2022 FFN Preseason Tour: Batesville

BATESVILLE, Ark. (KAIT) - Our next stop on the FFN Preseason Tour is Batesville. The Pioneers roll into 2022 with a new head coach. Pioneer alum and Batesville assistant Ryan Morrow takes over for longtime head coach Dave King.

Batesville had just 3 wins last season, but with 16 starters returning, Morrow’s crew looks to take a step forward in 2022.

“By the end of the year last year, we started a bunch of kids that were sophomores,” Morrow said. “The good thing about starting sophomores is you’re gonna be starting juniors the next year, hopefully... We just got to keep building each day, you can’t be ‘we’re happy where we’re at.’ So we’re just gonna keep on putting bricks on the wall and by the end of the year, it’s gonna be tall.”

All but one starter will return on the offensive side of the ball.

“Last year, I mean, we had a lot of newcomers coming up, playing different spots,” senior offensive lineman Allen Nguyen said. “This year, we got back our whole O-Line, our quarterback, wide receivers, most of our DBs. Without coach King, it’s still the same pioneer football. We’re going after it.”

“We’re so much better than last year,” senior quarterback and defensive back Rhett McDonald said. “Our D line is big and we’re strong and we’re fast and we have guys flying around. A lot more chemistry out there and I think we’ll surprise some people out there. We didn’t play how we wanted to last year but this year we got a new team, a bigger team and we’re looking bigger and better.”

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