Bison gear up for season with younger squad

The Bison go through a drill during the first week of football practice. 

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

CARLISLE — The Carlisle Bison are busy with practice under second-year coach Jake Keith.

Keith said the Bison have had between 25 and 29 at practice during the first week and a half. 

"It's gone pretty well," Keith said of the start of practice. "The first week, you don't have a whole lot of contact. Our kids did a great job of coming out and learning and taking care of fundamentals — the things you can do without having to be real physical."

Keith said his team has been "focused on getting better."

There are also a lot of new faces on this year's squad. 

"The younger group is pretty athletic … I like having the younger team," Keith said. "They are hungry. You can see that there are good things coming."

The Bison have three new coaches this year. Joining Keith and Lonnie Roberson are Danny Mallett, Jeff Liggin and Shawn Woods.

Mallett is a longtime football coach in Arkansas, most notably at Searcy High School. 

"He brings knowledge and experience and that is great to have," Keith said of Mallett. "I can look to him and ask him 'what would you do here?' Having that knowledge to bounce ideas off of is great."

The Bison are picked to finish fifth in the 2A-6 conference behind Hazen, McCrory, Brinkley and Des Arc.

Carlisle will scrimmage against Lonoke and Maumelle on Aug. 24 at James B. Abraham Stadium in Lonoke. The Bison will open the 2015 season on Sept. 4 at England.