CABOT • JACKSONVILLE • NORTH PULASKI BEEBE • LONOKE

Transcription

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 27, 2014
CABOT • JACKSONVILLE • NORTH PULASKI
BEEBE • LONOKE • SYLVAN HILLS • CARLISLE
The Leader
A sports supplement to
2•
Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014
A SUPPLEMENT TO THE LEADER
CONTENTS
•3
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 27, 2014
CONFERENCE PREVIEWS
TEAM ANALYSES
CABOT PANTHERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
JACKSONVILLE RED DEVILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
NORTH PULASKI FALCONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
BEEBE BADGERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
LONOKE JACKRABBITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
SYLVAN HILLS BEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
CARLISLE BISON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5A-CENTRAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
7A/6A EAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2-4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6-2A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
FEATURES
CABOT’S JAKE FERGUSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
JACKSONVILLE’S JUSTIN ABBOT AND LAMONT GAUSE . . . . . . .11
RAZORBACKS
NORTH PULASKI’S MICHAEL BARNES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
KEVIN RICHARDSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
TEAM SCHEDULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23
BEEBE’S WADE JONES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
LONOKE’S CHANDLER ELMORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
SYLVAN HILLS’ CLARK THORNTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
CARLISLE’S NICK SCHAFER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Tool
Bed
Boxes
Covers
Bedliners
Bedrugs
Hitch
Covers
Floor
Liners
Hitches
Fender
Liners Exhaust
Bedmats Tips
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
CABOT • JACKSONVILLE • NORTH PULASKI
BEEBE • LONOKE • SYLVAN HILLS • CARLISLE
The Leader
A sports supplement to
On the cover: Sylyvan Hills’ Elijah Sowards,
Jacksonville’s J.D. Walker, North Pulaski’s
David Jackson, Beebe’s Austin HHuhn,
Cabot’s Tristan Bulice, Carlisle’s Nick
Schafer and Lonoke’s Dylvan Goforth.
SPORTS EDITOR
RAY BENTON
EDITOR
JONATHAN FELDMAN
COVER DESIGN
CHRISTY HENDRICKS
SPORTSWRITER
GRAHAM POWELL
GENERAL MANAGER
JOHN HENDERSON
PUBLICATIONS MANAGER
MATT ROBINSON
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
SUSAN SWIFT
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CABOT PANTHERS
4•
A Supplement to The Leader
The 2014 Cabot football team is going to find out how a team with 14 first-time starters, including five sophomores, will handle the physical play of class 7A football.
CABOT REBUILDS WITH YOUTH
T
he Cabot Panthers played in the state championship game for the fifth time in school
history last season, and
even though 15 starters from
that state runner-up team are
no longer with the program,
the Panthers are hoping to get
back to the 7A playoffs for the
third consecutive year.
“You just don’t want to lose
the last one,” said Cabot coach
Mike Malham of his team’s
12-1 finish last season. “It was
a good year. It was a year we
Jarrod Barnes
had a chance to compete. We
had a lot of seniors that played a lot as sophomores.
“That was a good group, and we knew when
they were seniors we’d have a
chance to compete for everything.”
Malham said there’s still
a lot of competition going
on for starting spots on his
traditional Dead-T offense,
but that talented sophomore
Jarrod Barnes (5-10, 160) has
emerged as the starting quarterback.
The athletic Barnes led
Kolton Eads
the Cabot South Junior High
team to a 5-5 finish a year ago, and Malham said he
could develop into one of the better quarterbacks
he’s coached in his 33 years at the school.
“We gave Barnes lots and lots of reps in the
spring,” Malham said. “He looked pretty good run-
ARTICLE BY
GRAHAM POWELL
•
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
DAVID SCOLLI
Mike Malham
Years at school: 34
Record at school:
268-116-4
2013 Record: 12-1
Conf. Finish: 1st
Off./Def. Returns: 3/4
ning the option. He can run and throw, so he’ll be
our starting quarterback as a sophomore.”
Malham said that junior Kolton Eads (5-10,
185) will start at fullback, taking the place of 2,000yard rusher Zach Launius, who graduated in May.
Eads ran for 202 yards and two touchdowns last
year as a sophomore.
Senior Jack Whisker (5-11, 185) could also see
time at fullback, but he’ll likely focus on defense,
according to the head
Panther. Malham said that
two seniors and a junior are
working at halfback.
