PRAIRIE GROVE -- Rain-outs and a school function resulted in Prairie Grove only practicing twice before its May 20 football scrimmage.
It showed, at times.
"We didn't look very good here either," said former Tigers tight end Dylan Soehner as he watched from the sideline.
If that's any indication, then Prairie Grove's struggles during the spring scrimmage could lead in another solid season as Soehner as the Tigers went 13-2 overall and 7-0 in 4A-1 play en route to a state championship game appearance.
"We weren't very polished," said Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier after the scrimmage. "I asked them if they were getting tired. We may be a little out of shape, but we can work with it."
This year's scrimmage took on a new look on May 20 as several activities were incorporated to improve fan experience.
"Coach Paroubek emailed me something and said, 'If you want coach, you can get a little more family involved," Abshier said. "So everybody [in the coaches' office] looked up and said, 'Let's do it!'"
It resulted in a Friday evening that began with a barbecue dinner and ended with a field goal competition. Just before halftime, three fans even got to call an offensive play and one led to a catch-and-touchdown-run by Will Hawkins, who's 6-4, 322 pounds, on a tackle-eligible play.
"We may have to put that in [the playbook]," Abshier joked.
The 23-year coaching veteran was in a jovial mood throughout the night, even smiling and laughing a few times on the field. Normally stone-face serious during games, Abshier had to give himself a pep talk before the non-traditional scrimmage.
"I enjoyed it. It was a good time; A good night," Abshier said. "Before the scrimmage I was fighting hard, trying to get the game-face off of my face. It just would not go away. I was like, 'Hey, relax. Take it easy. Enjoy yourself a little bit. It's not a game tonight.'"
With last year's starter, Sam Dodd III, lost to graduation, senior Zeke Laird has stepped into the starting role at quarterback and displayed strong command of the offense.
"He looked good at times," Abshier said. "He bounced one off a receiver that wasn't even looking at him."
Junior Anthony Johnson broke free for a long touchdown run during the scrimmage, although score was not kept.
"We know he's going to be special, we just need to keep working and give him a little time," Abshier said. "Once he gets loose, he's really skilled and keeps getting better and better."
Senior Reed Orr is back at fullback, but also caught Abshier's attention while making several plays at linebacker.
"I noticed from the offensive side that we couldn't get away from that dude," Abshier said. "He's playing a little harder down field than he ever has."
Senior running back/linebacker Kyle Sam had a solid spring as did receivers/defensive backs Clay Fidler and Isaac Disney, who had an interception and long return. Laird is another returning starter at linebacker and made several stops around the line of scrimmage.
In the trenches, Abshier's been encouraged by the play of Hawkins, Jack Stone and Sol Walker, who moved to defensive end after playing in the secondary and also plays running back.
"Sol looked good at defensive end after we moved him back there," Abshier said. "He's gained quite a bit of weight and looks stronger running it."
Abshier and his staff "will really dig in on" video from the scrimmage. He said there are 53 players on the roster, up from 45 a year ago.
"We've been working on depth," Abshier said. "We've just got to see where they all go; how they fit together and what's for the betterment of the team. And start polishing."
After a few team camps this summer, Prairie Grove will look to avenge its only regular season loss from a year ago when it opens 2016 at home against nonconference rival Farmington on Sept. 2.
Sports on 05/25/2016