RISON - With preseason drills getting underway and the 2024 high school football season opener about a month away, new Rison Coach Chris Vereen said he has been pleased with how well the Wildcats have been able to pick up his flexbone offense since arriving on campus about halfway through the spring 2024 semester.“For only having 10 days with them in the spring, I think it went really well,” he said Monday about the camps over the summer. “I’ve been really impressed with them at the team camps.”Rison is having to learn a new offense under a new head coach for the second consecutive season. After spending 25 years running the veer under long-time Coach Clay Totty, the ‘Cats went to a spread offense last under new Coach Caleb Carmikle. However, Carmikle stepped down in the spring semester to become head coach at his alma mater, Class 4A Heber Springs. Vereen, meanwhile, was hired to replace Carmikle after previously leading the Class 4A Star City Bulldogs football program.Considering Rison’s history with the rushing game, Vereen admits it is easier for the Wildcats to grasp his run-oriented flexbone as opposed to transition to the spread that Carmikle ran. “These kids really love to run the football,” he said. “The option has looked really good at times, and some times it has looked really bad. But then again, that’s something that takes a lot of reps. We will get a lot better at it starting Monday (when preseason practices begin).”Rison participated in a variety of team camps and 7-on-7’s over the summer, and often against schools from larger classifications. Vereen said he saw some players make big strides over the summer.The first he mentioned were his two sophomore quarterbacks, Kyson Walker and Ethan Saeler. “For them to be sophomores, both of them have done a really good job,” Vereen said, noting that both have picked up the new offense well.Vereen said some ...
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