STAMPS, Ark. - The Lafayette County Cougars will make the postseason in 2020.
All of the five team members of Conference 7-2A will qualify for postseason play.
Bobby Clark, entering his sixth season as the Cougars head coach, expects his squad to better than last season.
"We have a great shot at being a lot better," Clark said. "Our junior high group have been conference champs the past two years and their bringing their speed with them."
OFFENSE
Sophomore Calan Sanders will lead the Cougars at quarterback. Sanders tossed six touchdowns for 385 yards last season.
Senior Da'Maria Philson, junior Tahj Sanders, sophomore K.J. Hayes and sophomore K.D. Dedner will provide depth for the Cougs at tailback.
"We're going to be young but we have a chance to be a whole lot better than 1-9," Clark said. "We had a running back by committee last year but Da'Maria is going to be expected to carry the load this season. His balance is so well that when he gets hit he can spin off tackles or breakaway."
Junior Robert Bailey, senior Cedric Williams Jr, and sophomore Zalin Parrish will interchange at the receiver spots for the Cougars. Bailey caught 14 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns in 2019.
"We're moving a few guys around but we're putting them in position to succeed," Clark said. "We have some guys who are explosive with the ball in their hands. A few of our guys are young, so we expect for them to hit a learning curve. We'll be ready.
"We plan to air it out a little but more this year with all these weapons we have on the outside."
Juniors Adrian Madison, Trent Knighten and Trenton Shirey will be mainstays on the Cougar offensive line. Sophomore Hunter Wood will fill one of the roles on Lafayette County's offensive front.
"Our offensive line is better," Clark said. "They've worked really hard, even with everything going on, those guys have worked hard every day. They've done everything we've asked of them."
DEFENSE
Madison, Shirley, Hayes and Dedner will rotate on the defensive line for the Cougars this upcoming season. Madison finished second in 2019 on the team with 68 tackles, while leading the Cougars with 15 tackles for loss.
"We're going to a 3-4 defense this year," Clark said. "We have the athletes for that scheme and we want to get some different pressure on people. Our underclassmen have really stepped up for us, especially with everything that's going with not being in school and having to do a lot of work on their own."
Junior twin brothers De'Andrew and Keandre Campbell will be penciled in at linebacker for Lafayette County. Philson and Sanders are also expected to make contributions defensively for the Cougars.
Last season, Philson accounted for 22 stops, while Sanders added 29 tackles and two interceptions.
Bailey and senior Colby Hammontree will rotate weekly covering the opponents best receiver in 2020.
"We have several guys we can interchange in our secondary," Clark said. "You want to give your guys a rest but you also always want to have your best 11 on the field at all times. I think we have enough depth on defense, that some guys may be able to get a breather."