Cats' offensive weapons a concern for Cabot

Cabot coach Scott Reed will welcome his former team to his stadium on Friday when the 7A Panthers host the Wildcats. Cabot is 2-0 on the season with wins over Searcy (35-7) and last week over Jonesboro (47-27).

El Dorado won its season opener at Camden Fairview 40-36 last week.

Reed said El Dorado and Jonesboro look similar but …

“The thing Jonesboro didn’t have, and their quarterback plays really well, don’t get me wrong, but the times when we had them covered and were in good shape, they couldn’t make a play pulling it down and running it,” he said. “You’ve got to account for Sharmon all the time. El Dorado has better weapons than anyone we’ve seen. That is a concern. I think they play really hard. They do.”

Senior quarterback Sharmon Rester provides a dual threat for the Wildcats, who feature a pair of Division I caliber receivers among a deep group at that position.

“I’m not getting any sleep this week and I guarantee you, Coach (defensive coordinator John) Panter is not. They are really talented. They’re special,” Reed said. “Everyone talks about making you play the whole field every play. Well El Dorado does. With Burns and Jackie and those guys and I think the running back is a good player, too. He is a weapon along with Sharmon. They have more weapons than anyone we’ve seen.”

El Dorado’s Shadarious Plummer started his first game at running back last week. He’s also the Wildcats’ starting centerfielder in baseball.

“He needs to concentrate on baseball this week,” Reed joked.

“They can score on you on any play. They have the ability to, it be third-and-15 and they can still convert those where it’s hard for a lot of people to (do that).

“There are a lot of teams if you get them in third-and-seven or eight, you feel pretty good. El Dorado is not that way. They can make a guy miss and turn a 2-yard gain into 25. They just have players who can do that. Your angles have to be good. You have to read keys really well. You have to diagnose what they’re doing in a hurry because if they get it in space, you’re in trouble.”

As for the Wildcats’ ultra-talented quarterback, Reed was asked, would he rather see Rester run it or throw it on third-and-15.

After pondering the question, he answered, “Man, neither. I don’t want him to do either one. He’s a good player. Uh, I don’t know that I can answer that. How about this? No, I won’t say that either. I hope he does one that we have a chance to keep them from converting. How about that? That’s the thing about it, you have to defend all that. You don’t have a guy that has to do it with his arm or has to do it with his feet. He can do it either way. And, a lot of times he doesn’t just pull it down and run. A lot of times, he moves and buys time and still finds somebody. That’s even more than just a double threat. When you keep the play alive and still keep your eyes downfield, that gives you a hard time.”

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