By Tony Burns
Sports Editor
Both El Dorado and Camden Fairview enter tonight’s season opener with confidence. The Wildcats return eight, three-year starters off last year’s 8-5 team that advanced to the 6A semifinals. The Cardinals went 8-4 a year ago before losing in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs to Pulaski Academy.
El Dorado won last year’s season opener 28-21. But, Fairview rallied from an early deficit.
“I know they thought last year they spotted us and then in the second half, they played better than we did and got back in the game,” said El Dorado coach Scott Reed. “They felt like if they hadn’t been a little passive early in the game, they would’ve gotten us. So, I think they’re going to be very confident.”
“You go back to last year’s ball game,” Fairview coach Mike Cox told Kelly Blair of Fox Sports Radio. “We didn’t play very good. We turned the ball over five times and only lost by seven. We feel like if we’d had the plan we have now we might’ve come out victorious in that game.”
Kickoff for tonight’s game is 7:30 p.m. in Camden.
It could be a matchup of the Wildcats’ size against the speed of the Cardinals. El Dorado’s offensive line averages more than 260 pounds. Fairview’s base defense is a 3-3-5, which is blitz-oriented.
“In some areas, we don’t match up very good at all,” said Cox. “Just look at their line. They’ll be the biggest line we’ll face all year, their offensive line against our defensive line. We’re not going to sit there in one spot and let them drive us back. We’re going to have to attack. We’re probably going to see a lot of screens and some different things.
“Hopefully, they’ll stop themselves. Last week at the scrimmage game, Nashville beat ‘em in a half. Of course, you can’t really go by a scrimmage. Nashville always plays them well over there. But, they put the ball on the ground a few times and then they threw an interception.”
Reed hopes El Dorado’s scrimmage against the Scrappers will be a terrible scouting report. Actually, the Wildcats did move the ball against Nashville but couldn’t overcome their own mistakes.
“I would feel better if we had taken advantage of the opportunities we had last week. I thought we had five chances to score where we ran by ‘em or we missed one block where we were going to have a huge play. A number were in the pass game,” he said. “Some were we just missed it. Some, we protected wrong or called a protection wrong. There were a number of things. Those were the things I talked to our kids about (Tuesday). In the past, our put-ins have been really good to us. We don’t need to miss on those.”
The Cardinals’ speed will pose problems. But, traditionally, the 3-3-5 alignment can be susceptible against straight-ahead rushing teams.
“They’re playing an odd front defensively so they’re a little different than they have in the past - a lot of man coverage. They get in your face defensively,” said Reed. “To me, their strength is, as far as the inside and down the middle, (middle linebacker, Raymond) Hill, who plays a lot on offense. He started last year. He’s a big inside linebacker. We saw him a lot in 7-on-7. And, I think (Iziah) Gulley is really good - the free safety. He started last year. And then, the two outside backers (Kimonte) Wilson and (D.J.) Franklin are, maybe, their best players defensively. They’re really athletic and physical, will go get you.”
The Wildcats expect to see blitzes early, often and from all angles.
“The thing they’re doing is they’re bringing any of eight from anywhere,” said Reed. “Early in the season, that can give you some problems, especially when you’re an odd front and you’ve been blocking an even front all summer. That’s our issue. I think we’re bigger than them. They’re not as big up front as they have been in the past. But, they’re very active and they can move.
“If we don’t miss assignments and we can keep the ball, we need to make them play a lot of snaps. That would be my favorite thing to happen because they’re not overly big.”
Against running formations, the Cardinals will bring the outside backers to the line of scrimmage, turning into a 5-man front. The Wildcats will need to be able to run the ball either way.
“I think our strength is running right at people,” said Reed. “So, we need to be able to go between the tackles, some. But, we’re not going to just do that. We’ve got some other things, some perimeter things we like, some throwing things we like. It’s nice to be balanced but when it comes down to it, we need to be able to run the ball effectively.”
Offensively, the Cardinals lean on big playmakers. On the outside and in the return game, senior P.J. Thrower will be a threat. In the backfield, backs D.J. Franklin and Kimonte Wilson spark Fairview’s spread offense.
“Defensively, they’re big on the d-line. They’ll give us some fits,” Cox said of El Dorado. “They’re just a solid, well-coached football team. Our kids believe they’ve got a chance and that’s the biggest part.
“We talked about raising our PH level on the team this year. That means Prepare Hard, Practice Hard and Play Hard. I told them, I don’t know what else happens in that game Friday night. I’m not even concerned about it. I want to play harder than them. If we play harder than our opponents, we’ll win more times than we’ll lose.”
Both coaches understand the importance of special teams.
“We need to win in the kicking game,” said Reed. “I think we have an advantage with the kickers. But, I don’t know about the returners. I’m afraid of them returning a punt or kickoff and getting loose. We need to be really good in space - tackling.”
“They’ve got an outstanding soccer program,” Cox said. “They’ve got kids who can kick 40-yard field goals. But, I told our kids, in the kicking game, they can make all of their kicks and if we run a kickoff back, we won the kicking game. There’s more to the kicking game than just a kicker.”
Reed said the Wildcats bounced back from last week’s poor scrimmage with solid practices to begin the week. It’s the season opener against a rivalry opponent, he expects his team to play well.
“I think the first game you’re in of the year, you have kids playing in a ball game that’s really meaningful to them. They’re going to play above their heads, a little bit,” he said. “I think that kind of sets the tempo for the year by what happens (tonight). So, I really like playing, a good opponent first, but especially a rivalry. Because, I think that starts your season off … I mean when that ball is kicked Friday, there’s going to be some folks getting after it.
“I like our team. Monday and Tuesday, we had two really good days. We changed some things as far as how we’re practicing. They did a good job of handling it and I think we’re going to be a little better than we were last week.”