Wolves ready for 2021 campaign

By Staff, 07/21/21 3:12 PM

PRESCOTT – It should come as no surprise Hooten’s magazine has picked the Curley Wolves as the team to beat this year in the AAA.

Head Coach Brian Glass said the Wolves have a lot of the team’s skill players back and plenty of speed. In addition, the team has depth. Five starters return from the 2020 offense and have been playing 7-on-7 this summer. “We have game breakers at all positions,” he said, “and can score from anywhere on the field. This is the fastest team we’ve had. There’s speed everywhere.” This should make life miserable for opposing coaches and teams.

Carston Poole will take over under center. This will be his first year as starter for the Wolves as quarterback, though he did play on the defensive secondary last year. Poole made the All Arkansas team last year, he continued, and is smart, hard working and knows the offense. Poole called signals for the Cubs and didn’t lose a game. Jaylen Hopson will be featured at tailback and ran a 10.7 100 meters. Jacaylon Zachery will be a third-year starter as a slot receiver. Omarion Dickens, another three-year starter, will be at corner and also see time on offense. Glass said Dickens has “big time speed” and is “explosive” at 6-1, 180.

Another weapon for the Wolf offense is returning tight end Caleb Harris, who’s been getting looks from Ole Miss, Louisiana Tech and other schools. Harris, Glass said, has game breaking speed and is strong, benching more than 300 pounds. In addition, Harris will be the team’s punter. Last year he averaged more than 40 yards per punt, breaking a 46-year-old record. He will also be kicking off after each Wolf touchdown. Glass expects Harris to be busy as kicker.

Other players to keep an eye on will be Travion Dickens, who will be a slot receiver and linebacker. Brannen Bradley will also contribute with his speed and hands.The offensive line will be anchored by Ty Koger, Maddux Yates, Carlos Zacharias and Tristan Pettit, along with Avery Hubbard will will be the starting center and short snapper for field goals and extra points. Jayce Moore will be the holder.

The team lost Bayliss Price with a torn ACL during practice. Glass said Price is making good progress and, with luck, will be back in time for the start of conference play, or at the latest, toward the end of the season before playoffs begin.

“I feel our defense doesn’t have a lot of size,” he said, “but we’ll be the fastest out there and be quick to the ball.” He said the team has a high football IQ and will play smart on both sides of the ball. The defense will be doing more blitzing and whatever it can to disrupt opposing offenses. Coverages will be mixed up to confuse quarterbacks and players on the other team as well. Though the defense is small,” he continued, it’s strong and should be able to throw offenses around.

Offensively, he said, the idea is to get the ball to the weapons and spread it around. Glass, who’s been known to reach deep into his bag of tricks, says nothing will change as the Wolves will be more mobile and will use a lot of motion. “We’ll throw it around.”

Overall, he said the Wolves have a solid work ethic, with a blue collar mentality as they show up ready to work and improve. “I’m excited, and there’s a reason we’ve been picked No. 1,” Glass said. “We’ve earned it”

Glass said the team lost three coaches during the off season, who haven’t been replaced. This means their duties will be picked up others on staff. This, he added, shouldn’t be a problem as Jason Patrick has been with the team since 2007 and Davion Williams has been on board since 2010. Glass said Williams, the offensive coordinator, has taken the offense, ran with it and made it unpredictable. Gabe Morman is the special teams coach and will be expected to have his charges ready in the kicking game.

Last year Parkers Chapel stepped in as a filler when another team dropped out due to COVID-19. The Wolves were originally scheduled to open the season against Parkers Chapel, but this won’t happen. Glass heard Newport needed to fill a game and called them. The Newport coach agreed and the teams will open the 2021 campaign at War Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. on Aug. 27. Not wanting to leave Parkers Chapel in the lurch, Glass called and asked if they’re rather play the junior varsity squad instead. The Parkers Chapel coach was delighted, as the Wolves demolished the team 51-0 last year.

The preseason games won’t be a picnic, Glass said. After Newport, the Wolves will host Gurdon, a team Prescott has a long history with, and not a happy one. Game three will be against a much-improved Hope Bobcat team. The ‘Cats bring nine starters back on both sides of the ball, will be more improved and have a big line. When conference play begins, he said the teams to watch our for will be Centerpoint, Genoa Central, Jessieville and Glen Rose. The Glen Rose game will be the final regular season contest and will be held in the friendly confines of Cummings Stadium.

Glass said the 5AAA has several teams ranked in the top 15, which will make things tough.

“We expect to make a deep run in the playoffs,” Glas said, “regardless of where we’re seeded.” However, the first goal is to win the conference title. “We take the district title seriously. We’ve only lost two conference games in the last seven years.”