Seniors Jalen Hemphill
(5-11, 160; 4.4 speed) and
Jason Schrunk (5-10, 150;
4.6 speed) and junior Jess
Reed (5-5, 150) are the three
Panthers that will likely see
the most playing time at halfback.
Holdyn Barnes
Returning at split end will
be senior two-way player Jake Ferguson (5-11, 180;
4.5 speed). Ferguson led the team with 20 catches
for 354 yards and six touchdowns in 2013, and Malham
says he expects those numbers to double with Barnes at
quarterback.
“I think with Barnes there
and Jake out there, I think
we’ll probably put it in the air
a little bit more – give him
more chances if they’re going
to try and cover him one-onone,” Malham said.
Jason Schrunk
“Hopefully the running
game’s working like it always has, but you always
got to have a plan B.”
Please see CABOT, Page 8
•5
Submitted photo
Cabot High School cheerleaders
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The Cabot High School cheerleaders include Madison Roetzel, front from left, Brooke Miller, Hadley DuVall, Mackenzie Powers, Lexi Weeks, Tori Weeks, Madison Barnhill, Taylor Romine, Ladasjua Evans, Jayden
Hart; middle from left, Brooklyn Jennings, Halie Eastham, Lauren Osburn, Miranda Walker, Kyla Soden, Brylee Quarnstrom, Andi Lamb, Hailey Schafer, Laura Davidson, Caytee Wright, Hailey Copeland, Hailee
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6•
ALWAYS SEIZING
OPPORTUNITIES
T
his year is just
being named the state’s
ARTICLE BY
another season for
Sophomore Defensive
the tradition rich G R A H A M P O W E L L Player of the Year after
Cabot High School footracking up 108 tackles and
•
ball program, but 2014 will
team-high seven interP H O T O G R A P H Y aceptions
be the last for one of the
– four of which
school’s most decorated B Y D A V I D S C O L L I came in the 2012 7A state
athletes to ever put on a
playoffs.
Panther uniform.
Ferguson wasn’t a projected starter at the
Senior two-way standout Jake Ferguson beginning of summer practices that year, but
enters his senior season already with all the because of an injury to a senior player, he got
accolades and individual achievements that the nod to start, and he hasn’t been off the
one could ask or hope for in a high school field for the Panthers since.
football career, but despite all of the success
“When I was a sophomore I never thought
he’s had since his 10th-grade year, his drive I’d get the chance to start,” said Ferguson. “I
to play the game and excel at it has only got- just took advantage of my opportunities. I
ten stronger.
did better than I thought I would and they
Once he became part of the high-school kept me out there, and then I got lucky with
team in 2012, Ferguson wasted little time the Defensive Player of the Year, and all that
making a name for himself.
stuff, and I just kept working hard.”
In his first season playing for longtime
Cabot coach Mike Malham in the Panther
Please see SEIZING, Page 28
secondary, Ferguson earned the honor of
Enrolling Now For Fall Classes!
Classes Begin
September 2nd
Ages 3-Adult
36 Year
Panther Supporter
Wh e r e D a n c e H a s C l a ss
They say he’s not big enough to go Division I, but he plays big enough to win back-to-back Defensive
Player of the Year Awards. This year Jake Ferguson shoots for a state-record third DPOTY recognition.
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8•
t
Cabot
Continued from Page 4
Also working at split end is junior Holdyn
Barnes (5-8, 140). Holdyn, the older brother
of Jarrod, will see most of his playing time at
corner, though. Starting at tight end will be
senior Brett Frazier (6-3, 225), who saw some
time on the field last year when the Panthers
went to a two tight end set.
Junior Hunter Wood (5-6, 205) had been
working at center, but he’s made the switch
to tight end for when the Panthers go to their
two tight sets. Malham said others have been
working at the position, but that
those two (Frazier and Wood) will
be the ones seeing the most playing
time.
The Panthers have just two
returning starters on the offensive
line. Senior Curtis Crowder (5-9,
280) returns at left tackle, and
senior Ranson Evans (5-10, 240)
and juniors Peyton Glisson (6-1,
310) and Jessie George (6-0, 295)
are battling for the right tackle spot.
Justin
At guard, senior Wyatt Talik
(5-8, 190) returns to the left side of the O-line.
Junior Tony Palacios (5-11, 240) had a good
spring, according to Malham, and is expected
to start at the other guard spot. Senior Luke
Ferguson (5-8, 205) could also be in the rotation at guard.
