QBs battle for top spot: Haston, Bratcher both vying for starting nod
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And among those questions is the matter of who will be taking the snaps when the Pioneers face off against Centennial for Friday’s opening game.
Juniors Joey Haston and Jonathan Bratcher have been spending equal time under center during preseason practices, and according to head coach Gerald Tidwell the competition between the two for the top spot on the depth chart has been just as even.
“Right now I couldn’t tell you who will be our starting quarterback,” Tidwell said following Friday morning’s practice session. “The job was Joey’s to lose, but he hasn’t done the things that tells me he’s clearly the No. 1 quarterback.”
Tidwell noted Haston, who moved into the starter’s role near the end of last season, has shown some difficulty adjusting to the Pioneers’ new option-oriented offensive gameplan.
“He’s making some bad decisions, and he’s not running the option like an option quarterback needs to run,” Tidwell said. “His strength is passing the ball, but he’s not putting the ball there for the receivers to catch. So he has some improving to do, if he wants to stay the No. 1 quarterback.
“Bratcher makes mistakes, too, but as far as an option quarterback, he’s looking pretty good out there running the ball, and he wants to be out there running the ball.”
Tidwell explained that in his offensive system, a quarterback must have the ability to read and adjust to opposing defenses.
“No. 1, they’ve got to make good decisions,” he said. “If it needs to be a give to the fullback on the option, they’ve got to give it. If it needs to be a pull, you’ve got to have the courage and the smarts to pull it.
“We just want the right runner carrying the ball and reading the defense’s reaction. Speed is not that critical; being smart is the top priority.”
“I tell the kids all the time, if you’re in the workforce and you can’t do your job, what happens? You’re fired, and someone else is coming in,” he added. “That’s the way it’s going to be; if you don’t get it done, you’re fired and we’ll find someone else who can get it done.
“We’re seeing competition like that at a lot of positions, although it should really be more than it is. But because our depth is not as strong as we’d like, the kids don’t really compete like we wished they would. But in time, they will.”
• Although they’ve done their best to avoid the injury bug, the Pioneers have already experienced their fair share of missed time due to injuries.
Senior lineman Matt Broadrick suffered a hurt bicep in the Pioneers’ scrimmage at Mt. Juliet Tuesday, then re-aggravated the injury during a full-contact drill later in the week.
Junior Joey Williamson — who, like Broadrick, has seen significant playing time during preseason workouts — hurt his knee in a practice drill, and was on crutches Friday morning. Adam White was out of action Friday with an injured toe, and Chris Ashford was unable to participate in drills after hurting his ankle.
Tidwell noted all his injured players are expected to be able to return to action soon, and said he’s tried to take steps to avoid injuries by limiting live contact in practice as much as possible.
“I felt like we had to get after it a few days, because we were being very passive, both here and at the scrimmage in Portland,” he said. “But the risk you take by doing that is someone getting hurt, and I don’t like doing that.
“So from here on out, it’ll be very limited live scrimmages. We’ll just work on executing the ‘perfect play’ concept, where we get kids knowing where to go, and eliminate the mental mistakes.”
The Pioneers’ game Friday night at Centennial is scheduled for a 7:30 kickoff.