LINCOLN -- In his second season as offensive coordinator at Newport, new Lincoln coach Don Harrison retooled the Greyhound offense to keep a streak alive.
He succeeded remarkably with Newport qualifying for the state playoffs for a 25th consecutive year. Harrison played a trio of underclassmen at skill positions. Junior Kristen Crite (832 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns, 390 receiving yards, 6 scoring receptions); sophomore quarterback Gunnar Bullard (almost 1,400 yards passing, 21 touchdowns); and freshman Carl Turner (1,709 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns); all produced.
"Carl Turner was one of those guys, who wanted the ball every play," Harrison said recalling Turner carried the pigskin 39 times for 319 yards in a playoff win. "That's the thing we have to do here [at Lincoln]. We've got to find the guy that wants the ball in crunch time when it's fourth and five. We've got to find that guy."
When asked if Lincoln eighth-grader Caleb Lloyd might be that type of back, Harrison said he hadn't got a look at Caleb yet because he was still in eighth grade during spring practice. Yet, Harrison wasn't ruling out the possibility of playing underclassmen recounting how he brought Turner along.
"We didn't have a tailback that year [2012]. That summer we had the idea," Harrison said, noting they really took things slow with Turner before installing him as the full-time starter.
"We tried not to get him beat to death because he was a freshman. We made sure he could handle the situation. He did a great job."
Harrison is confident Lincoln boys will quickly catch on the coaches are going to put the best players on the field on Friday nights.
"That's just how it has to be. Football is almost like A.P. (advanced placement) P.E. The best kid's got to play on Friday night," Harrison said. "We've got camps and all kinds of things to develop kids but on Friday night the best kid's going to play -- I don't care what the classification is."
Sports on 07/01/2015