By TEDDY ALLEN, Journal Sports
Plain Dealing returns more than half its starters and more than half its team from a two-win campaign last season.
That’s 12 players on a roster of 22. But those numbers aren’t the focus of first-year Lions head coach Clint Walker.
The number he’s most concerned with is 100, as in 100 percent.
“I tell the kids that I don’t measure success in wins and losses,” Walker said. “I measure it by competing and the players learning how to work. You do that and, in my experience, the wins will come. It’s a tough district for sure, but we’ll be fine if we compete and keep getting better each and every day.”
Walker said last weekend’s scrimmage against Magnolia Charter “went well. We saw a lot of good things on defense. On offense, we got a lot of things to fix. We made some first-year quarterback mistakes, but we’ll keep working at it.”
The Lions spent a lot of time this summer overhauling the defense, changing the scheme, and “the improvement showed” during the scrimmage, Walker said. The new look should keep the Lions in more of a base so weekly adjustments will be tweaks and not major new preparations.
“Offensively, we simplified things from what we did last year,” Walker said. “We’re trying to keep it simple and better utilize what we have. It’s still running the wing and the ‘I,’ we just simplified our way of doing it.”
Joshua Miller was a defensive back and backup QB last year; at 5-11, 175, he’ll call the signals in 2022. His main targets will be a pair of seniors in tight end Elijah James (6-4, 160) and Colby Curry (6-0, 165).
The Lions will throw to their backs a lot as well. That likely trio includes junior Aaron Reddix (5-10, 160), sophomore Tyrese Kimble (6-0, 172), who played last year as a freshman, and senior RB/LB Colton Davis (5-9, 165), who was hurt in Friday’s scrimmage but will be ready to go when the Lions play Bossier at approximately 7: 15 Friday night at Airline Stadium in the 69th Annual Bossier Lions Club Jamboree.
Senior players returning to do big-boy work as they did last year for Plain Dealing include senior OL/LB Jayden Gay (5-3, 166), two-way linemen Cole Modisette (6-3, 230) and Jamauriel Ray (6-1, 277), and center/linebacker Reagan Foster (5-8, 176).
The Lions open Sept. 2 at home against Delta Charter, then travel to Lincoln Prep and Lakeside before District 1-1A play opens at Plain Dealing against Ringgold.
“We’ve still got some good non-district teams to play,” Walker said, “but not a BTW or North Caddo like last year. These are teams better suited for us.
“Hey, it’s going to be a challenge, but it always is,” he said. “I didn’t go into this with blinders on. And these kids know what they’re up against, what obstacles they have to get over. But they worked hard this summer in the weight room and especially on defense; as long as they keep working, we’ll be OK.”
Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu