* NOV. 1 ......................................... WALDRON*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
job of learning how to run the offense.” “What we have seen through summer and camp, he has a solid grasp of what we are trying to do offensively,” Smith said. “He’s a young man, wanting to be a coach, and we feel like we have a
true general on the field.”
Senior fullback Blake Massengale leads the
Pirates’ Wing-T offense scheme. Smith said Massengale is “a very good player for us.”
At tailback is sophomore Dawson Branch. Smith said Branch has upped his ability to make
guys miss. Dover is primarily a run-oriented team, but Smith said the Pirates do have some talented receivers, including sophomore Trey Curtis.
“Our potential is to be a playoff team this year if we can stay healthy,” Smith said. “Last year, we just didn’t have the depth to make it through. Our conference is a very physical conference.”
Smith said the 4A-4 Conference plays a brand of football that is very physical, and Dover will “just have to withstand that.”
Defensively, juniors Kirkland Quinton and Mitchell Raney return, but Quinton will be moved from the defensive line to outside linebacker.
Also returning is senior defensive end Trey Curtis, and junior Cameron Reynolds is expected to start at linebacker.
Senior Lucas Vickers, who didn’t play last year, is projected to return for his final year and start at linebacker. Smith said Vickers took last season off to spend more time in the gym, focusing on basketball and baseball.
Smith described senior Dillon Duvall as the team’s “most physical linebacker on the team.”
“He is not real big, but man, he is fast and he can go. Junior Isaac Story will start in the second- ary. He did not play a lot as a sophomore, but he has really grown up and owned his spot.”
Junior Tucker Coonts will battle for a spot in the secondary. Senior Justin Duncan, who has not played since the seventh grade, will share time at the tailback position and maybe start at corner as well.
“He is as quick as a hiccup,” Smith said. “Start- ing at the other corner is probably our most solid defensive back in sophomore Felix Aguilar.”
Dover will open the season at rival Atkins on Friday.