Battered at Bryant, LH looks for lift at El Dorado

Gilleran
Gilleran

PEARCY -- One tough road game follows another for Lake Hamilton.

A week after a humbling 56-7 loss at Class 7A Bryant, the Wolves open 6A-West play Friday night at El Dorado. Trailing 13-7, Lake Hamilton surrendered 29 points in the second quarter and was held to 31 yards after the opening period.

"It gave us a chance to learn some of our deficiencies and be able to correct them," Lake Hamilton coach Tommy Gilleran said. "We're still getting used to things with our new system, but we're figuring things out. It's been a good process and learning experience for our players and our coaching staff."

Ranked No. 2 in Class 6A by Hootens Arkansas Football, El Dorado (3-0) made quick work of Magnolia last week. The Wildcats led 37-7 at halftime before coasting to their third-straight victory.

El Dorado quarterback Darius Holly passed for 162 yards and one touchdown, adding another score on the ground before sitting out the second half. The Wolves have experience against dual-threat quarterbacks, outlasting Malvern and Demias Jimerson in a 56-27 Week 2 win.

"We have some experience after playing Malvern and that's huge," said Gilleran. "It gave us an opportunity to see what an athletic quarterback can do. We learned how to defend against somebody that can throw or run on you. We know (Holly) can do that too. He can throw it, run it and they have a good group of receivers."

Saddled with an early deficit, Lake Hamilton abandoned its ground game against Bryant. Senior Jacob Nichols paced the Wolves with 34 yards on 10 carries while Utah Aitken completed just three of 17 passes for 41 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Getting the rushing attack back on track is the team's primary offensive goal Friday night.

"It's so important; we have to be able to run the ball to be successful," Gilleran said. "We don't want to get forced into being one dimensional like we did last week. We've worked hard at it this week and we're improving on all aspects offensively."

With a road matchup at perennial power Greenwood looming next week for El Dorado, Gilleran acknowledged the trap game potential for his team but expects the Wildcats to be fully prepared.

"It could be, but coach (Scott) Reed is a one game at a time guy," said Gilleran. "Lake Hamilton has won the last two against them, so I don't think they're overlooking us. We expect them to be ready and we'll need to be ready."

Playing in a conference that produced last year's state champion in Russellville and runner-up in Greenwood, Gilleran knows wins will be at a premium for the rest of the season.

Opening with a road win could provide a sense of confidence and momentum for the Wolves before back-to-back home games.

"To go down there and beat a really good El Dorado team on the road would be tremendous," Gilleran said. "They're expecting to challenge Greenwood to be one of the top teams in the conference and in the state. A win would be huge for the confidence of our team moving forward."

Sports on 09/21/2017

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