GATORS REMAIN RICH IN TRADITION FOR 2019
First-year coach Ivory is ‘thankful’ to be head of the program, part of community
FOREMAN, Ark. — The Foreman Gators aren’t looking to rebuild in 2019, but reloading to keep the same tradition going.
The Gators welcome first-year head coach Adrian Ivory to the fold, with hopes of continuing the winning ways of the Foreman program in recent memory.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to coach the Gators and I also really enjoy the community,
they’re great,” Ivory said. “We’re going to stick to our regular motto, which is doing everything the right way.”
OFFENSE
The Gators will base out of a multipe attack, switching from the flexbone, which won the Gators a state championship in 2017.
Senior Issac Carver will lead the Gators offensive attack at quarterback. Juniors Keante Oglesby, Quincy Robinson and Braden Jackson will all vie for the backup spot this upcoming fall. Carver accounted for 100 passing yards and a touchdown last season.
Junior Nathan Gwin returns for Foreman at the fullback position. Gwin rushed for 289 yards and three scores last season.
Senior Chandler Green returns at runningback, but sophomore Shamar Kemp is expected to fill the backup role. Green rushed for 187 yards and a touchdown last season. “We want to spread the ball around more this season,” Ivory said. “Our bread and butter is running behind our offensive line. We want to be able to lean on people and run the ball when we want, but we’ll also be able to throw it if we have to.
“It will be more touches this season for more kids. We’re going to do it by committee and let the chips fall where they may.”
Juniors Kaleb Kegley and Dalton Haley bring experience to the Gator offensive line, along with junior Chris Haywood and sophomore Nick Moss. Kegley and Haley started all 13 games last season for Foreman on the offensive line.
“We pride ourselves on being the best team we can everyday,” Ivory said. “If we do that, we can be the No. 1 team in
the state. You want to have the No. 1 offense in the state and we have the past few years, so we want to repeat that. If everyone does their job, the sky is the limit.”
DEFENSE
Haywood anchors the Gators defensive line. Haywood finished with 78 tackles and seven sacks in 2018. Kegley and seniors Gerardo Coto, Zach Bates and Kohl Tucker will rotate the remaining positions on the defensive front. Kegley added 37 tackles last season and started every game at end.
Gwin returns at linebacker, along with Jackson, Carver and Green in the middle. Gwin finished with 70 tackles and three sacks, while Jackson added 67 stops for Foreman. Carver ended 2018 with 34 tackles, while missing five games.
“We’re returning a lot of guys with valuable playing time,” Ivory said. “Even though we have a bunch of kids who are first-year starters, they’ve actually seen a lot of time. We basically run a 3-4 defense but we run a lot of 4-4 stuff as well. It depends on the gameplan that week and what the other team is giving us during the game, as to what we will run.”
Oglesby and senior Cord Turner will roam the Gators secondary, along with junior Dawson Bachelor and Robinson.
“We have some kids that are strong and experienced on our back line,” Ivory said. “We’re going to lean on those guys to get us where we need to be.”