News-Times Staff
Although it may be June on the calendar, things seem to be falling into place for Junction City.
On Friday, the Dragons enjoyed a perfect day that was capped with a 45-26 win over Harmony Grove to win the Kevin Payne 7-on-7 Lineman Challenge.
“We just played well,” said Junction City coach Brad Smith. “We had some guys show up real well. We didn’t make a lot of mistakes. We didn’t drop many balls. We didn’t make many bad throws. It wasn’t a whole lot of outstanding, it was consistency, which really shocks me. At this time of the year, you’re expecting up and down, but I was very pleased with it.”
The Dragons went unblemished in pool play before downing the Hornets to win the event. Haynesville (La.) finished third.
Junction City’s passing game has played a critical role in their success, and it was on full display on Friday.
“Brady Hutcheson played well at quarterback. We played Gabe Richard quite a bit at quarterback in different spots, and he played real well,” Smith said. “Harlandus Frazier had a great day at receiver, as did Devontay Gilbert, Jakiron Cook and DeAndre Malone. It wasn’t just one guy.”
Smith was also pleased with the defense, which produced several interceptions.
“We played well. We didn’t give up many deep balls, which is the key to this,” Smith said. “It’s not real football, but passing-game wise, you learn. You don’t get beat deep. You keep everything in front and you rally to tackle. We had several batted balls. That’s basically what we did. It was really a great effort.”
Smith lauded his team’s poise when adversity struck.
“I was super pleased with the effort,” Smith said. “I was super pleased with the way we competed and the way we didn’t lose our minds when things went bad. That’s one of the things that you really got to hang on to is the team concept. You’re going to make mistakes. It’s guaranteed that they’re going to do something to you, so how do you handle that adversity? We just kept putting them back into the huddle, and if a mistake was made, we capitalized on it.”
The Dragons will be idle from competition until next month when the dead period concludes, and Smith is pleased with where everything stands with the Dragons.
“We brought up a couple of ninth-graders to look at, and they played well,” Smith said. “It’s really nice. I saw some good things out of some young guys. This is what we wanted to do.”
Payne, a former standout at Junction City who starred at Louisiana-Monroe before the Chicago Bears selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 draft, handed out awards as part of the event.
Junction City had several players rack up awards with Brady Hutcheson earning best quarterback, Harlandus Frazier was named as the best camper and Jamarco Singleton won the lineman bench press at 335 pounds while also winning the sled push.
Haynesville’s CamRon Jackson, who has committed to LSU, won the lineman challenge, as well as the longest toss with the medicine ball.
Haynesville’s Miguel Turner was tabbed as the best defensive back. Harmony Grove took home two awards with Damion Daniel named as the best receiver, while Xaylon Falls was named as the best running back. Bearden’s C.J. Quarles was the fastest in the tire flip.
In past years, Payne has held skills competitions, but with the new format being introduced this year, he is hoping the event will grow.
“I think the guys came out and competed at a high level,” Payne said. “They had great attitudes and represented their schools well. We are going to try and expand it, and I would like to have 16 teams competing at the maximum.”