Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Curley Wolves Prepare For Season - A Look At 1997 Foes (cont)

1996, the Leopards finished 6-7 and were fourth in the league, where they are picked to finish again this year.

The '96 Leopards started slowly (0-3), playing well late for their first year coach.

De Queen will again operate from the I formation on offense and run a 6-1 defensive front.

Part of the Leopards's problems will be inexperience under center as Kevin Sullivan graduated and will be replaced by Matt Slaughter, who played cornerback in '96.

Justin Powell will give the team experience as a running back as he had 900 combination yards rushing and receiving in '96. He could also be a force to reckon on defensively.

The front line should be strong physically as it is anchored by Dayne Bell who squats 475 pounds, with a solid linebacker in Drew Williams, who had 112 tackles last season.

Fountain Lake is another new kid in the 7AA, venturing into the league in '96.

The Cobras finished their inaugural year in the conference with a 3-6 mark and were sixth in the division. This year they have been picked to finish fifth.

Again, the Cobras will use the slot-I offense and a split-4 defense.

However, Fountain Lake will have a young and inexperienced signalcaller in Kris Keen. He will be backed by Roy Lee and Robert Farrar in the backfield.

The Cobras lost a lot of skilled people to injury last season and simply don't have them available this season.

Defensively, the Cobras could have a good secondary, but a young line will see these players worn out.

On Oct. 24, the Wolves homecoming opponent will be Junction City, possibly for the final time. Rumors are the Dragons will be replaced on the schedule by Hampton's Bulldogs so the Wolves can remind Jackson what he left behind.

In '96 the Dragons were 3- finishing sixth. This season they are picked to end the year in fourth place in the 7A East.

Junction City will again throw the wishbone offense at its opponents, while running its 4-4 defense.

An experienced backfield and defensive line and secondary could keep the Dragons in many games, but a young offensive line will cause headaches for quarterback Nick Fisher.

Halloween could be interesting as the Wolves hit the road for a date with the Fouke Panthers.

In '96 the Panthers were 4-6 and last in the league, where they are picked to finish again this year.

They will operate from the single wing offense for the second year and run a 5 front defense.

The only bright spot for the youthful Panthers could be they should be more familiar with how the offense works.

In a Thursday night season finale, the Wolves will venture to the unfriendly confines of Redbug land as they travel to Fordyce on Nov. 6.

This game is being played on a Thursday night because of deer season.

The Bugs had a 6-5 season in '96, finishing third. This year they have been selected as the team to beat.

The Bugs will run the Pro-I offense and Eagle defense again.

Basically, Fordyce is solid across the board. Brad Wallace returns under center with a great arm and good touch on the ball.

Roger Grandy rushed for 1,363 yards last season and will again be behind Wallace. Jeremiah Smith will be alongside Grandy with his 4.55 speed. In 33 carries in '96, he gained 220 yards.

Defensively, the Bugs look solid as well. The only weakness could be a lack of available bodies.

Grandy, though, if he remains healthy, will be something on defense as well. He benches 300 pounds, cleans 315 and squats 500. He also anchors a linebacker slot.

So, Wolf fans, the road to Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium will be a rough one for the Wolves this season as the 7AA gears up for another 10 game war week in and week out.