By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
The progression from year one to year two in the Jeff Jones era at Lonoke was apparent last season when the Jackrabbits reached the second round of the playoffs after a 4-6 record in 2006.
And last year’s 8-4 turnaround was achieved despite a season of emotional upheaval, which included the death ofquarterback Alex Cash in a car accident in June.
“We had a lot of adversity last year and we weren’t able to overcome it all,” said Jones, whose Jackrabbits concluded spring football practice this past week. “So whatever the Lord presents us this year, hopefully, we can overcome it.
“Last season actually turned out to be a blessing. Fighting everything we fought through and making it to the second round of the playoffs, I felt this team really dug down deep and held on.”
It was a topsy-turvy season, for sure. The Jackrabbits lost their first two games of the season — one, the result of seven turnovers, and the other when they squandered a 21-point lead to Hot Springs and lost by a point on a last-second Trojan touchdown.
They bounced back to win seven in a row, but lost quarterback Rollins Elam to a broken leg in the eighth game of the season and went 2-2 the rest of the way. Elam threw for more than 1,900 yards in those eight games, and accounted for 70 percent of his team’s offensive production. But his loss meant more than just yards gained and points scored, Jones said.
“Rollins came in and did an outstanding job last season,” Jones said. “We knew he was an outstanding quarterback, but was just waiting his turn. He is really a good leader. The two we played at home after we lost him, we won easy. But the two on the road, where leadership matters, we lost.
“I’m not saying we would have won those games, but I would have liked our chances a lot better.”
Elam is back, along with almost all of the skill players and most of the offensive line. In fact, Jones has nine starters back on both sides of the ball. The big losses to graduation are receiver/safety Alvin Farmer, fullback/linebacker Amir Fleming, tight end/safety Daniel Smith and offensive/defensive lineman Kiefer Vaughn.
“It will be hard to replace our safeties,” Jones said, noting that Farmer, an Arkansas Tech signee, picked off 10 passes a season ago. “Both (Farmer and Smith) were two-year starters.”
But with leading tackler Joel Harris taking over for Fleming at the middle linebacker spot, as well as replacing Smith at tight end, most of those other holes have been filled. Jones said the defensive line looks solid with Morgan Linton and Nick Head as the anchors.
Jones figures the offense will be explosive this season, with outstanding receivers Clarence Harris and Michael Howard (1,000 yards, 15 TDs) returning and with a stronger-but-every-bit-as-fast Brandon Smith back at tailback.
“He’s put on 35 pounds in the weight room,” Jones said. “He’s a legit 4.6 (seconds in the 40-yard dash). And our fullback Morgan Linton is back and both of those guys are very capable of carrying the ball.”
Add to that move-in Eric Graydon, who can dazzle with his 4.4 speed, and it’s easy to see why Jones thinks the scoreboard might be lighting up this fall.
Despite all that talent at the skill positions, Jones still cites the offensive line as “the strength of the team.”
“I like the seasoning of our line,” Jones said. “We have a pretty intricate blocking system (in the spread offense), but I feel pretty good about us being on the same page. The timing will get better and we’ll get stronger through the summer.”
Having two years under their belt in the new spread offense makes everything so much easier, Jones said. All the offensive and defensive packages are already installed. Now, he said, it’s just a matter of fine-tuning things for the fall.
“We’re not where we need to be,” he admitted. “But I see a little improvement every day. The guys are getting so much more comfortable with the system and just understanding the game of football better.”
Though most people think pass when they hear the word spread, Jones is hoping for balance in his attack again this season.
He’d like, he said, 50-50 production out of his running and passing game. He said his offense’s flexibility will be a big asset.
“Our offense is pretty inclusive,” he said. “We can do anything. We have the capability of an I-formation running game and the spread passing game out of any formation we have. We really like what we’re doing.”
Jones said having a multiple offense is not only a luxury, it’s vital.
“Today, as good as the defenses are, I don’t think you can sit on one formation unless you’re just that much better than the guys you’re playing” he insists. “It’s a necessity for us to be in something like that.”
