Steven Heard believes in the talent and potential he has on his Watson Chapel football team.
Even after decisive losses against Helena-West Helena Central and Crossett, Heard is still high on Watson Chapel’s capabilities, even as the Wildcats (0-2) head into Warren (1-1) on Friday night. The 4A perennial-power Lumberjacks and 5A Wildcats will kick off at 7 p.m. at Jim Hurley Stadium, wrapping up their nonconference slates.
“We’re talented,” Heard, the second-year head Wildcat, said Thursday. “As you can see on Friday night, when we wanted to, we pushed people around. And you know, that’s just being flexible in what we run, how we do things, how we try to stay on the field and what you’re playing on offense. We have some young guys at wide receiver that can really go get it.”
Both teams will have bye weeks before beginning conference play, Warren hosting DeWitt in 4A-8 and Watson Chapel hosting Robinson in the 5A-Central. For this Friday night special, Heard remained calm about the challenge at hand as he coaches a team of 45, with 16 of them being sophomores.
“We got to start like six 10th graders on defense, and it’s just a learning experience,” Heard said. “They’re very talented. However, it’s just a learning experience. They’ve got to learn how to take advantage of the opportunities when they’re presented.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Warren is facing a 5A-Central team and one from Jefferson County for the second week in a row. The Lumberjacks built a 28-0 lead by the third quarter and staved off a White Hall comeback attempt to take a 28-14 win at Bulldog Stadium last Friday.
The Lumberjacks’ passing attack has hardly missed a beat following receiver Antonio Jordan’s graduation to the University of Arkansas. Junior Josiah Steen was the target on an 86-yard touchdown pass from classmate Jackson Denton for the game’s first score. Denton threw for 329 yards, with Steen hauling in 207 of those on five receptions. Watson Chapel has averaged 18 points through two games this season. Senior Malachi Rayford is making a name for himself under center, accounting for all three touchdowns to sophomore Jakylinn Battles and helping the Wildcats take an 8-6 lead at one point. The Wildcats will try more formations and “disguise a few things” in hopes of sustaining more offense, Heard said.
Defensively, getting off the field has been a pressing matter for the Wildcats after they gave up 13 first downs to Crossett, including three on fourth down. One of those conversions was a 33-yard quarterback keeper on fourth-and-two for a touchdown. Forcing the offense to punt, Heard said, has been all the coaches have stressed with the Wildcats defense in practice.
“We were already aware of Crossett’s athleticism and things of that nature, but you know we’ve got pretty good athletes ourselves, so I just want them to improve from whistle to whistle and improve the small things,” Heard said. “Small things determine success. Everybody can run. Everybody can tackle. Everybody can do all those things because in playing football, small things can determine success and failure.”