Quarterback Ryan Agnew was a bigbrreason why the Dragons averaged morebrthan 40 points per game last season.br
But Agnew is off to San Diego State to continuebrhis education and football career, leaving a bigbrquestion mark at arguably the most importantbrposition on the field.
With Agnew gone, SouthlakebrCarroll turned to senior MontanabrMurphy and junior Mason Holmes.brThe two signal-callers battled it outbrfor the starting job during fall camp.brMurphy went into Week 1 as thebrstarter after serving as Agnew’sbrbackup last season but had an up andbrdown performance in a loss to AustinbrWestlake. Holmes led the Dragonsbrto wins in Weeks 2 and 3 afterbrthrowing for 911 yards and elevenbrtouchdowns, and appears to havebrlocked up the starting job. Holmesbrmay not have much varsity experi-brence, but that’s where his teammatesbrcan pick him up.br
“Mason will be our quarterback,”brsays head coach Hal Wasson. “It wasbrfun to watch him improve quarter bybrquarter and gain more confidence.brHe took some big hits and continuedbrto deliver the ball. That should makebrany offensive line want to blockbrharder.”br
The linemen in front of Holmesbrinclude some of the teams mostbrexperienced players. With threebrreturning starters up front inbrseniors Lucas Tribble, Anton Ezzardbrand Chase Sanford, protection ofbrthe quarterback should be a teambrstrength this season.br
Wasson believes experience inbrthe trenches will help the Drag-brons be even better on offense thisbrseason.br
“I don’t care if it’s NFL, col-brlege or high school,” Wasson says.br“You have to be good up front.brOur line has great camaraderie andbrworked extremely hard this offsea-brson. I anticipate them to be one ofbrour best assets.”br
Selected as a team captain, Trib-brble is as solid as they come. As abrjunior, he recorded 25 pancakes andbr40 knockdowns. He leads the rest ofbrthe group that will be in charge ofbrnot only protecting Holmes but also opening up holes for stud running back Lil’ Jordan Humphrey.brHumphrey was slated to split carries with Grant McFarlin lastbrseason before he had one of the biggest breakout years in thebrstate with 1,828 yards and 29 touchdowns. Hitting the 2,000-bryard mark could be feasible for Humphrey as he too has gained valuable experience along with the O’ line. “Our line is looking really good this year,” Tribble says. “It helps having three guys back. We’re going to have fun blockingbrfor Lil’ Jordan because he sees everything. If you make a goodbrblock, he’ll be there to hit the hole and make us look good.”
At 6’5” and 200 pounds, Humphrey has also created mis-brmatches as a wide receiver. A star basketball player, Humphreybris an athletic freak with FBS offers to play on the outside at thebrnext level.br
While his primary focus will be toting the rock for thebrDragons, Wasson says he plans to use Humphrey in abrmultitude of different ways this season in order to best utilizebrhis many athletic talents. Along with his big year on the ground,brHumphrey also caught 26 passes for 285 yards and threebrtouchdowns in 2014.br
“Lil’ Jordan is a special player,” Wasson says. “We’re goingbrto do some different things to get the ball in his hands. He canbrmake some big plays for us. We also have Shemar Coleman whobrcan help him carry the load.”br
Humphrey will be the focal point of the offense, but Wassonbralso wants to see his wide receivers make a difference. ZachbrFarrar is back after finishing second on the team in receiving lastbrseason. Wasson added that Kameron Duhon, Tommy Kane andbrJack Johansson should all be solid contributors.br
If Holmes can continue on his steep growth curve, this year’sbroffense has the potential to be downright electrifying.
