GRAVETTE
Lions go to air
The passing game was one of the things Gravette sought to improve during its spring workouts, which concluded Thursday afternoon with its Orange-Black game.
Coach Bill Harrelson saw a step in the right direction when Brady Rolsma caught a short pass from Bryce Moorman and turned it into a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage.
"We have to be able to throw and catch the ball better this year," Harrelson said. "We need to be a bigger threat in that area and be able to spread some teams out, and we still have a ways to go.
"A big advantage is having a returning starter at quarterback, which this is the first time we've had it in about five years. It's nice to have someone who knows the offense and understands what we are doing."
Jackson Soule', who will be a three-year starter on defense, drew praise from Harrelson and will be a player the Lions will count on offense, as well. Soule' will split time at tailback with Jordan Burnett as they will fill the void left by the graduation of Cedric Duarte.
Nolan Moore (6-foot-2, 348 pounds), a starter on the offensive line last season, saw some time on the defensive line. He will be joined by Willie Robinson (6-4, 321) and Christian Dodge (6-0, 294) and will provide plenty of size in the trenches.
"All three of them will have to play on both sides of the football," Harrelson said. "They won't be out there on every play, but we will need them."
Harrelson said 67 players took part in the spring workouts. Four players suffered injuries during the workouts, but Harrelson said none of them appear to be serious.
Gravette will take next week off so players can concentrate on finals, then summer workouts begin June 1.
-- Henry Apple • @NWAHenry
SHILOH CHRISTIAN
Fresh start
Coach Jeff Conaway is going through his first spring at Shiloh Christian after taking over the program last summer.
Conaway, who led the team to a 9-4 mark in his first season, said the coaching staff is doing less teaching and more polishing this spring as the players have a much better feel of the offensive schemes.
"It's going much smoother," Conaway said. "We think we can progress past the basics and become more versatile, more multiple."
That familiarity with the coaching staff and the expectations have made for more crisp practices, Conaway said.
"I think our tempo is better. A lot of those things we were trying to do when I first got here, it seems like they are easier to accomplish," he said.
Rising junior quarterback Connor Reece returns after a stellar sophomore season. Reece was 158-of-286 for 2,184 yards passing and 23 touchdowns last fall. Another rising junior, running back John-Marcus Carruthers, also returns after rushing for 663 yards and six touchdowns.
The Saints will wrap up spring practices next Thursday with their Blue-Gold game at 6 p.m. in Champions Stadium.
-- Chip Souza • @nwachip
LINCOLN
Immediate impact
The hiring of Don Harrison from Newport has already had a positive affect on the Lincoln football program.
Harrison was approved by the Lincoln School Board on Monday to replace Scott Davenport, who was head coach for one year with the Wolves and is now an assistant at Fayetteville.
"We had 24 kids the first day and now we're up to 52 for football," Harrison said. "We won't have a spring game, but the kids are doing a good job of picking up our offensive and defensive schemes. We'll continue practicing into next week."
Harrison, 33, spent four years at Newport and was head coach of the Greyhounds for two seasons. Before that, the Mena native was an assistant coach at Springdale High under Gus Malzahn and an assistant at Greenwood under Rick Jones. Harrison's junior high teams at Greenwood went 37-2-1.
"(Harrison) has had success everywhere he's been," Lincoln athletic director Deon Birkes said. "He is an outstanding person who expects kids to play hard and act right. Only time will tell, but he has already doubled our numbers in his first week. We are excited to have him on our campus and excited for what the future holds for Lincoln Football."
Harrison has a rebuilding job to do after the Wolves fell to 2-8 last season.
"There were some others jobs that came open in this area, but I was picky," Harrison said. "I've been very impressed with the people I'm met at Lincoln and I am confident we can develop a winning football team here."
-- Rick Fires • @NWARick
GENTRY
Working it all out
Coach Paul Ernest acknowledged spring workouts have been a learning experience this week for him and his players.
"It's good for them to hear my voice and my message," Ernest said. "They can see what I expect from them and get some terminology down."
That's been something his players haven't heard since he was hired in late February, but spent all spring coaching the Nashville softball team.
The Pioneers practiced four days this week and will finish with four more next week, taking off Monday for Memorial Day. Ernest drove to Gentry on Sunday, after his Nashville softball team lost in the Class 4A state semifinals on Saturday.
He was able to make only three trips to Gentry during the spring to meet with assistant coaches since he was coaching a spring sport. But the 42-year-old credited his staff with preparing the players well in an unusual situation.
"We are much further along than I anticipated and part of that is because our assistant coaches did a great job of taking control and teaching. I can't tell you how valuable they have been to me."
The Pioneers have four players working at quarterback, including Jake Faulkenberry, who will be a senior in the fall. Faulkenberry was a two-way starter as a junior, playing mainly receiver on offense. He also played a few snaps at quarterback.
Gentry won't finish with a spring scrimmage on Friday, mainly because of a lack of linemen, Ernest said. But they will likely work in some "game-like situations."
-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB
Sports on 05/22/2015