Roberts back to lead Rattlers’ potent offense
MURFREESBORO, Ark.—It may take a lot of points to beat Murfreesboro in 2016.
“We really feel like we can have an explosive offense,” Rattlers’ head coach Jeff Jones said. “The only question I had was the offensive line, where we lost four players to graduation. But our young guys had a good summer and are looking good.”
Another reason for Jones’ optimism is the return of senior quarterback Ryan Roberts (5-10, 160), who tore his knee up in Murfreesboro’s fourth game last season.
“Roberts leads our flexbone offense, and is very accurate when we have to throw the ball,” Jones said. “We’ve also got our two running backs (Gavin Gardner and Cameron Snowden) back, who combined for more than 2,000
yards last year.”
Fullback Bryle Fatheree (5-11, 170) and senior Wyatt Van Camp (5-11, 200) is the only player returning to the line.
Jones, however, is excited about the play of center Evan Pickett (6-0, 205), guard Alec Pettigrew (6-1, 265), guard Cody Nolan (5-11, 210). Senior Nathan Labranda (6-0, 245) started on the defensive side last season and is expected to fill the other tackle position.
Junior Larime Brashears (5-9, 250) and sophomores Ethan Pickett and Bodie Hignight give the Rattlers’ depth in the line.
Tight end Jarrett Faulkner (6-3, 215) figures into the Rattlers’ strength on offense as does receivers Snowden (5-8, 180), Troy Stone and J.C. Motley.
“Van Camp has been a great leader for us this summer, and Labranda is very solid,” Jones said. “We’ll rotate our guards. After last season I didn’t know how our line would be, but I really like this group. Still, we’ve got a long ways to go.
“Hopefully the offensive line will give us some options when we know we can trust them. We’re probably looking at starting six or seven both ways, but that’s 2A football. The linemen are the guys who suffer most playing both ways.”
Murfreesboro is blessed with 37 players out for the varsity, including 15 seniors.
If there is a major concern, it comes on defense. Jones worries about the unit’s overall speed.
“We’ve really got to improve on defense; Our weakness is our speed,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of individuals who can run, but we’re not athletic enough to make up for any mistake we make. We’ve got to make sure we’re in the right place and be better tacklers than we have been.”
Snowden and Gardner are back at linebacker. Senior Chris French has also been a pleasant surprise. French suffered a broken leg in a four-wheeler accident two years ago and missed all of last season. He’ll contribute at linebacker.
Defensive end Branson Pipkins (6-1, 205), and tackle Jack Stuard (5-10, 170) join cornerback Jamie Jackson (6-0, 150) as the veterans on defense.
Another player attempting a comeback is tackle Scott Evans, who suffered fractures in both feet a year ago.
“Scott broke one foot working out on his own; After it got well he broke the other in practice,” Jones said. “He really never played for us, but now we’ve got him back. Having French and Evans back should help us a lot.”
Jones expects Roberts to see double duty at free safety. Stone, Jackson and Motley will see playing time in the secondary with sophomores Dawson Cox and Jamie Jackson competing for the other starting job at corner.
Sophomore Ethan Pipkins (6-3, 300) will be the nose guard and Labranda will be up front on defense.
Motley starts the season as the Rattlers’ kicker, but two foreign exchange students could figure in that picture.
“Kids from Mexico and Germany are here, and the first question I asked them was did they play soccer,”
Jones said with a laugh. “They both said yes, and they were invited to tryout for the team.”
Jones tags defending champion Mount Ida the favorite in district play, but he also likes Lafayette County. Still, he doesn’t rule out his own Rattlers.
“Mount Ida graduated some good seniors, but they’ll reload,” he said. “Lafayette County is loaded with DI players all over the field. Foreman is improved with a new coach, and Dierks is always tough. We’ve got a newcomer in league with Mountain Pine.”