Senior Justin Hagar (5-9, 190) is projected
to start at center. He and Wood were battling for the position in spring practice, but
Malham said he wants to work Wood at tight
end and on the defensive line.
Also working at center is senior Austin
Labudde (5-7, 170) and junior Kam Eide
(5-5, 165).
The defensive secondary is Cabot’s biggest
team strength. Anchoring the secondary is
Jake Ferguson, a two-time All-State selection at free safety and the state’s reigning
Defensive Player of the Year.
He also earned the Sophomore Defensive
Player of the Year award in his first highschool season, and Malham expects big
things out of him his senior year.
“He’s a natural football player,” Malham
said of Ferguson. “It’s what he was born to
be. He’s had great games against teams like
North Little Rock, Conway, and he’s had 12
interceptions over his two years so far, and
right at 200 tackles.”
Also returning to the Panthers’ secondary
are senior corner Logan Melder (5-11, 160)
and Holdyn Barnes. Sophomore Dylan Smith
(5-10, 155) is the projected starter at strong
safety.
“He’s pretty aggressive for a sophomore
and he runs good,” Malham said of Smith.
Whisker will start at linebacker. Junior
Jacob Bailey (6-1, 190) and sophomores
Easton Seidl (6-0, 210) and Connor Daigle
(5-10, 154) are working to fill the
other open linebacker spot.
Sophomore Collin Thompson
(5-10, 190) is projected to start at
strong side defensive end. Malham
said Thompson’s a smart kid that’s
strong for a sophomore.
Another sophomore is projected
to start at the other defensive end
spot. Jack Teague (6-2, 200) is
leading the competition for that
position. Eads and junior Austin
Hagar
Nguyen (6-1, 200) are also getting work at end, but Malham said he wants
Nguyen to get more aggressive.
Tough senior Tristan Bulice (5-11, 260) is
back at nose guard in Malham’s 5-2 formation. Malham said he’s one of the best nose
guards in the state, and that if he were a little
taller he’d be a Division I prospect.
Malham said he’s still looking for players
to take over the defensive tackle spots, but
said juniors Austin Jones (5-8, 210), Lino
Garcia (6-0, 240), Robbie Colton (6-1, 275),
Wood and senior Brian Staley (5-9, 200) are
getting work there.
On special teams, Christian Underwood
is expected to take over kicking duties, and
Bulice will likely punt. Ferguson returns as
the team’s punt returner, and he and Jarrod
Barnes will likely be returning kickoffs this
season as well.
The Panthers began fall practice with 86
players on their roster and they’ll open the
2014 regular season on the road next Friday
in a nonconference game at Conway.
Go Panthers!
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Submitted photo
Cabot High School dance team
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JACKSONVILLE RED DEVILS
10 • Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014
The Jacksonville football team is embarking on a new era with first-year coach and Jacksonville native Barry Hickingbotham trying to re-establish the Red Devils’ tradition of success.
BRINGING JACKSONVILLE BACK
N
ew coaches often take over programs and
talk about establishing a new atmosphere,
or new attitude and new work ethic. Firstyear Jacksonville coach
Barry Hickingbotham is doing
the opposite.
A Jacksonville native who
played during one of JHS’s
most successful eras in the 80s,
is not trying to establish something new, he’s trying to reestablish something old.
His state goal from day
one has been to bring back
the same attitude, work ethic, Laderrious Perry
commitment and community
involvement that took the Red Devils to such heights
all those years ago.
“We want to get it back to where this team and the
people in this town are excited about Jacksonville
football again and want to be a part of all the positive
things going on around here,”
said Hickingbotham.
“We want Friday nights in
the fall to be a city-wide event
and we want people to be
proud of the young men that
are on the field.”
Even with only nine days
until the season opener, only a
few things are set in stone with
Jacksonville’s starting lineup
for the 2014 football team.
Avery Wells
The defensive unit will be
anchored by a senior who has barely practiced in
ARTICLE BY
RAY BENTON
•
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
DAVID SCOLLI
BARRY HICKINGBOTHAM
Years at school: 1st
Record at school: 0-0
2013 Record: 4-6
Conf. Finish: 5th
Justin Abbott, and the offense will center on returning 1,000-yard back Lamont Gause.
Everything else, according to first-year coach
Barry Hickingbotham, is up in the air.
