Gentry's Atwood becomes more than a passing option

GENTRY -- The reins are a little looser on Brandon Atwood, and Gentry's football team has reaped the benefits from a more versatile quarterback.

One of the biggest changes Pioneers coach Paul Ernest made this fall was allowing Atwood to be as big a threat with his legs as he is with his arm. The senior is now allowed to run when he feels the need, and that allows him to give his team a dual-threat quarterback instead of the pure pocket passer Ernest tried to make him be last year.

"That's probably the greatest feeling I've had in a long time, probably since my freshman year," Atwood said. "During my freshman year, we ran the triple option, and that's kinda my thing. He knows that, and we've talked about it all the time.

"Getting to hear that I'll be able to do what I do best -- from the position that I love best -- it was definitely a warm feeling."

Ernest said the decision to keep Atwood in the pocket last year was done out of necessity. Gentry had to deal with inexperience in its offensive line at the time, and Ernest said he just couldn't take a chance on Atwood suffering a serious injury with the offensive scheme the Pioneers were trying to operate.

The change was made right after the season ended last fall, right after Ernest said he gave his coaching staff and his players a questionnaire on any changes that needed to be made in the program. One of the biggest items that came up was the need to run the football better, and Ernest then made a promise to Atwood he would get his chance.

"Brandon is a great quarterback, but he's a great athlete first and foremost," Ernest said. "We couldn't afford an injury at that position, so I protected him with my play-calling. It took away what he does really well and gave him less of an opportunity to find the confidence it takes to lead at that position.

"My thing is to run the ball. We're a spread team, but I prefer to run the ball than to throw it. I took away our best weapon last year, and it wasn't going to happen again. I knew he was unhappy. He had a good year throwing the ball, but he knew he had a lot more that could help the team and he wants to win."

The Pioneers didn't have to wait long to see the benefits of Atwood as a dual-threat quarterback. Atwood broke away for a pair of long touchdown runs in Gentry's season opener against Dardanelle, and he had more than 100 yards rushing in each of the three Pioneers' nonconference games with five touchdowns.

His biggest highlight of the season so far, according to Ernest, may have been the play to start the second half of Gentry's game at Berryville, and it came on a play that Atwood requested to use after watching Oklahoma play a game. He faked a screen pass to Beau Tomblin to his right, then he headed for the left sideline and bolted 53 yards for a touchdown.

Ernest admitted it wasn't the first time where he's taken a player's suggestion and ran with it.

"He wanted to put in this play, so we did," Ernest said. "We scored off of it, and that opened the floodgates. That showed us that we can be a big-play offense, and we've shown some of that. He's got three more he wants to run, but that's the only one we've used.

"I get caught up, and the kids know this, in the fundamentals and the static approach to the game. I don't like to change practice very much and stay on the same path and focus. That's hard to get some excitement sometimes. I'm not a big trick-play guy; I just like to line up and play ball. I have no problem with a kid coming up to me with a play."

Atwood's extended play just doesn't stop at being a quarterback. He lined up as a receiver last week against Prairie Grove and caught three passes for 73 yards and a touchdown in Gentry's 28-21 victory -- the first over the Tigers since 2008.

"It's definitely fun," Atwood said. "It's sort of like backyard football where you get bored with throwing touchdown passes. So you give the ball to somebody else and say 'You take this. I'm going to go catch a touchdown.'"