Cabot turns to Reed, aerial game

CABOT -- Change is in the air in this Lonoke County city.

After 38 seasons with Mike Malham and the run-dominant Dead-T offense, the Cabot Panthers are going aerial this fall.

That's the plan under Scott Reed, a four-time state championship coach at El Dorado who was hired in December to take over for Malham, the state's second-winningest coach with 301 victories behind Frank McClellan at Barton (367 victories).

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The Panthers will run the Spread offense, and it will be on display tonight at Pine Bluff.

"It's going to be different," said Reed, a Jacksonville High School and University of Arkansas graduate. "They're used to throwing two or three passes a game. The ball is going to be spread around a little bit.

"But it's still about fundamentals, blocking and tackling."

Reed, 58, went 106-45 in 12 seasons at El Dorado (2007-18) and led the Wildcats to Class 6A state titles in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. He also coached two seasons at Forrest City (2005-06).

Malham coached at Cabot in 1981-2018. He guided the Panthers to state championships in 1983 and 2000. Malham announced his retirement in June 2018, and the Panthers went 4-6 in his final season.

When the Panthers were going through spring football drills, Malham -- who was an assistant coach for Reed's late father Bill at Jacksonville before being hired at Cabot -- couldn't resist making light of what his successor was doing offensively.

"He walked into the indoor facility one day," Reed said. "We were throwing some passes and he was like, 'What in the world are y'all doing?' The kids started laughing."

All kidding aside, Reed respects what Malham did at Cabot and wants to build on what Malham and his players and coaches from the past accomplished.

"It's rare when you get to coach at a place for 38 years," Reed said. "It says a lot about him and this community. I've got big shoes to fill.

"But it's an awesome place. I'm excited about what we can get done here."

Junior Tyler Gee will start at quarterback for the Panthers, Reed said. Gee will have a senior-laden offensive line in front of him, led by Koby Thompson, Patrick Shirron, Beau Ferguson and Forrest Chandler.

Reed admitted that he was leaving a good program in El Dorado to go north to Cabot. But he couldn't pass up Cabot's situation, and he's been pleased with how the players have transitioned from Malham to him.

"This was certainly a great situation because they were disciplined and understood about work," Reed said. "Coach Malham's program was first-rate. They came in the first day and they didn't miss a beat. They said, 'Hey coach, how are you doing?'

"They got dressed, got in line and went to work. We've made a lot of progress. I think we'll be better as the year goes on as we play in this system and with the game speed."

As the Panthers open their season tonight, Reed understands how important the program is to his players and community.

"Football is a big deal here," Reed said. "There's a lot of support. There's a lot of expectations. There's some excitement that we're going to play a little different.

"Our kids expect to be good. I've learned that. They've prepared well. They're serious about what they're doing."

Cabot's home opener is Sept. 13 against Reed's former school El Dorado, then the Panthers host last year's Class 6A runner-up Benton. The 7A-Central Conference schedule begins for the Panthers on Sept. 27 at Little Rock Catholic and they'll also face the past two Class 7A state champions at home with last year's champion Bryant on Oct. 25 and 2017 champion North Little Rock on Nov. 8.

Reed hopes that his team can play hard and acclimate themselves to a new offensive system in the coming weeks as they face one of the state's toughest schedules.

"We've been good with the ball in practice and in scrimmages," Reed said. "We understand the importance of that, so that's good. We want to be physical. No matter what offense or defense you're in, I want to see us be physical.

"There's going to be a time when there's going to be adversity, so how do you respond to it? That's going to be important.

"We're going to find out a lot Friday night."

Sports on 09/06/2019