Braves appear to have some options

IRAAN Braves head coach John Fellows is fine with uncertainty, because he knows the shuffling of players this summer and this season and in games is all aimed at one goal.

To find players at the positions in which they can maximize their talents.

But the 2009 Iraan football team is searching for many holes to fill after graduating 13 seniors from last year’s 13-1 team that lost in the Class 1A Division II quarterfinals, the Braves’ best playoff run since 2002.

A week-and-a-half after the first day of summer practices, all the skill positions were still up for grabs, and only two players were identified as starting linemen.

Yet finding the right pieces to the puzzle is not something Fellows is afraid of. In fact, he believes it is better for the team.

“My deal, and it’s not against anybody else, but my philosophy is that I force myself not to be hard-headed,” Fellows said. “If something’s not working, we’re not sticking with it.”

So that’s it. Find and stick with what works.

At quarterback, that could be either senior Dakota Green or sophomore Drew Fellows. Both are also getting repetitions at running back.

That his quarterback situation isn’t solved doesn’t bother John Fellows, either.

“There are (coaches) out there who would want ‘the man,’ but when ‘the man’ goes down, you find yourself searching,” he said. “That’s what I like about here in Iraan and the offense. We develop an identity each year.”
Same goes for the Braves’ go-to play. According to Fellows, every team in the Permian Basin has a play that is practically guaranteed to work every time. For Iraan, that play varies from year to year.

Two seasons ago, it was a fullback power off the tackle. Last year, it was a sweep with two particular running backs.

This season? Well, that’s what Fellows and his staff are here to do. They’re here to find that play and the players that can run it.

Two years ago Call Cade and Drew Allen — both first-team All-District 8-1A selections as seniors last season — shared snaps at quarterback.

But through trial and some error, Fellows saw that when Allen was given a half under the center, his defensive play suffered. Yet when Cade had full-time quarterback duties, Allen posted big numbers as a linebacker.

So even if the Braves look a certain way to begin this season or a game, they probably won’t look like that by the end.

“I think we can be better,” Drew Fellows said. “But we don’t have as much depth (as last year’s team).”

The Braves’ lack of certainty leading to this season will likely yield similar statistics as last year. In 2008, no one rushed for more than 1,000 yards, but the team had several runners with game-breaking abilities on the ground.
And because of the situation this year, Iraan will share the ball again.

 “Our kids know we’re gonna spread the ball around,” Fellows said. “They’re gonna get touches. We’re not gonna have one workhouse. Somebody might have a good week this week, and someone might have a good week another week.”

The goal is to have a good week every week.