Page 21 - 2016 Football

Strong’s defense looking to bounce back in 2016
By Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
The 2015 season was a tough one for Strong’s defense.
Not only did the Bulldogs surrender 359 points, they allowed 35 or more points on six occasions.
Tasked with trying to turn the Bulldogs around will be defensive coordinator Jason Porter, who was given the assign- ment by new head coach Greg Anthony.
“We’re going to base out of the 4-3,” Anthony said. “Coach Porter and I have met, and he’s asked me questions. It’s his first year to be a defensive coordina- tor, and he wanted some ideas on what I wanted or points I wanted to get to on the defensive side.
“We’ll change based on the forma- tion. I’m real happy with where we’re at defensively. We’re big up front and we’re getting stronger. We’ve lifted four days a week since July 11, but since school has started, we’re lifting two days a week. We’re going to do it until the end of football, and then we’ll pick it back up. Hopefully by next year, we’ll be a lot stronger. I think we’ll be OK. I really do.”
One of the biggest adjustments Anthony will have to contend with is lower numbers and trying to keep his players fresh.
“Right now, there’s probably going to be six to eight playing both ways the whole game, and the other ones will be subbing in. I’ve got 27 right now, possibly 28 or 29, and when you take numbers like that, it’s hard to find 22 people you can play one way. Then you add the kicking game and punt teams, you’ve got some that are never going to come off the field.”
The Bulldogs should be able to keep their defensive line fresh thanks to solid depth.
“I’ve got 13 linemen,” Anthony said. “Half of the team is linemen. It doesn’t usually work out that way, so we’ve got enough linemen where we’re trying to rotate and play people.”
Senior Greg Green along with juniors Chaundre White and Trey Smith are in the mix at defensive end.
At nose guard is senior Keshundre Lovett, who is being counted on to make a big impact.
“He’s six foot-plus and about 340,” Anthony said. “He can clog the hole and he can move. He’s getting better. We’ve had a couple of hiccups with him, but I think he’s turning the corner and taking it more personal to get in better shape and work harder and do the things it’s going to take to get him out there for more than three or four plays at a time.”
Strong also has three players rotating at defensive tackle in juniors Tyson Pace and Tyrese Rogers along with senior Chris McHenry.
At linebacker, there are a few more question marks.
Junior Desmond Newton, who led the Bulldogs in tackles as a sophomore last year, will be heavily relied upon again
Correa.
Juniors Lavonte Washington and Trey
Smith are working at tight end.
“He’s got the tight end-type of body,” Anthony said of Washington. “He’s got pretty good feet. He moves pretty good. We haven’t thrown to him yet, so I’m not sure of his hands other than in
drills. He’s taken every snap there.” The aforementioned offensive line not only should be a strength for the
Bulldogs this year, but in 2017 as well. “The good thing about the offensive line is all of them are back,” Anthony said. “We’ll have four of those five back next year, so that is promising. They get after you. In the past few years, Strong has run the double wing and run a lot of stuff, and their run blocking is pretty good. Even though the blocking schemes have changed, and I’m coach-
to be a leader on defense.
“If he catches you, he’s going to lay a
lick on you,” Anthony said.
Senior Keshaun Howell can play at
middle linebacker, but Anthony added that there will be some games where Howell could play at defensive end.
Beyond Newton and Howell, senior Patrick Thomas is one candidate to round out the linebacking corps, but Anthony hasn’t decided who else will play there.
“We have a pretty good idea of two or three that can play there,” Anthony said. “It may be a game to game thing, but we’ve got people in positions where we want them.”
The secondary also is a bit of a work in progress, but the Bulldogs have a mix of youth and experience at the other spots.
Senior Marquez Welch and sopho- more X-Zavier McHenry are slated to start at cornerback, while junior Robert Reynolds will be at strong safety and fellow junior Ricky Correa is a candi- date to play at free safety.
Welch and McHenry first caught Anthony’s eye during the Bulldogs’ trip to Lake Village for a 7-on-7 tournament.
