Teams prepare for upcoming contests

Gravette's Darrick Strzelecki is expected to see lots of action during the upcoming season.
Gravette's Darrick Strzelecki is expected to see lots of action during the upcoming season.

Starters rest most of scrimmage

By Henry Apple

GRAVETTE - Coach Bill Harrelson gave his younger players a chance to show off their talents during the Lion Pride scrimmage.

Starting quarterback Clayton Alexander ran only four plays, while running back Darrick Strzelecki had only one carry in the workout. The younger players took over after that.

Much of the scrimmage focused on the kicking game, one of the biggest voids Gravette has this season. The Lions must find a replacement for three-year starter Cody Montee, who has gone to Missouri Southern.

“The place-kicking duties are up for grabs right now,” Harrelson said. “I’m feeling good about our punter right now. Glenn Overturf has taken over that spot and did a good job.”

He noted that Adam Roberts had a good job in the scrimmage with five tackles, while Brandon Meek also stood out at linebacker.

Gravette now turns its attention to Thursday’s scrimmage at Lincoln, and Harrelson said the first-team players will see a lot more action then.

“We had a good week of practice this week,” he said. “It’s important that we have another good week next week.”

Pioneers prepping for scrimmage

By Paul Boyd

GENTRY - Gentry coach Brian Little said his team is anxious for competition and the Pioneers will get that chance when they host West Fork for a scrimmage Tuesday evening in Pioneer Stadium.

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Dylan Ochs warms up his passing arm during a special scrimmage on Thursday at Pioneer Stadium.

“You get to a point where you’re ready to hit somebody else,” Little said.

Little has been pleased with his team’s work in practice last week and a small intra-squad scrimmage as part of the school’s “Meet The Pioneers Night” on Thursday also went well.

“Everybody’s real confident in what they’re doing,” Little said. “Now, we’ve got to begin polishing the little things and workinghard on execution, especially on offense.”

The scrimmage will be four quarters utilizing a mixture of varsity and junior varsity with no live kicking. The high school scrimmage is scheduled to start around 7 p.m., following a junior high scrimmage.

The 10-play scrimmage Thursday night was a bit of a showcase for the fans and went well, Little said.

But he said Tuesday night will be a little different.

“In an intra-squad, especially when you stack one side, you usually perform pretty well,” Little said. “We still have things to work on and we’ll have to execute well to be successful against West Fork.”

School forces practice switch

By Henry Apple

DECATUR - Decatur’s football team, like many in the area, is trying to make the big switch from morning to afternoon practices with school now in session.

“It’s a big adjustment,” coach Shane Holland said. “It’s been tough, like we’re fighting to survive right now. The conditioning isn’t where I would like it to be, but it’s a lot better than what it was three weeks ago.”

The Bulldogs picked up six more players when school began and now have 21 on the roster. Decatur held a scrimmage Saturday morning, and Holland was pleased with quarterback Evan Owens, defensive end Brian Cox and kicker Tito Mendoza.

“Evan did a good job throwing the ball, and the receivers caught the ball fairly well,” Holland said. “That was definitely a positive. We didn’t throw much, but it’s nice to know we can throw when we want to do it and not when we need to.”

He hoped to put the Bulldogs into good practices Monday and Tuesday before Thursday’s scrimmage at home against Berryville. Decatur has also added a game for Sept. 3, when it will play the junior varsity team from Tahlequah, Okla.

Sports, Pages 10 on 08/24/2011