Looking for Lashley

Senior a big offensive threat for Panthers

Mark Ross/Special to the Herald-Leader
Siloam Springs senior Brendan Lashley fights for yardage after making a catch last Friday at Rogers. Lashley, who plays multiple roles for the Panthers as H-back/tight end, caught 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers host Pea Ridge at 7 p.m. Friday at Panther Stadium.
Mark Ross/Special to the Herald-Leader Siloam Springs senior Brendan Lashley fights for yardage after making a catch last Friday at Rogers. Lashley, who plays multiple roles for the Panthers as H-back/tight end, caught 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers host Pea Ridge at 7 p.m. Friday at Panther Stadium.

Sometimes he's a tight end and other moments he's an H-back.

Every so often he'll line up in the backfield with the quarterback or in a split back formation.

You'll even see him split out wide at receiver.

But wherever he is on the field anymore, Brendan Lashley is a weapon for the Siloam Springs football team.

Lashley -- a 6-foot-2, 208-pound senior -- lined up all over the Panthers' offense last Friday in the team's 51-40 loss at Rogers and showed himself to be a prime offensive threat. He caught 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns and seemed to make big play after big play when the Panthers needed it most.

"He's just become a kid we can rely on," said Siloam Springs coach Brandon Craig. "He's got great hands. He runs his routes well. He knows how to get open against coverages. He's not afraid to take a hit going across the middle. Those are qualities you're looking at in a tight end/H-back-type kid that used to be you could check down to, but he's one of the first options that we have."

The Panthers are looking to get the ball to Lashley first and foremost and as often as they can. It's a stark contrast from last season when he was primarily a blocking tight end, though he did catch 15 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown.

"Last year I was more of a blocking kind of person," the soft-spoken Lashley said. "But this year I've kind of kind of changed my role a little bit and become more of a role to pass the ball to me. I like it."

The Panthers like it too, and the versatility and options that come with it.

"He's exactly the Swiss Army knife. He is the utility guy," said H-backs/tight ends coach Jonathan Johnson. "He's the hybrid for us. He's lined up as an H-back. He's lined up with his hand on the ground as a tight end. He's lined up in the slot. He's lined up in the backfield in a (running) back position. He's lined in the backfield in a split-back position. You name it, he's been all over."

As football concepts all over continue to embrace the spread offense, the old fashioned H-back/tight end position can be a rarity. But Lashley checks all the right boxes for the position, Johnson said.

"I think he fits that niche," Johnson said. "He's a big enough guy that he can come in and play in the box as a tight end/H-back. He's got the hands of an outside receiver. Because he's big enough and strong enough, he can be physical enough for us, both in the backfield and as an H-back as well."

Lashley plays the part with confidence, Craig said.

"Confidence in learning the position and knowing what is expected out of the position," Craig said. "It helped our offense to have that third option in the past. Now to have him step up to be one of our first options really makes a big difference."

The Panthers began gearing Lashley toward this role shortly after the offseason began after the 2020 season, according to Craig and Johnson.

"Early on, during the offseason, we felt like he was a kid that probably had the best hands on the team," Johnson said. "We knew he would need to be used in that capacity more. It really kind of started back in January. We started developing more offense around him as a primary receiver, both coming out of the box as H-back and tight and outside the box as a receiver."

Said Craig: "I think we knew he could be a bigger threat. It was just a matter of putting a package together that allowed him to be emphasized in that package, and that's with all the RPOs (run-pass option) and playaction stuff that we do. Now with him having more confidence, we're able to add him in to our normal passing game stuff as well."

Lashley's first catch of the 2021 season was a short 3-yard toss from Hunter Talley for a touchdown. He also had a reception of 30 yard, two for 21 and another for 15. Seven of his 13 catches were for more than 10 yards.

And in the fourth quarter against Rogers, Lashley caught six passes for 62 yards.

"Definitely in the fourth quarter is when we really turned it up on offense for sure," Lashley said. "But the whole night, I was really just trying to find open spots, get the ball and get as many yards as I could."

Lashley showed his ability to catch the ball during the spring and summer, and against Rogers Heritage in a scrimmage on Aug. 20, he hauled in six passes for 66 yards. With his big night against Rogers High last week, his secret is out.

"Teams are definitely going to start keying on me more, especially with what they saw (last Friday) night," Lashley said. "So I'm definitely going to have to find ways to get open and get the ball."

Lashley and the Panthers (0-1) host Pea Ridge on Friday at Panther Stadium. Pea Ridge lost to Shiloh Christian 55-13 last week. The Blackhawks are coached by first-year coach Brey Cook, who was a standout offensive lineman at Springdale Har-Ber and the University of Arkansas. Cook took the place of Jeff Williams, who is now the athletics director at Siloam Springs.

"Brey Cook's first head job -- the kids love him up there," Craig said. "They're going to play extremely hard. They're like us. They have some spots they need to continue to develop. I think it's going to be one of those games where both teams are going to play extremely hard. Hopefully we'll come out with a win."

Mark Ross/Special to the Herald-Leader
Siloam Springs senior Brendan Lashley goes out for a pass during the Panthers' football scrimmage against Rogers Heritage on Aug. 20. Lashley caught six passes for 66 yards in the scrimmage and then hauled in 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in last week's season-opener at Rogers. Lashley and the Panthers host Pea Ridge at 7 p.m. Friday at Panther Stadium.
Mark Ross/Special to the Herald-Leader Siloam Springs senior Brendan Lashley goes out for a pass during the Panthers' football scrimmage against Rogers Heritage on Aug. 20. Lashley caught six passes for 66 yards in the scrimmage and then hauled in 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in last week's season-opener at Rogers. Lashley and the Panthers host Pea Ridge at 7 p.m. Friday at Panther Stadium.

More News

Week 1

Pea Ridge at Siloam Springs

Kickoff^7 p.m. Friday

Where^Panther Stadium

Broadcast^Siloamspr…

Records^Pea Ridge, 0-1

^Siloam Springs, 0-1