Hair leads Lions' core in tougher conference

Editor's note: This is the 13th story in an ongoing series about area high school football teams preparing for the 2020 season.

Third-year starting quarterback Carson Hair returns to lead Jessieville during his junior campaign this fall, bringing a wealth of experience to the role.

Lions head coach T.J. Burk anticipates that the team's improved passing game will strengthen its ability to generate more strategic plays on the ground with the returning experience of Hair and others.

"He's started since his freshman year, so he's got a lot of experience there," Burk noted of his junior quarterback. "We're going to try to stay balanced (with) run and pass. We try to do that every year, but we feel comfortable moving the ball both ways. ... We'll try to spread the field and spread the ball all over, and usually if you can do that effectively, you can run the football effectively, too. It'll open up some more running lanes. That's kind of the balance that we're looking for."

Hair completed 102 of 188 passes (54.3%) for 2,289 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing 114 times for 674 yards and eight more scores in his sophomore season.

Junior Lincoln Crawford anchors the offensive line at center with classmate Ty Lafoon at right guard and sophomore Tony Muniz at right tackle. Sophomore Tyler Crumpton lines up at left guard with senior Drew Speers, a three-year starter, returning at left tackle.

"(Crawford) didn't start for us last year, but he played quite a bit," explained Burk.

Despite a lack in numbers at practices since the Aug. 3 restart, Burk and his coaching staff is hopeful that the school year will encourage participation and bring more athletes their way.

"We're a little bit thin right now," he admitted. "We've only been having in the low 20s at practice everyday, so we're hoping maybe once school starts (on Monday) we'll have two or three more come out. Numbers are a big deal at small schools; you've got to have kids."

Junior running back Matthew Huff, who finished with 186 carries for 1,227 yards and 13 touchdowns as well as 12 catches for 212 yards and two more TDs, returns plenty of experience to the backfield. Seniors Landen Daley and Charlie Davis reprise their roles as experienced leaders of the receivers corps.

"Landon and Charlie will be our two biggest targets," Burk said. "They've both started since their sophomore years. They're the guys that we're going to rely on heavy in the pass game, but we've got some sophomores that are going to have to step up and play and make plays when we ask them to."

Daley reeled in 20 catches for 434 yards and five touchdowns, and Davis finished his season with 20 targets for 466 yards and six TDs in just six games.

The Lions will be facing somewhat new challenges in the 3A-5 conference this fall, and Burk recognizes that no team should be dismissed while certain programs may surprise them in league play.

"We've been in this conference before," he explained. "There's a few new faces with Genoa (Central) and Fouke that we haven't played in the past. We're a little bit familiar with this conference, and it's always been a tough one. Prescott is a perennial powerhouse. Glen Rose is always up near the top, and then you've got Centerpoint, Bismarck and Fouke that are all usually really good football teams.

"And then Genoa made the playoffs for the first time last year. Then Horatio is no slouch either, so it's a difficult conference to come and play in. You're going to have to play to the best of your ability every week, or you're going to get beat. ... You can't look past anybody in this conference."

The Lions open their season on Sept. 4 against Haskell Harmony Grove, and they open their conference season on Sept. 25 against Glen Rose.