Coronado confident in run game, plans to be physical

When veteran Las Vegas-area coach Bill Froman took over at Coronado High in the offseason, it didn’t take long for players to buy into his philosophies in building a program.

Froman, who was the head coach at Chaparral through the 2013 season, didn’t hide his intentions of wanting to have the more physical team on Friday nights.

“I love how aggressive he is,” said Donovan Outlaw, Coronado’s senior offensive tackle who is committed to UNLV. “The thought of having a powerful team and running them down, it is great. I’m happy to be part of it.”

Coronado will attempt to establish the ground game with running backs such as Jordan Patterson and DaQu’an Davis. When it takes to the air, junior quarterback Landen Rowland will have the most experienced receiver in the Southeast League as his primary target.

Tight end Travis Boman, a 6-foot-5, 210 pounder with sure hands, had 43 receptions for 593 yards and five touchdowns in 2014. Boman has the ability to stretch the field and will ease Rowland’s transition in his first varsity season.

“We have a great offensive coordinator. If we buy into what he is saying, we will be great this year and score a lot of points,” Rowland said. “We have some real good running backs. Our run game will be our best.”

On the other side of the ball, Coronado will be young on the defensive line, but Outlaw is expected to get reps for the first time at defensive end to assist the learning curve of underclassmen.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Outlaw blossomed into a Division I recruit in the offseason partially because of Froman’s influence in the weight room. Froman expects him to thrive playing both ways.

“At camp, they couldn’t block him,” Froman said. “I don’t know how he didn’t play defensive end last year.”

The defensive secondary will be a strength with players such as Seancory Stayton having top-end speed.

Coronado has been a playoff qualifier the past three seasons, including reaching the 2012 state semifinals. It expects a 90-player freshman team, giving them a significant advantage over other schools who struggle to find bodies to field a team on all three levels.

“It’s awesome to have that many kids interested in football,” Froman said.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21