“We’re going to play more people than anybody
in the conference,” said Hickingbotham. “I can just
about guarantee you that. If someone is considered
number one, and we see him loafing, he’s number
two. We’re not that good to leave someone out there
who’s loafing. We have two key guys and no other
superstars. So we’re going to go
with the ones that are playing
hardest and giving the most
effort. We have some depth,
but our depth is a bunch of
Average Joes.”
The offensive line will be
anchored by its lone returning
starter in center Terry Brown,
who is 5-foot-11, 240 pounds.
Next to him on the right will be
sophomore Kendrick Rhynes
Zac Watkins
or Tim Hammond. Rhynes
5-10, 230, and Hammond, a junior, is 6-feet, 250.
On the left side of the ball will be junior guard
Darian Phillips, who is 6-3, 332
as the starter. Sophomore Tyler
Huntley will back up Phillips at
5-7, 242.
Jacksonville has good size
at the tackle positions, with
returning starter Keith Pervall
on the right side. The junior is
5-11, 305 and will be backed
up on the offensive side by 6-2,
280-pound senior J.D. Walker.
At left tackle is the team’s most
Keith Pervall
sought-after recruit so far
in senior Anthony Fields. Fields is 6-3, 278, has
Hickingbotham receiving lots of inquiries. Fields’
Please see BACK, Page 12
• 11
THE DUO THAT MAKES THE DEVILS GO
The Jacksonville Red
a team with an offense that
ARTICLE BY
Devils have gone through
struggled all season to find
a lot of change since their
its identity. He believes
RAY BENTON
season ended in 2013.
he’ll get more than that
•
The head coach resigned
this year, and has a perbefore spring practice
P H O T O G R A P H Y sonal goal of way more
and a new coach was not
than that.
announced until the last B Y D A V I D S C O L L I
“I want to rush for
week of school. But there
2,000 yards,” Gause said.
are two things that will stay the same for the “I don’t think 1,050 is enough to get us where
Red Devil football team. A pair of three-year we want to be. I think we have more blockers
starters, one on offense and one on defense, this year to open some holes up and show
can provide some stability for the squad as what I can do, and open other things up for
it embarks upon its first season in a long the offense.”
while in which it is not among the favorites
Abbott has suffered a broken ankle playto secure a playoff spot from its conference.
ing soccer in the spring and has been held out
Those two are linebacker Justin Abbott of preseason activities when live contact was
and tailback Lamont Gause, and they don’t involved. But he’s gone through all the skelbuy the lower-than-usual predictions for Red eton drills and conditioning and is emerging
Devil football this season.
as a team leader. First-year head coach Barry
“We’re going to show people this year,” Hickingbotham was looking for both players
said Abbott, a 5-foot-10, 196-pound force to step up at the beginning of preseason practhat quarterbacks the defense. “Last year was tice. After the first week, he started seeing
really disappointing, but this team is different some improvement.
and we’re going to turn it around.”
“I think we’re seeing a little more from both
Gause, 5-7, 163, agrees, and cites a key of them as far as getting in there with their
reason why.
teammates and encouraging them and help“This team is a lot more together and it’s ing with accountability,” said Hickingbotham
a lot more intense in practice,” said Gause,
Please see DUO, Page 13
who ran for 1,050 tough yards last season on
Jacksonville running back Lamont Gause, left, and linebacker Justin Abbott anchor the 2014 Red Devils.
WE WISH ALL THE TEAMS A
GREAT & SAFE SEASON!
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t
Back
backup is junior Bradley Brown, who is 6-4,
330.
Also playing at center will be 5-6, 193pound senior Leonard Lewis, who played
almost the entire Red-White game.
“We’ve got about eight or 10 (linemen)
that we feel just as comfortable putting out
there as anybody else,” Hickingbotham said.
Gause busted a couple of big runs in the
team’s Red-White scrimmage, but he wasn’t
the only one. Senior Treasean Lambert, who
is also a sprinter for the track team, broke a
50-yarder for a touchdown. Malcolm Crudup,
5-10, 205, rumbled for several nice gains and
has proven hard to bring down.
There was also a pair of sophomores that
showed some ability. Jakyree Wynne and
Roman Little will also get some carries this
season.
“We’re going to give it to all of them,” said
running backs coach Jerry Wilson.
The area the team is deepest is at receiver.
