Page 13 - Demo

TRI-LAKES EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2018
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MALVERN LEOPARDS
Coach seeks improvement with each game
BY SARAH DECLERK
STAFF WRITER
The Malvern Leopards seemed to change their identity on a game-by- game basis last year.
The team started 4A-7 Confer- ence play with a loss to Bauxite. However, victories over Mena, 29-28, and Fountain Lake, 42-23, earned the Leopards the fifth seed from the 4A-7 in the Class 4A state playoffs, where they lost to Gosnell 61-24 in the first round, ending the season with a 3-8 overall record and a 2-5 conference record.
“Last season, I felt like we under- achieved,” Malvern coach Mike Scarbrough said, describing the team’s performance as inconsistent.
The young team is set for another chal- lenging year after graduating 13 seniors, including quarterback Demias Jimerson, a finalist for the 2017 Farm Bureau Awards Class 4A Offensive Player of the Year.
Despite the team’s inexperience, Scarbrough said, the players’ attitude and work ethic can help them clear a path to the playoffs. With four offensive and three de- fensive returners, the coach said he looks to three key players for leadership while the team finds its gridiron flow.
Senior Parker Freer will work to fill Jimerson’s shoes as quarterback. Freer saw some exceptional plays as a receiver last year, when he caught 5 touchdown passes, includ- ing a 43-yard pass during the Bauxite game, and snagged a 28-yard touchdown during the match against Lake Hamilton.
London Florence, a senior running back, is set to lend some finesse to the field. Last year, Florence served up 23 runs for 124 yards and scored a touchdown against Fountain Lake.
Senior linebacker Braedon Kenney could add stability to the team’s defense, the coach said. The player gained experience on the
MALVERN LEOPARDS
AUG. 31 ................................... @GLEN ROSE SEPT. 7 ..............................@LAKE HAMILTON SEPT.14 ..................HOTSPRINGSLAKESIDE SEPT. 21 ........................................ BAUXITE* SEPT. 28 ......... @HASKELL HARMONY GROVE* OCT. 5 .........................................ASHDOWN* OCT. 12 ............................... @LR ROBINSON* OCT. 19 ............................... FOUNTAIN LAKE* OCT. 26 ................................... @NASHVILLE* NOV. 2 ....................................ARKADELPHIA*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
line by rotating into the outside linebacker position during his sophomore year, when he primarily played cornerback.
This season, Scarbrough said he expects to see the Leopards “get better each week and make a run for the playoffs.”
“Every game is key for us.”
STACI VANDAGRIFF/TRI-LAKES EDITION
The Malvern Leopards warm up for a preseason practice.
Malvern School District
“Where PASSION, PRIDE and EXCELLENCE are expected”
Good Luck this Season!