Heathman named starting quarterback for Friday's opener

Nevada Daily Mail

With temperatures soaring into the high 90s Thursday afternoon, Nevada High School football players hit the field in preparation for Friday night's season opener against Willard High School.

The official start time for the game has been moved back an hour, to 8 p.m.

During Thursday's practice, Tigers head coach Erik Yoakam confirmed that junior Andrew Heathman has been named the team's starting quarterback, beating out junior Austin Deer. Heathman replaces four-year starter Alex Payne. However, Yoakam said that Deer will still be utilized.

"We do have Austin packaged in certain situations," Yoakam said Thursday. "They're two very different types of quarterbacks. Andy's a traditional quarterback.

"Austin's kind of our 'Wildcat' look. He's going to get the ball, and he's going to run with it. He gives us more speed in the backfield, that we're looking for."

Willard High School, a member of the (Upper) Central Ozark Conference, finished 8-3 in 2013. The Tigers lost to WHS last year on the road, 42-14.

Yoakam said his coaching staff has recently brought players up to speed on game planning.

"The coaches have been dissecting Willard for the last two and a half months," he said. "But we didn't really relay that message to the kids until Sunday. We started reviewing what Willard does, the ins and outs, during our weekly routine."

Yoakam said Willard's size on the offensive and defensive lines presents a formidable challenge for the Tigers.

"They have a bunch of big guys up front," he said.

Yoakam said he was particularly impressed with 6-foot-2, 320 pound Willard senior defensive tackle, Forrest Merrill. Yoakam added that Merrill is considered to be a Division I prospect.

"He's definitely a force in the middle that we have to game plan around," he said. "They also have two more of those guys. Their smallest guy on defense I think weighs 180 pounds."

Yoakam believes that in order for his team to be successful they must limit turnovers.

"Offensively, we have to protect the ball," he said. "That's first and foremost for us.

Yoakam also said that a number of players will be seeing their first live game action.

"We have to get into a groove," he said. "We've got some young players in important positions that haven't been through a game yet. So for those kids to stay calm, and do what they were taught will be a huge factor as well, this early in the season.

"And Defensively, we've got to do assignment football. Defense has been our strong point so far."