A lot of minds will be on baseball tonight as the Wildcats take on Belton (7:30 p.m. at Belton) in Game 1 of the regional quarterfinal series. But there’s also some football left to be played.
Although the annual Red-White game extravaganza was a couple of weeks ago, spring football practice has continued. It will conclude tonight at 6:30 p.m. with a final scrimmage at Wildcat-Ram
Stadium, aka The Boneyard.
“We’re excited about finishing this deal up,” coach Scott Smith said.
The format for tonight’s scrimmage is four periods of 22 plays. The first 12 plays of each period will be run by the varsity, while the last 10 plays will be executed by the junior varsity.
The biggest question of the spring – who will replace the graduating Ricky Zorn at quarterback – won’t be answered until August. Michael Ketchmark, considered by many to be the leading candidate after quarterbacking the Cats to last year’s win over Creekview, has been tied up with playoff baseball.
Trent Jones, who also saw some action on the varsity last season as a freshman, won’t play tonight. Coach Smith said he is being held out as a precaution because of the proverbial undisclosed injury.
That leaves senior-to-be Brian Dupree as the remaining contender, but don’t expect any dropoff just because he’s the last man standing for now. Smith likes what Dupree’s athleticism adds to the offense.
“We’re really excited about the dimension Brian adds,” Smith said. “He runs our running game really well.”
Smith said the competition at quarterback will continue right up until the Wildcats’ first game, Aug. 27 at Mesquite.
Whoever wins the job will have a big advantage in running back Desmond Roland, who is one of the state’s top recruits. With an inexperienced quarterback, look for Roland to become more of a leader of the offense in addition to carrying the load as a runner and receiver.
Other things to watch for in the scrimmage: The rebuilt left side of the offensive line. Smith said Alex Wittle and Jay Coffey are competing well at guard while Dedrick Grayson and Chase Walling are in a battle at tackle.
Center will once again be manned by Scott Hanks while Jeff Gebara is having a great spring at right guard. Big sophomore-to-be Kent Perkins is at right tackle.
The receiving corps should be stronger after gaining valuable experience last season. Anthony Harris is still not back from a knee injury but Smith likes what he’s seen from Devonte Sunwengham, sophomore-to-be Quentrel Lathan, Tayron Brown, Deondre Glover and Michael Wright.
On defense, Clint Hardemon and Roderick Mackey are the veterans in the linebacking corps, with Hardemon holding down the middle. Zack Knickman is doing well at the other outside spot but is being pushed by sophomore-to-be Jonathan Garza.
Ronnie Blair has had a good spring at defensive tackle, Smith said. He should solidify an already salty group of veterans up front with Mitch Marzuola, Tre Stewart and Mark Powell.
One of the bigger holes to be filled is at kicker, where Jason Dann is taking his leg to Nebraska. If LH had to play a game now, Smith said cornerback David Green would handle kicks. Green already does so much on defense and special teams (in addition to being a standout in golf and track) that some younger kickers will be looked at before the games start for real.
