FAYETTEVILLE — Scotland High wideout Trey Chavis has been targeted on deep routes numerous times over the past couple of years.
It happened many times last season, when Chavis was Scotland’s primary target while Bruce Wall was injured. And now that the Scots are incorporating more passing plays into their schemes this year, Chavis has been getting even more looks downfield. But all too often, Chavis’ deep routes have been spoiled by overthrown or dropped balls, as well as tight coverages.
There were still some imperfections in Scotland’s passing attack at Jack Britt on Monday. But Tyler Barfield’s 65-yard touchdown pass to Chavis in the first quarter was a well-executed play — and Chavis saw it coming as soon as he stepped to the line of scrimmage.
“When we motioned a man and their safety went (with him), I knew it’d be wide open for Tyler,” Chavis said.
The completion was the result of hours of hard work in practice, the junior receiver said.
“It just takes time,” Chavis said. “Last year me and Tyler were sophomores, and now we’re juniors. When we’re seniors, it’ll be even better.”
Wall’s return from an ACL injury has also helped out Scotland’s passing game this season. Wall, a versatile senior receiver who is also a threat carrying the ball in the wildcat formation, takes some of the defense’s attention off Chavis when he lines up at wideout.
Wall did most of his damage running the ball against Jack Britt, but he also caught three passes for 49 yards.
“It takes practice, but it’s getting better,” Wall said of Scotland’s passing game. “We come to practice every day and work hard on it, like coach says. Gotta make it happen.”
Several other players, including DeAndre McKinnon and Jhamari Smith, have lined up at wideout as well. Those players help provide depth to a wideout unit that has often had a small role in Scotland’s run-heavy offense in recent years.
That role appears to be growing as head coach Richard Bailey and the Scots continue to dedicate time to improving their execution on pass plays. That work paid off at times on Monday. Barfield completed eight of his 16 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown.
“I thought we threw the ball well and effectively, especially in some big moments tonight,” Bailey said.
The Scots have plenty of big conference games on deck, and the receivers plan on continuing to make their mark.
“This is just the first step for this whole offense, really,” Chavis said. “In the first half, we passed the ball a little. In the second half, we ran the ball a little. Now we have to blend it together. It’s going to get better and better as the season goes on.”
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