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SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018 | THREE RIVERS EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
QUITMAN BULLDOGS
Experience, ‘mental toughness’ are key, coach says
BY TAMMY KEITH
SENIOR WRITER
Coach D.J. Marrs is looking at the pos- itives this season, only his second for the Quitman Bulldogs.
He said the team, with a disap- pointing 2-8 record in the 2A-5 Conference
last season, is improved.
‘When I arrived in June [2017], we only had
14 players,” Marrs said. “We were able to recruit the hallways and get a few more out, and we finished the season with 17. We were in a lot of games and just lost or had teams pull away in the fourth quarter because of our lack of depth.” Still, Quitman had bright spots, he said.
“We led 2A in passing with 3,134 yards,” he said. “We had three wide receivers with over 400 yards and 25 receptions.
“It’s our second year in the system, and our kids are much more mentally tough. Our numbers are up, so we should be a more consistent team.”
Consistency is not something the team has had lately. Marrs is the fourth head coach in six years. He joined the Quitman team after four years as offensive coordinator at Joe T. Robinson High School in Little Rock.
“My biggest thing is the mental-toughness factor — can you overcome adversity? Last year, we weren’t very good with that,” Marrs said. “In football, things are going to go wrong; bad things are going to happen. Especially in a smaller school where a lot of kids go both ways, on defense, if something happens, it affects offense.”
Marrs said he focuses on “the little things, from the way their locker looks every day when they leave to the way we stretch — even when they’re tired, do things right. ... That’s kind of how life is. Bad things are going to happen. It’s so cool nowadays to be a victim. When some- thing goes wrong, instead of just letting it hap- pen, just to embrace that, you take hold of that and make that situation better. Don’t just give up. Keep fighting it; embrace it.”
The team’s strength is in its skill positions, Marrs said, although lack of depth on the line is still a factor. Quitman will run mainly out of the Spread offense.
The defense will line up in multiple sets.
Key players returning include all-conference wide receiver Isaac Clemmons (451 yards,
QUITMAN BULLDOGS
AUG. 31 .....................................@ROSE BUD SEPT. 7 .......................................... MIDLAND
SEPT. 14
SEPT. 21
SEPT. 28
OCT. 5 ................................ @MAGNET COVE* OCT. 12 .........................CONWAY CHRISTIAN* OCT. 19 ..........................................@POYEN* OCT. 26 ........................................ENGLAND* NOV. 1 ..............................@MOUNTAIN PINE*
...................................... MARSHALL .................................... @BIGELOW* .................CUTTER MORNING STAR*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
6 touchdowns); wide receiver Trey Lovelady (404 yards, 5 touchdowns); all-conference outside linebacker Seth Haynes (78 tackles, 4 interceptions); and inside linebacker Darian Boyce (77 tackles, 2 sacks).
Along with Haynes and Boyce, expected starters for 2018 on defense include defensive end Spencer Sipes; nose guard Evan Barfield; defensive tackle Caleb Ivy; weak side lineback- er Dylan Hensley; Jack linebacker Lovelady; boundary cornerback Landon Luman; field cornerback Cordell Williams; free safety Levi Balentine; and strong safety Erin Mathes.
Starting on offense, along with Clemmons and Lovelady, will be left tackle Parker Davis; left guard Ivy; center Jett Silor; right guard Boyce; right tackle Austin Haynes; wide re- ceiver David Alvarez; tight end Haynes; and running back Spencer Sipes. Quarterbacks are Balentine and Holden Martin.
“Levi is a move-in, right at the end of June,” Marrs said. “He’s catching up; he’s a senior.”
Balentine was at Rose Bud, which Marrs said is Quitman’s rival.
“Holden is a sophomore, so they’re still bat- tling it out,” the coach said.
Key games include Friday’s matchup with the Rose Bud Ramblers “because it is a rivalry,” Marrs said. Another game to watch will be the conference opener Sept. 21 against Bigelow.
“We are an improved team; however, so is every team in our conference. No team really lost a lot [of players], so everyone’s team will be playing with more experience,” Marrs said. “We need to win early and set the pace for our season and build confidence in our younger players.”
He’s confident the Bulldogs can do that.
PHOTOS BY STACI VANDAGRIFF/THREE RIVERS EDITION
Quitman senior quarterback Levi Balentine hands off the ball to senior running back C.J. Hale during a fall camp earlier this month. Also pictured is senior wide receiver David Alvarez, left.
Head coach D.J. Marrs is going into his second season at Quitman High School. He said the team’s biggest strength is its skill positions.
Senior wide receiver David Alvarez looks for some room to run. Quitman will open the season against Rose Bud on Friday.