By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Lonoke Jackrabbits will open their 2013 football season on the road Friday as they travel to Star City to take on a Bulldogs team that has one of the better sophomore and junior classes in the state.
Lonoke head coach Doug Bost got to see the Bulldogs in action last Tuesday in a scrimmage against Bauxite, and was quick to point out some of the players his team will need to focus on, the most heralded of which being sophomore tackle Austin Capps.
“Looking at their offensive and defensive lines, their best player is actually just a 10th grader but he’s already been offered a scholarship by the Hogs and I think LSU is real close to offering him, and that’s the Capps kid,” said Bost. “(He’s) 6-5, 300 pounds, runs a 5.1 (40). We have to for sure know where he is.”
Arkansas offered Capps a scholarship in early June. As far as what the Jackrabbits can expect to see from Star City offensively and defensively, it’ll be similar to what they’ve seen every day since fall camp began.
The Bulldogs run their offense primarily out of the Spread formation, as does Lonoke, and also like the Jackrabbits, they primarily run a 4-3 defense, according to Bost. Bost added that he’s emphasized to his scout team the importance of their jobs and how that will affect the play of his starters, starting Friday.
“We’ve told our scout team they’re important,” Bost said. “When they push us and make us really work, that helps us in the end on Friday night. If the scout team goes out there (in practice) and doesn’t work hard, then your starters tend to relax and not go hard. (Monday) I think they gave us a good look, but we’ve got to have two more days for them to push us and make us better.”
Star City starts a ton of underclassmen and for good reason. The sophomore and junior classes for the Bulldogs didn’t lose a game in junior high.
Sophomore Tye Brown quarterbacked the junior high to consecutive 8-0 records and conference championships. Brown also has some experience at the high school level.
At the conclusion of last year’s junior high season, a season in which Brown threw 24 touchdown passes, Brown was promoted as the varsity starter and threw for more than 700 yards and seven touchdowns in the team’s final four games.
“They like to run it and throw it,” Bost said. “Their quarterback is a 10th grader and he can throw the ball wherever you want it. They’re a very good-looking team. Their sophomores and juniors have never lost a game. They’re 30-0 – their sophomores and juniors. So it’s a very talented team down there.”
As far as team injuries, Lonoke suffered a major setback on the offensive and defensive lines as senior three-year starter Bubba Lewis left last Monday’s scrimmage at Maumelle with a nagging knee injury.
Lewis was lost for the season last year after suffering a torn ACL in the team’s conference opener against Heber Springs in Week 4, and Bost said his status for Friday is questionable.
“He reinjured the same knee against Maumelle and he hasn’t practiced yet,” Bost said. “He’s supposed to get an MRI on Tuesday and I don’t know about his availability for Friday night. We’re already thin on the offensive and defensive lines.
“We’ve got six (linemen) that are ready to play this year. We’ve got some young guys that you hope you don’t have to play this year so you can get them bigger, faster, stronger, but you never know. You never know when injuries are going to pop up. So those guys have to be ready.” Kickoff for Friday’s game is at 7 p.m.