Catch the Fever : Siloam Springs, Farmington kick off Friday Night Lights
Posted on Wednesday, September 3, 2008
It's time to "Maroon Out "Farmington.
The Siloam Springs Panthers kick off the 2008 season at 7 p.m. Friday on the road against the 4 A Farmington Cardinals.
Siloam Springs will be playing its first two games on the road before returning to the friendly confines of Glenn W. Black Stadium for a showdown on Sept. 19 against the Gentry Pioneers.
A year ago, the Panthers roared in the Conference 5 A playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and third time under current head coach Clint Ashcraft.
Of course, this year's team is missing some familiar faces that helped key the Panthers' postseason run in 2007.
Gone are quarterback Nathan Nall, running back Tyler Ivey and wide receivers Roger Jackson, Cody Reese and Caleb Knoner.
In their places are several players that will be making their first varsity start against the Cardinals.
First off, at quarterback, Ashcraft plans to go with junior signal-caller Bryan Adair, who i is a multi-talented athlete and former state diving champion.
As a sophomore, Adair split time with senior Ryan Berry as the Panthers' backup quarterback behind Nall. Adair also was the Panthers' starting punter and will be looked upon to continue those same duties this year.
Helping take the load off Adair will be senior tailbacks Jake Cifuentes and Anthony Autry, as well as senior wide receivers Nick Brill, Chris Evans and Tyler Littlejohn.
"We will rely a lot on our running game this year, but will also still throw the football," Ashcraft said. "The strength of our team is our offensive line and we will go as far as they will carry us."
The Panthers' offensive line returns a pair of senior lettermen in Wrangler Gotsponner and Blake Crouse, as well as several key members that gained experience on the junior varsity. Joining Gotsponner and Crouse will be center Tyler Carr, guard Cory Owens and tackle Shadoe Vanatta.
Corey Jenison, another senior lettermen, will be looked upon for instant contribution from the Panthers' Flex position.
On defense, the Panthers will be led by Jenison and Cifuentes, a pair of fierce linebackers, as well as bookends Matt Reed and Luke Hulse.
The defensive line will consist of tackles Deric England and Eliud Galan, as well as depth from Gotsponner, Vanatta and Dereck Strickland.
The Panthers' secondary, which lost three starters from last year's 8-4 team, will start Brill and Dalton Tharp at cornerbacks, and Berry and Littlejohn at the safety positions.
On both sides of the ball, the Panthers will start 14 seniors, including outside linebacker Zack Hudson. Eleven of those 14 seniors play both ways.
In order for the Panthers to achieve victory, they must stop a Farmington team that finished 9-3 in 2007 and lost to Pine Bluff Dollarway in the second round of the Conference 4 A playoffs.
Injuries have already taken a toll on the Cardinals' lineup as starting quarterback Chance Hyslip went down with a high ankle sprain two weeks ago and the first- and second-team running backs, Landon Parsley (strained MCL ) and Dalton Phillips have been sidelined.
According to Farmington head coach Mike Adams in the Northwest Arkansas Times," We've just pressed on. That's probably been the best thing we've done this year. We have not cut anything back in the playbook because of the injuries."
In Hyslip's place, Adams has given senior Curtis Dickerson and sophomore Trey Spencer plenty of snaps at quarterback in preparation for Friday's opener against the Panthers.
"I think we'll be OK," Adams said on the quarterback troubles. "Both have spent a lot of time preparing with the offense, which will rely heavily on the run game with a one- and twoback set."
Marvin Beaufort, a 6-2, 230-pound fullback, will be asked to fill the void at running back.
"I've been real impressed with the way he's been running the football," Adams said. "He's going to be a great short-yardage back and he's a great lead blocker."
Farmington returns four starters on both sides of the football this season.
The Cardinals' offensive starting lineup will consist of four seniors and seven juniors. On defense, the Cardinals plan on starting six seniors, led by strong safety Dickerson.
In the past two seasons, the Cardinals have 18 victories and one playoff victory under Adams.
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