El Dorado held its annual Purple White football festivities Friday at Memorial Stadium. Players and cheerleaders from grades 7-12 were introduced with each team holding a brief scrimmage in front of a nice Wildcat fan base.
“We had a great turnout. It was nice to see the stadium full on the home side, to see people excited for this football season,” said El Dorado coach Steven Jones. “The whole event with the elementary fun run we had to start it all off, getting to introduce all the players and cheerleaders in the program, seventh through 12th grade, it’s just a fun night for El Dorado, a really good time.”
The varsity scrimmage concluded the night with Sharmon Rester completing a pair of touchdown passes to Kamron Bibby, including a 75 yarder early in the scrimmage. Jones said several players had solid performances.
“A few things stood out, number one, Marquees Waller is a ball player. He’s a solid safety for us. He went up late in the game and made an interception that was just unreal. He’s a ball hawk, loves to hit. I’m excited to watch him play at that spot this year,” said Jones. “The second thing that stood out was Shadarious Plummer and PJ Denkins, being that 1-2 punch at tailback. I thought both of those guys made some guys runs tonight, made some plays. Shadarious showed he can catch the ball out of the backfield and made something happen there, too.
“Third thing that stood out, Jyrin Steward at outside linebacker. He played very physical and set the edge. He’s going to be very tough for a receiver to try to tighten down and block. He’s a perfect deal for that spot. He’s athletic enough to get out in coverage but also big enough to bring that extra hat into the box to help stop the run. The way he set the edge tonight, we feel really good about our run defense.”
The starters, for the most part, watched from the sideline as the second- and third-team players battled to earn a spot on the depth chart. Jones believes the coaches found some depth.
“Running back Elijah Davis, he’s a move-in from Texas, I thought he did a good job running the football hard between the tackles. He’s an aggressive runner,” said Jones. “I think he’ll continue to improve. He’s done a good job so far. Ahmad Young is a sophomore defensive lineman, a very athletic kid. He was giving our offensive line some fits tonight, making plays. Those two guys stood out.
“We did identify a few guys, backup guys we feel can help us on Friday nights. Both sides of the ball made really good plays. Sharmon threw the ball really well, connected with Bibby a couple times for scores. I feel really confident in where we are as far as install and everything else.”
El Dorado will travel to North Little Rock for a benefit preseason game on Friday.