FARMINGTON -- The old saying, "Never look a gift horse in the mouth," might apply to 5A West teams, which have already written Farmington off for the 2015 football season.
Scheduling a dark horse team predicted to finish next to last in the conference after a 1-6 inaugural 5A West campaign last year and 0-2 conference start this year for Homecoming might turn out to be like discovering too late that a Trojan Horse has crashed the party. Instead of eyeballing this presumed gift horse in the mouth, they should have checked the belly more carefully. Within the belly of each individual player is where the spirit of the Cardinal resides with an intestinal fortitude and will to overcome.
NEW POSITIONS
For 2015 a number of players were repositioned by the coaching staff as head coach Mike Adams and his assistants seek to get the most out of talent on the Cardinal roster. Sophomore tailback Javon Jowers (5-10, 150) is a converted wide receiver, who is reading cuts and finding running room. Junior Trenton McChristian (5-10, 140) was originally planned to split time between tailback and wide receiver and has become a dangerous threat catching passes. Senior Nick Huff (6-3, 195) moved from wide receiver to tight end and has a big impact.
"He's still learning, he's very capable. He can give us some matchup problems formation-wise," Adams said.
Sophomore Jacob Gray (6-2, 170) needs to gain weight and become more physical yet has shown potential at tight end and made a tackle on special teams against Greenbrier on Friday.
"He's a young guy, still growing. He has a chance to be a really good player there," Adams said. "He's skilled at what he does."
Senior Walker Davis (5-8, 175) switched from linebacker to cornerback but has battled injuries.
"He's a fast guy, also very physical which will help him play on," Adams said.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Brandon Thomas, Steven Jones and Luis Maricio have all practiced kickoffs while Trey Waggle and Justice Hobbs have been kicking extra-points and field goals in practice. McChristian, Caleb Williams, Xavier Staten and Stephen Piha are return men. Adams noted Williams and Staten are speed threats on kickoff returns while Piha can make a difference in field position.
"Stephen Piha is good at fielding punts. He catches the ball in the air, which is key at that position," Adams said.
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
Farmington returned six starters on offense and four on defense this season. Three schools in the 5A West, Harrison, Maumelle and Vilonia, hired new coaches and present different looks. Coming into the season, Adams knew Little Rock Christian and Morrilton would be strong.
"Little Rock Christian has a chance to compete for a state championship," Adams said. "They have three Division I kids. Morrilton played a lot of young kids the last two years and as seniors they should be good."
Preseason polls picked the Cardinals to finish in the lower portion of the 5A West standings but have they underestimated the potential effect of the sheer volume of work Adams and his staff have put in with underclassmen in the weight room during the off-season? Offensively, Farmington returned their entire starting backfield: senior quarterback Brice Waggle (6-3, 195), senior tailback Justice Hobbs (5-10, 205) and junior fullback Blake Putman (5-7, 160), all of whom are capable and experienced. The Cardinals have a much-improved bench with an influx of sophomores, who proved they could play with bigger schools by defeating both Bentonville eighth grade squads as well as Alma last year. Greenbrier had all they wanted of the Cardinals and had to score twice in the fourth quarter on Friday to regain the lead.
The bottom line is Farmington is in prime position to knock off teams who think all they have to do is show up.
Sports on 10/07/2015