By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville football season got off to a very disappointing start in week one, but the Red Devils had 10 days to work on fixing the things that went wrong in a 42-0 loss at Cabot last Tuesday before taking on the Benton Panthers in their home opener on Friday.
Jacksonville’s offense, which has been revamped and looked extremely efficient all summer long in 7-on-7 competitions, wasn’t able to bring that production to the 100-yard gridiron once blocking and tackling were involved in week one.
Much of that had to do with an outstanding performance by a Cabot team that may be its most talented in many years.
After last week’s game, Jacksonville coach Rick Russell had trouble summarizing what happened and his feelings about what happened, but after some time to watch game film and analyze what went wrong, he feels better about it.
“We just have to do the basics better,” said Russell. “Maintaining blocks on the offensive line, defensive front staying low, those are things that are easily corrected. We didn’t do it well in the first game and we were up against an outstanding football team. I think that’s one of the better Cabot teams we’ve played in my years at Jacksonville. We knew Cabot would have a strong offensive line and a physical defensive line. And this year you add some speed they haven’t had. They’re going to be difficult for anybody to beat.”
Benton’s first game didn’t go very well either, but the offense did show some big play ability. That’s what hurt the Red Devils in last year’s rain-shortened 34-20 loss in Saline County.
“They use two quarterbacks, one that’s pretty mobile and then a sophomore who’s a really good pocket passer,” Russell said. “We need to notice who is at quarterback on every play. We didn’t see much pattern to when they were switching out, so we have to be aware of that at all times.”
Gone from Benton is last year’s All-Star player Wallace Foote, who nearly single-handedly led the Panthers to their win over Jacksonville last season. Foote made several plays with pure athleticism. Even though Benton doesn’t have anyone on this year’s team quite as athletic as Foote, the mobile quarterback is a playmaker.
“Wallace Foote is one of those special athletes that you just don’t get to have every year,” Russell said. “There were times when we were in perfect position and played great technique, and he still got away from us. This one this year, I don’t know if he’s that good, but he’s good enough that he had one of the plays of the week that one of the TV stations keeps playing over and over. So we have to keep him in the pocket, and if he does get loose, we have to be sure tacklers. We can’t give up the big play because that’s one of the things that happened to us last year.”
The Panthers lost 56-21 to Arkadelphia in week one, but Russell wasn’t too concerned one way or the other about how Benton played last week.
“We have to worry about us,” Russell said. “We need multiple reps of everything we’re trying to do offensively. I’m pleased with how we’ve responded since the game. We’ve had some really good practices and we’re encouraged. We’re looking forward to bringing these good practices with us to Friday night.”