Conway’s James wary of Marion’s speed and size in Friday’s clash of gridiron unbeatens
BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON
No matter the stop, legendary Arkansas head football coach Buck James has never shied away from playing tough non-conference competition.
It’s no different in his second season at Conway (2-0), which will host fellow unbeaten Marion (2-0) Friday night at 7 p.m. in a match up of two of the state’s top prep teams.
The challenge comes after winning at Jonesboro 41-21 and then handling visiting Bentonville 55-21 in the season’s two weeks.
“I think it helps us see everything that we are going to see in conference play,” James said. “I think we half some well-coached teams, some teams with athleticism and some teams that are bigger than us, some that are stronger than us.
“I think by the time we get through with Marion, we are going to have seen everything we need to see top be ready for the teams in or league.”
Marion, which feature LSU offensive line commit Carius Curne (6-5, 330), has opened its season with a 34-28 win at rival Wynne and routing visiting Harding Academy 37-7.
The Patriots have 7 offensive starters and 4 defensive ones back from last season’s 8-3 team that mercy ruled six foes.
“I think they are very athletic, a good offensive line with one really good offensive lineman,” James said. “They run to the ball and their secondary, I am very impressed with with them. They are a good football team.
“They at times dominant their opponent. The speed that they have is something that we haven’t seen and that is something we will see later on in the year with Bryant. The speed on their football team is very concerning.”
Curne originally plegded to Arkansas, but flipped to LSU.
“He is a good player, a very good player,” James said. “…He is a big strong kid that has a tremendous mentality about him. I mean he wants to win every battle.”
While Conway has handled its two opponents with ease, James is not completely satisfied with a squad that returned one offensive starter and 7 defensive ones from last season’s 10-2 team.
“Defensively, I think we are giving up too many big plays,” James said. “I think we have got to do a better job with our D-line, like sacking the quarterback. I think we have played well in the secondary and our linebacker play has gotten better.
“At receiver, we have to stretch the field more and we have too many penalties of offense.
“Everything else, we have done a pretty good job I think. We are throwing and catching the ball pretty good I think and I think are running the ball pretty good. I think we have passed protected pretty well.”
James seeks to get better every week, something that has allowed him to win 6 state championships at Camden Fairview and Bryant, where he finished up by winning five straight.
“I just think we have got to keep getting better and we have gotten a lot better in the last two to three weeks from we were able to do this summer and earlier in our camp,” James said. “I think we have gotten better the last couple of weeks.”
Conway’s offense got a lift with the addition of former CAC standout and Arkansas quarterback commit Grayson Wilson (6-3, 205).
Wilson passed for 3,413 yards and 41 touchdowns last season as a junior while also rushing for 837 yards and 15 more scores.
“He is very talented and can run the football and that is provably the biggest skill I have seen that has been really impressive,” James said. “He has thrown the ball well, been accurate and given our receivers a chance to catch most every ball. He has kept us out of bad plays.”
James took over a Conway program that has won won 10 games in back-to-back season and and lost in the state semifinals the last four seasons.
“We are bigger and stronger and it gives us a little more confidence,” James said. “ We have got to just keep playing well and have some things happen to us and us overcome them.”
Ever the perfectionist, James is just seeking consistency.
“We still need to beat teams that are as good as us or better,” James said. “… You can have a really good football team just by beating the people you are supposed win against, but until we go out there and beat people – and do it on a consistent basis, I will say that we are still trying to get there.”
« Previous
Next »