By Steve
Dooley - 06.28.08
You might think that a #2
power rating at the end of the 2007 regular
season would be enough to generate a lot of
optimism among Oak Grove Tiger fans going into
the 2008 football season. But, the fact is, that
#2 power rating is a factor of extremely tough
scheduling which head coach Vic Dalrymple puts
together each year to prepare his Tigers for the
even tougher road that begins in week 11. You
can't argue with his strategy - Oak Grove has
made it to at least the quarterfinal round of
the playoffs for 11 straight years.
After the Tigers tune-up in
the annual Bayou
Jamb on Saturday,
August 30 against Jonesboro-Hodge at ULM's
Malone Stadium, they will kick off the regular
season with a Thursday night game at Class 3A
Rayville. The Hornets were rather special in
2007 losing only two regular-season games: a
10-point loss to Calvary Baptist (12-1), and a
6-point loss to Bastrop (15-0). Rayville fell a
touchdown short in the Regional round of the
playoffs to E. D. White (8-5) to finish the
season at 9-3. Rayville disposed of Oak Grove
rather easily in 2007 by a score of 43-6. In
2008, the Hornets will be without quarterback
Justin Higgins and top recruit Chris Tolliver.
In fact, coach Bo Barton will have to fill 14
starter slots after losing 17 total seniors to
graduation. On offense, the Hornets return only
two starters on offense, receivers Abrecus
Martinez and Kenny Bell. Bell is one of
Louisiana's top college prospects and ranks #146
in the nation on Rivals.com. Junior Phanquinton
Lawson will have to fill some big shoes as he
tries to step in at quarterback for the 3A
all-state Higgins. The Hornet defense doesn't
fare much better with only four returning
starters. Following back-to-back years of defeat
to Barton's Hornets, this could be the year Oak
Grove gets back into the win column against
Rayville. The Tigers will have to get it done on
the road in Rayville.
Oak Grove's first home game
of the season will be in week two, hosting Class
4A Franklin Parish (1-9). The Patriots, under
second-year head coach Barry Sebren, will try to
avenge a 49-30 loss to Oak Grove at their place
in 2007. Coach Sebren will be down on numbers in
2008 and may have to resort to playing some
players both ways - a tough assignment for a 4A
school. The bright spot for the Patriots
returning in 2008 is the offensive backfield.
Senior quarterback Cody Hughes returns but may
actually play backup to junior Sidney McMillian.
Hughes had off-season surgery to his throwing
arm and will likely see action more as a utility
player. McMillian is the more mobile of the two
and mobility may become necessary behind a very
inexperienced offensive line. Running back
Adrian Gardner (950 yds., 12 touchdowns) will be
back to lead the rush attack, along with senior
Tony Snow.
Week three has the Tigers
back on the road over to Union Parish to take on
Class 2A Farmerville. The Farmers had a rather
mixed season last year starting out with four
straight losses before righting the ship and
taking five of their final six games to finish
5-5. One of those first four losses last year
was a 34-13 defeat at the hands of Oak Grove in
the third week of the season. Farmerville
struggled offensively throughout the first half
of the season including the match with Oak Grove
(only 81 rushing yards). As the 2007 season
progressed, however, the Farmers seemed to find
its offense, wrapping up the year with a
67-point performance against Class 4A Grant. The
Farmers have been working out in the weight room
all summer with about 40 players lifting
weights. They competed in a 7-on-7 tournament at
OCS the final weekend of June and came away with
a second-place finish with wins over Wossman,
Red River, and St. Frederick. Coach Spatafora's
Farmers should hit the ground running in 2008,
which makes for another interesting match-up for
Oak Grove on the road in week 3.
The Sterlington Panthers
managed to build a dynasty over the past few
years around a relentless running attack
featuring familiar names such as Hurtado,
Douglas, and Mitchell. That dynasty seems to
have peaked in 2002 prior to moving up in
classification. That year, the Panthers drubbed
Oak Grove 55-20 in the semi-finals before losing
to Port Sulfur in the finals. Those familiar
names are now all gone and so is the veer
offensive set that made those names familiar
Friday night highlights. Under second-year head
coach Mike Collins, the Panthers are playing
more air-ball these days and for good reason.
Junior quarterback Logan Dopson picked the Oak
Grove secondary apart last year (18 of 26, 263
yards, 1 TD) as a sophomore and finished the
season with almost 2,000 yards passing. Along
with the transition to a spread offense, Coach
Collins has moved wide receiver coach Chris
Kuykendall to offensive coordinator. Also
included in the transition, senior defensive
back Cole Bagby has been moved to wide receiver.
Last year's contest at Sterlington was much
closer than the 40-27 final score indicates. Oak
Grove led by only six points with 11:45 left in
the game before embarking on one of the most
impressive drives in Tiger history, using 19
plays and over eight minutes off the clock. That
drive ended with a 1-yard TD run by fullback
Payton Russell to seal the victory. The Panthers
will try to exact revenge for that home loss in
week four at Tiger Stadium.
After defending the air
attack in week four, the Tigers will have to
adjust in week five to take on a pounding ground
game from Class 3A Caldwell. The Spartans ran
all over Oak Grove in 2007 accumulating 347
yards of total offense. Caldwell still came up a
point shy of victory after having first and 10
inside the red zone and being unable to convert
points as time ran out. It was in week five of
last year when head coach Scot Lee introduced a
new offensive weapon in transfer student,
Centarious Donald. Donald ran the ball 27 times
for 274 yards and three of Caldwell's four
touchdowns - and he did all of that as a
sophomore. The Oak Grove coaching staff will
have a little better opportunity in 2008 to
prepare for the Spartans and the junior running
back. It's a good thing - the Spartans have
eight starters returning on offense and eight on
defense. The Tigers will have to depend more on
preparation and less on luck to bring home the
victory in 2008.
That wraps up a preview of
the first half of the schedule in 2008. As
usual, the non-district portion of Oak Grove's
schedule is one of the toughest in class. By
mid-October, Tiger fans should have an idea of
how good this team might be. Are they 5-0 good?
Only time will tell.
2008
Schedule Preview
(Part
I)