Page 22 - 2016 Football

Defense Continued from Page 22
petitive with one another. The bat- tles within Junction City’s practices are expected to aid the defense.
it usually takes a special individual to push themselves to improve when they don’t have to compete for a spot.”
Smith wants his defense performing well in week one. But most units require a few games played before they mesh.
“We would love to be firing on all cylinders come game one of the season. In practice, we look good at times and then we look ugly at times. In the first
three games (we’ll be tested),” Smith said. “We always load our schedule up front. This season we have Bearden, a perennial 2A power.
“We’ll also play England, who has most of their players coming back. I believe they’re No. 1 in 2A. And then we’re playing one of the best football programs in the state of Louisiana in Haynesville. Those three games will be
hard. If we pass those tests, we’ll be in good shape.”
It’s a new season, however, the Dragon defense is expected to yield a familiar result: aggressive, physical play.
“We’re going to be like we always are,” Smith said. “We have some veterans moving into spots and we have some young players (stepping up). We’re about like we always are.”
“The kids have been working hard. They’ve been competing with one another. As long as they’re competing against one another, they’ll make them- selves better,” Smith said. “When kids don’t have to compete with each other,
Offense
Continued from Page 16
“I want us to be able to put more of our offense in. When you don’t have the entire offense in, you kind of limit yourself,” Carpenter said. “Right now the team is a lot more mature on the field, so hopefully that will help us put more plays in the system.”
When did Carpenter decide to alter his team’s attack?
“The Saturday after we got beat in the (Class 2A) playoffs last season,” he said. “We knew we had to expand the offense. “
“We knew what we were doing was extremely pre- dictable. We knew the things we had to do where we weren’t as predictable (this season).”
The Dragons have adjusted well to the change.
“So far it has gone well,” the coach said. “We have to get into more game situations where there’s pressure on the kids and they have to respond to certain things, to see how they’ll do.”
In regard to personnel, the Dragons could benefit from having a pair of viable quarterbacks.
“At quarterback Shuvasceiaye Frazier and Joe Lowe are both working with the ones, twos and threes,” Carpenter stated. “That way everybody on the team can get used to both of our quarterbacks. “
The offensive line will likely remain a work in prog- ress.
“We have a lot of combinations of linemen. The young guys are pushing the older guys. There are a lot of little different combinations we’ve been working on to try and get everyone on the same page,” Carpenter said. “One practice, two of the three guys are working well. Then the next day, it’s the other two linemen who are working well. So we’re still trying to find a solid combination of players.”
When the Dragons begin league play in week four against McGehee, Carpenter hopes the play up front is solid. But one thing that could accelerate the players’ development is quality competition.
“It’s a good thing, for every position,” Carpenter stat- ed. “When two guys are competing for a position, both
players will have to step their game up. That’s what helps out with development. Competition is a good thing to have.”
Junction City always has an outstanding back or two. This season, Junction City could get a boost from C.J. Johnson, Hishmma Taylor and Demontauz Gray – all of whom are talented.
“We’re using a couple of running backs. The run- ning backs can also play receiver. But C.J. Johnson has to step up for us as he’s the returning starter at running back,” Carpenter said. “Him being a leader is important. C.J. is not a big rah-rah guy. But his motor is running all the time. The backs before him taught him that. Now that’s one of the things he’s working on.”
The Dragons’ receivers provide steady production.
“Tez Brown, Keelen Ford, Jakobe Fisher, Brennan Lee are at receiver. We have a lot of players who are able to play receiver,” Carpenter said. “These guys are able to play more than one receiver position. They can be more than a slot, split, or a tight. That really helps us out.”
At the tight end spot, Carpenter has players who can excel at catching and blocking.
“Terrell Gibson is the tight end. Keelen Ford will also be there again. Keelen and Tez both played at a lot of different receiver spots last season. That helps us out,” the coach stated. “We like our tight ends to be good blockers. But we also want to be able to slip them out so they can help us in the passing game.
“We want teams to know that they’ll have to cover our tight ends.”
If all goes well, Carpenter believes this offense could be difficult to stop.
“I think the offense is capable of having a very good year. There are a lot of signs that they’ll be able to do really good things,” the coach said. “At the same time, they will make a mistake. But if all progresses well, and we’re able to install all the facets of the offense, it’s going to make us a good unit.”
News-Times photo
On the move: Junction City’s C.J. Johnson looks for running room during a 2015 game at Smackover. This season, Johnson is expected to be a senior leader for the Dragons.
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22 – Thursday, September 1, 2016 – El Dorado NEWS-TIMES