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RUSSELLVILLE CYCLONES
PHOTOS BY AMBER QUAID/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Russellville assistant coach Harley Sisson gives instructions to his linemen.
Russellville coach Jeff Weaver heads downfield as offense and defense break the huddle and head off to their areas during preseason drills
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018
| RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
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to get more detail work done in practice and to play much faster on Friday nights.
“We will be an improved team. Will we win more games?”
That’s the $64,000 question.
The Cyclones started 1-3 last year, falling to Morrilton in the opener, 21-20; beating Rogers Heritage, 43-20; falling to Springdale in their final nonconference game, 31-28; and losing their 6A-West opener at Benton, 42-20.
From there, they finished 5-3, knocking off Sheridan, 28-14, and Lake Hamilton,
40-35; falling to Greenwood, the eventual state champion, 38-13; eking out a 23-20 overtime win at Texarkana; falling to El Dorado, 35-7; and ending the regular season with a 55-21 win over Siloam Springs to tie for third in the league at 4-3.
As the league’s fourth seed for the Class 6A playoffs, Russellville beat Jonesboro, fifth from the East, in the opening round, 36-29, before falling to Pine Bluff, first from the East, 40-21, in the quarterfinals. The Zebras fell to Greenwood in the championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
For 2018, Weaver said team strengths would be a second year in the system and improved overall team strength. A weakness is an unproven offensive line.
“And we are looking for playmakers,” the coach said.
This season, the Cyclones return three starters to run the Spread offense and have eight back for the 3-4 defensive scheme.
“We have a lot of guys back in a defense that is fun to play,” Weaver said. “We won’t be the biggest defense, but we will cause lots of problems for our opponents. We did not cause as many turnovers last year as we would like, but coach [Todd] Wood and staff made that and improved tackling our focuses in the offseason.”
A pair of senior college prospects anchor the defense, Weaver said. Rasheed Robinson
We have several guys who can run the football who all have a little different style.”
JEFF WEAVER
RUSSELLVILLE HEAD COACH
(5-9, 280) returns at defensive tackle, with Langston Parker (6-4, 220) at defensive end. Other top returners on defense include senior middle linebacker Jacob Luster (5-9, 220) and senior outside linebacker Drake Adkins (5-9, 185), the coach said. Adkins was
the leading tackler in 2017 with 109 stops. “Offensively, we lost several playmakers to graduation and moving away,” Weaver said. “Rhett Adkins (6-4, 200) started the
first four games at quarterback and did a good job protecting the football and running the offense. He moved to wide receiver the rest of the season and became our leading receiver and playmaker. He moves back to quarterback this fall, and we expect him to have a breakout season there.”
In those first four games last year, Adkins, then a junior, completed 60 of 96 passes for 715 yards and 8 touchdowns with just 1 interception. At wide receiver, he caught 65 passes for 804 yards and 6 TDs.
Weaver said Adkins would be a college prospect at either position.
“The receiving corps will have several guys who saw action last year and will be a solid group,” the coach said. “We have several guys who can run the football who all have a little different style.”
One of those is senior Kade England (5-9, 195), who moved in from Pottsville during the school year. He led the Class 4A Apaches with 950 yards (averaging 6.4 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns last season.
Senior Jason Collins (6-2, 180) will lead the Cyclone offensive line at center, the coach said.
“The offensive line has been our focus point this offseason,” Weaver said. “We had to piecemeal an O-line together last year, using undersized guys who were willing to fight. We
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