Editor’s note: This is part of a series previewing the 2014 Bryant Hornets football team heading into their season-opening game against the Benton Panthers in the annual Salt Bowl and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Friday, Sept. 5.
File photos by Rick Nation and Kevin Nagle
Gunnar Burks (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
Play to your strengths — it only stands to reason that coaches adjust what their team does to make the most of its assets. This year, the Bryant Hornets have a bevy of playmaking backs so head coach Paul Calley and offensive coordinator Lance Parker have tweaked the approach to take as much advantage as they can.
“We have so many good backs that we’ve got to find a way to utilize them and we think we have,” Parker related. “How can we get all these guys involved? I’ve always loved option stuff, I’ve just been scared to run it because of the turnovers but we just have too many guys to not run some option football.
“And we’re excited about it,” he emphasized. “It’s a new element here, hadn’t been done a lot here. We think it’s going to be real successful though.”
Those backs include the team’s quarterbacks, seniors Brandan Warner, Madison Schrader and junior Gunnar Burks.
Madison Schrader (Photo by Rick Nation)
Warner was plagued by injury last season but completed 85 of 143 passes for 1,063 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions. Schrader completed all seven of his passes last year for 79 yards with one score.
Though he didn’t play much varsity last year — he caught two passes for 29 yards as a receiver — his ability lends itself to being successful in the new offense. He and Warner will split time.
“We plan on playing two,” asserted Parker, the team’s quarterback coach. “We feel good about either one of them being in the game and running our offense and doing what we want to do this year.
“Both of them can run but Gunnar’s probably a little bit more elusive so we’ve got some packages, some things for him,” the coach said. “He will play in some critical situations. Brandan’s a little bit better passer but they can both do both.”
Schrader will also be on the field a lot, helping out at wide receiver along with taking some snaps.
“He’s got a command of the group that nobody else has,” Parker stated. “He knows our offense. He can manage the guys in the game. He gets us lined up right.
“A lot of people think it’s just about throwing the ball but when that guy out there is taking control of the huddle, getting people lined up, the cadence — there’s so much that goes into it before the snap that he does so well,” he continued. “He plays like a guy who’s started 20 games in that aspect.”
Last year, the Hornets ran the ball 378 times and passed 152.
“We’ll probably be a higher percentage of runs,” Parker acknowledged. “We’ll probably do some run-pass stuff. We’re going to be a little more balanced as far as where the ball hits, inside or outside.”
Lance Parker instructs the offense during a timeout in a game last season. (Photo by Rick Nation)