“The only 7-on-7 we went to, we played seven games, and they took every snap there,” Anthony said of his duo of cornerbacks. “That was the one thing I wanted to see. We were trying to find folks. They’ve taken every snap in camp.”
Reynolds also made his presence felt at the event.
“He really showed us some signs at Lake Village that safety might be his spot,” Anthony said of Reynolds. “He
ing the offensive line, they understand that they just need reps.”
Smith is set to start at left tackle with junior Tyson Pace getting the nod at left guard. Junior Tyrese Rogers will be at center, while seniors Chris McHenry and Greg Green are competing at right guard, and junior Chaundre White is slated to start at right tackle.
If there is one area Anthony is con- cerned with on the line, it is with their pass blocking.
“They haven’t passed a lot in the past, so we’ve got a ways to go on our pass blocking,” Anthony said. “But it’s not anything that we can’t get to where it needs to be. That is a solid bunch. I’ve been really happy with them. A lot of times when you get a new coach or coordinator in and you change offens- es, it’s harder on the linemen because
played really well that day. The first couple of games, he was trying to figure it out, but the longer the day went, the better he got, and that’s what you want to see.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Big plays on special teams have become something of a specialty for the Bulldogs over the years, but don’t look for any on punt returns this fall.
“We’re not going to return any punts,” Anthony said. “I think it’s a hazard. I think there are cheap shots taken. Coach (Scott) Reed’s philosophy comes out in me in this a little bit, so we’re going to fair catch it.”
The Bulldogs have usually been a team that favors two-point conversions, but Anthony said he will mix it up and try to kick extra points some.
“We’ll go for two some, but we’ll kick some, too,” Anthony said. “A lot of times that one point can make a lot of differ- ence.”
Rogers is slated to handle the kicking chores with McHenry serving as the snapper.
The twosome will reverse those roles in a punting situation.
“Tyrese went to the 7-on-7 and had over 100 snaps that day, and didn’t have one bad one,” Anthony said. “I’m really tickled with him. We haven’t had any bad snaps or fumbled snaps even when we’re under center.”
Anthony said he hasn’t finalized who will take care of kickoff returns, but said his team is ready to begin the season.
“That’s the thing about all of them,” Anthony said. “They really have a fire under all of them to win. They want to win.”
of the blocking schemes, and you’re throwing so many different plays at them, but they’ve caught on to what we’re doing.”
Last year, the Bulldogs finished fourth in the conference in scoring, and Anthony isn’t sure what to expect of his offense.
“I don’t know if we can put a lot of points up,” Anthony said. “Desmond is real explosive and shifty. It’s hard to defend Desmond one-on-one. Javonte is not quite as shifty as Desmond, but he’s not far behind him.
“They can go get you something when you need it. We’ve got a couple of receivers that can run. We tested them on the Friday before we started prac- tice, and we had, if I’m not mistaken, we had six that were at a 4.65 or below. There’s some good speed there.”
“We’ve been discussing that since July,” Anthony said. “I don’t want these kids playing both ways the whole game. But when you look at it, if you want to have a chance to win in the fourth quarter, you may have to, so we’ve been looking at stealing some reps like on kickoffs or punt returns. It’s going to be hard.
Strong
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Newton can also play at wide receiver. “The reason I say I can swap them is because if Desmond is playing at line- backer and running back, he’s getting a lot of shots to his body,” Anthony said. “I can’t let him get hit like that every snap, so I’m looking at doing some things with Desmond to get him some
relief.”
Sophomore X-Zavier McHenry or
senior Keshaun Howell could see play- ing time in the backfield, particularly the latter at fullback.
“Another very coachable kid that wants to win,” Anthony said of Howell. “Keshaun and Javonte have really been vocal and have been leaders.”
Strong has several candidates at wide receiver, including McHenry, senior Marquez Welch and junior Ricky
El Dorado NEWS-TIMES – Thursday, September 1, 2016 – 21