Sports

Carr, Lagace, McKinley a Dynamic Trio for Arcadia

Return of top offensive playmakers creates potent attack for Apaches

quarterback Myles Carr isn’t shy when asked how much damage this year’s offense can inflict upon scoreboards throughout the San Gabriel Valley.

“I’m at least trying to put up 40 (points) a game,” he said after practice Tuesday morning. “We just have so many weapons on offense.” 

Carr isn’t boasting. Nor is he being overly confident. In fact, when examining the bevy of riches the Apaches possess at the skill positions, it’s hard to believe they could fall short of Carr’s goal.

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Take a look at the following returners, and try to come up with a reason why the Apaches won’t be one of the most explosive units in the area.

  • Senior QB Myles Carr: 1,872 yards, 26 touchdowns and four interceptions last year.
  • Senior WR Taylor Lagace: 42 receptions, 650 yards, nine touchdowns.
  • Junior RB Sheldon McKinley: 123 carries, 709 yards, six touchdowns.

That doesn’t even take into account Arcadia’s depth at receiver. Unlike last year when it was Lagace and then-senior David Maldonado (31 receptions, 313 yards and four TDs) as Carr’s primary targets, the Apaches won’t lack for downfield aerial options.

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Arcadia coach Jon Dimalante is high on tight ends Robby Haines and Brian Ponce. Muir transfer Darrius Elliot gives Dimalante another dynamic wideout to pair with Lagace.

“It makes my job way easier,” Carr said. “Now instead of just one receiver in Taylor we have a couple we can spread the ball to, and we have Sheldon at running back.”

“This offense is capable of doing many great things,” Carr added. “We have just so much talent on the offensive side of the ball that I don’t think we can be stopped.”

Carr isn’t the only one with high expectations.

“We’re capable of doing everything,” said Lagace, who . “We can run the ball, we can pass the ball. We can score on any given down.”

It all starts with the man under center, Carr, who spent his offseason taking weekly trips down to Orange County to workout with quarterback coach Nick Stremick. During those sessions, Carr said he worked on improving his footwork and developing a quicker release when in the pocket.

Carr believes those two things will be key in his ability to build off of last year when he was one of the most accurate signal callers in the area, throwing 26 touchdowns to only four interceptions.

Carr already has received a scholarship offer from Sacramento State and said he’s getting heavy interest from San Jose State.

“I think he’s the best quarterback in the Valley,” Lagace said. “I think people underrate Myles. He can go anywhere he wants probably, he’s good enough. … He’s accurate. He can run the ball. He’s fast. He’s athletic -- just perfect package.”

Tempo, tempo, tempo

Carr had one word to describe the pace of the first two days of fall camp: fast.

“It’s been pretty fast,” Carr said. “We’re trying to be fast this year. … Trying to be a faster team. Play at a faster pace.”

What Carr means by that is rather than take their time huddling in between every play and then loping to the line – maximizing every second of the play clock – the Apaches want to move warp speed ahead. Not exactly University of Oregon fast, but fast enough to make the opposing defense uncomfortable.

The new emphasis on speed suits Carr just fine. 

“We’re trying to be as quick as we can in the huddle, and as quick as we can in the field,” he said. “I love the fast paced game because we can catch the defense off guard.” 

Dimalante said one of the reasons he felt comfortable installing such an offense is the experience of his first team.

“These kids a lot of them have been playing since they were sophomores and a couple of them since they were freshmen,” Dimalante said. “We have the weapons but it’s easy in passing league and it’s easy in practice against the scout team defense but it takes all 11 people executing perfectly.” 

In shape

One of the things that stood out to Dimalante when his team began fall camp Monday was the Apaches overall fitness level despite having just endured a three-week break for dead period.

“I was just real excited this team came back and did their conditioning test as well as any team or better than any team I’ve seen in a long time,” he said. “That makes me happy.”

It’s not rare for a high schooler to view a dead period as a three-week vacation from the weight room and the track, while all the hard work of the summer goes for naught.

“Dead period -- three-weeks -- is a long time,” Dimalante said. “You can basically go back to square one but these kids stayed accountable and stayed strong and really worked on those three weeks. Whether they were here or on vacation, they stayed in shape. It’s going to pay dividends.”


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