Prep RedZone Arkansas Team Preview Ashdown

Coach Matt Richardson and the Ashdown Panthers have unfinished business that they would like to accomplish this season. In 2020, the Panthers were an overtime loss away from winning the 7-4A Conference championship. Ashdown has plenty of talent returning at some key positions this season. We are going to the key players for the Panthers this season as well as look at some games that fans will want to circle on the calendar. Ashdown has quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="172318" first="Alex" last="Keilbach"] returning at the quarterback position. Keilbach leads an Ashdown offense that can put up the points when clicking on all cylinders. The Ashdown signal caller has an accurate arm. Keilbach does a good job of fitting passes into some tight windows and will be a key player for the Panthers this season. Shifting focus to the rushing game for the Panthers. Ashdown has an extremely talented running back returning for the 2021 season. [player_tooltip player_id="179952" first="Jonathan" last="McElroy"] averaged nine yards per carry last season and has the potential to have an excellent season this season. McElroy has the opportunity to see a large number of carries this season. He has the potential to make scouts sit up and take notice this season. Meanwhile, from a receiving standpoint, the Panthers have weapons all over the field. Ashdown has the top player in the Prep RedZone Arkansas class of 2023 in the form of [player_tooltip player_id="75127" first="Shamar" last="Easter"]. Easter has tremendous athletic ability and currently has 11 scholarship offers to his credit. He uses his athletic ability well to create separation from opposing defensive backs and will be a threat to score from all over the field. Xavier Sanders is going to be a player that Ashdown will look to use his speed. Sanders is extremely quick, and his speed will cause problems for opposing defensive backs. The defensive side of the ball has some talented players returning for the 2021 season for the Panthers. Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="179965" first="Landon" last="Rowe"] is always around the football. Rowe is a tackling machine for the Panthers. Rowe racked up 154 tackles a season ago and is looking to build off the success of last season. Defensive lineman Adrian Fondren is a player to watch this season. He uses his mix of power and speed well to disrupt the offensive backfield. <strong>2021 Prediction:</strong> Ashdown has talent all over the field and a chip on the shoulder from last season. The conference is a difficult one, however if team is equipped for it, it would be the Panthers. Look for Ashdown to challenge for a conference championship this season and the potential is there for a deep playoff run.