Friday, May. 16, 2008

Ready to Pass the Test

New Receivers, QB Padron Intend to Take Over High-Powered Offense

By Zach Warner

Staff Writer

Behind the helmets and underneath the pads, several new faces have taken the football practice field this spring.

Probably the most unrecognizable unit due to the loss of a senior-laden group, the Carroll receiving corps has its share of currently unknown athletes ready to prove themselves worthy.

Gone are the mainstays of the passing game over the last couple of seasons. Well-known players like Blake Cantu, Chris Brainard, Ethan Cunningham and Jared Freeman have already wrapped up impressive careers and are moving on.

Get used to names such as Ryan Blair, Dillon Powell, Ryan Walker and Josh Popkin, among others. They hope to be the new playmakers this fall.

"We’ve got a bunch of them," Carroll coach Hal Wasson said of his new group of receivers. "What impresses me about all of them is that they have tremendous work ethic. You can see them maturing daily as route runners.

"The key thing this week is that they’re playing faster," said Wasson, whose team closes out its second week of spring football practice with a scrimmage at 6 tonight at Dragon Stadium. "There’s good competition with the secondary they’re facing. The coverage they’re seeing is making them work harder and complementing them."

With most making the jump up from the JV teams, Carroll’s new receivers want to continue to expand their knowledge of the spread offense and run it effectively at the varsity level. Others joining the aforementioned players include Chris Garvin, Brett Ringer, Parker Hurtel and sophomore-to-be Josh Moser, a player that has already caught the coaching staff’s eye.

Josh Rake, a member of the secondary last year, will make the move to receiver as well. Rake, along with receiver Zack Bellinger, is currently competing with the Carroll baseball team in the playoffs. The two players have not had a chance to participate in spring ball as a result.

Wasson said getting reps this spring and into the summer should get the receivers ready for the competition they’ll see at the varsity level.

"They’re understanding the speed of the game," he said. "The key is that we’ve got to develop consistency with our execution. That’s what spring ball is all about."

Putting someone in place to deliver passes to those players means replacing a great leader and talented athlete in Riley Dodge, Carroll’s starting quarterback the last two years. Even though his heir-apparent has yet to start a game, Wasson said incoming senior Kyle Padron will benefit from the role he played last year backing up Dodge and getting into several games in the second half.

"Kyle Padron is doing a good job of running the offense, making the throws and reading the defense," Wasson said. "He’s had an outstanding spring. He’s very composed in the pocket. He’s made several athletic plays and shown us his versatility."

Wasson said Padron would have been ready to take the reins as a junior, but the Dragons were still blessed to have the services of Dodge last fall.

"Kyle would have started for a lot of teams a year ago, but he was playing behind a great player," he said. "He knows it’s his time now. He’s kept his focus. I’ve seen him improve in all areas."

Behind Padron, Carroll expects solid depth at the quarterback position through the talents of some JV move-ups. Kyle Williamson, Sean Landers, who is getting practice as a running back as well, and David Piland are all preparing this spring. Piland, however, is currently injured and inactive, but is watching and observing nonetheless.

"We’ve got a lot of quality players and good, quality depth," Wasson said.