Spring drills are time to fill gaps

THE SPRING football practice roundup continues as we look at more of the Midlands high school teams as they go through drills.

DUTCH FORK

The Silver Foxes are coming off their second state title game appearance but lost a wealth of talent to graduation. It looks like they are working to fill the quarterback roll with either junior Cole Douglas or sophomore Bryce Thompson. Six starters return to the offense, including center Kyle Olenchuk. Defensively, Stephen Davis returns with two other starters (none on the front line).

A.C. FLORA

The Falcons had a solid showing under coach Reggie Shaw and are trying to fill holes from last year’s roster. The bright spot for the Falcons is the return of quarterback Brendan Greene, who leads nine other players who had starting spots at some point during 2014. Defensively, the Falcons took a hit to graduation and have three returning starters out for practice. Senior Tromayne Mikell will anchor the front line at defensive end, junior Malik Rush returns at linebacker and junior Lane Botkin is back at at strong safety.

RICHLAND NORTHEAST

The Cavaliers will enter their second season as a Class 3A school and hope they will see improvement. Coach Jay Frye’s team returns five starters on offense, including big offensive lineman Raqwon Niles anchoring the line. The quarterback will be a first-year guy in junior Aloysius Jackson. Defensively, the Cavs return four starters – but one is preseason All-State linebacker T.J. Brunson.

This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 12:54 AM with the headline "Spring drills are time to fill gaps."