Any of the previously mentioned back could
line up wide and be a target, but there are
several others.
Receivers coach Adam Thrash says two
players that haven’t ever played varsity football are emerging as two of the better ones,
but one has suffered an injury.
“Megatron (Laderrious Perry) was No. 1
before he got hurt,” said Thrash. “He’s out for
the opener. And Wesley Williams is playing
well.”
Williams, 5-5, 132, had a great camp at
Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge
in late July, and has continued to play well.
Senior Stevie Eskridge led the team in receptions in the Red-White game. Senior J.T.
Thomas brings the most size to the position
at 6-2. Senior Maurice Young and sophomore
Jonathan Hall will also catch passes this season, as could senior Keilen Richardson, who
will start on defense. Two seniors, Courtland
McDonald and Zac Watkins, could line up at
tight end or split end.
The person responsible for getting the ball
to all those receivers hasn’t been determined,
but three candidates are still battling for the
duty.
Senior Caleb Price, junior Brandon
Hickingbotham and sophomore Rowdy
Weathers have all split time about equally
in practice, and Barry Hickingbotham says
none have really begun to separate from the
pack.
“They’re still all pretty even,” coach
Hickingbotham said. “One of them will look
really good one day, but then they’ll have a
bad day and someone else will look like the
guy. They all three do pretty well most of the
time, but none of them are quite as consistent
as you’d like to see them yet. We might play
all three of them in the first game. It’s really
just a lack of experience. None of them have
any experience being the guy to run a varsity
football team.”
On the other side of the ball, there are a
few specialists, but there will also be many of
Jonathan Hall, 9, and a host of defenders bring down Malcolm Crudup during the Red-White game.
the same names as on the offensive side.
A real team strength this season should be
defensive tackle, where the Red Devils have
several players with a good combination of
size, strength and speed. Seniors J.D. Walker
6-0, 280, and Fields, will be joined by juniors
Pervall and Phillips rotating in and out.
Defensive coordinator Brian McDermott
is going for speed more so than size on the
ends, with junior Seth Burroughs, 6-3, 192,
starting on one side. Junior Ricky Hatton,
6-2, 170, and McDonald, 5-8, 188, could start
on the other side, and Rhynes will provide
some bulk at the position when needed.
Abbott, 5-10, 196, will be calling the signals at inside linebacker. Standing next to
him most of the time will likely be Crudup,
but juniors Nate Robbins, 5-10, 170, and
Jaylon Tucker, 6-0, 167, could also play the
position. So could McDonald, who spent
most of preseason at linebacker before being
moved to end last week.
Richardson will start at one corner and 6-1
junior Dameion Smith will start at the other.
Eskridge, Thomas, Gause and Perry could all
see time at the position as well.
Junior Avery Wells has locked
up one of the safety positions.
“That’s my guy right there,” said secondary
coach Larry Burrows. “He’s a worker and he’s
a great kid, too. He’s the kind that makes you
like coaching.”
Watkins will start at the other safety, but
Hall and Gause could also see time at that
position as well.
A deep stable of backs and receivers also
makes for a deep stable of kick and punt
returners. Gause will be the primary kick
returner along with Crudup, Lambert and
McDonald. Hall and McDonald will handle
punt returns.
John Hermann returns as the team’s place
kicker and punter, and has improved his distance since last season. He was just short but
right down the middle on a 52-yard attempt
during the Red-White game.
“I think he’s going to be good from 40,”
Hickingbotham said.
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in early August. “Those are the two
guys we need it from the most,
and I hope they continue it and get
stronger and better at it.”
A couple of weeks later, the head
Red Devil was pleased with the
progression in leadership.
“If you would’ve watched us
practice this week, you would’ve
seen them getting in there and
challenging others and taking more
and more of a leadership role,”
Hickingbotham said.
With each player in the position
on each side of the ball that invites
the most physical and violent contact, Abbott and Gause have had
some major collisions with each
other during Jacksonville’s practices. They’ve even gone after each
other on occasion, after particularly
physical collisions. Both say there’s
nothing more to that than competitiveness.
“That’s just football,” Abbott
said. “We’re teammates but we
compete hard. Stuff like that
doesn’t go any further than the
practice field.”
With the limited action due to
injury, there’s been fewer oppor-
tunities for such skirmishes for
Abbott this year, but he did play a
handful of snaps at the Red-White
game and Hickingbotham believes
he’s ready to go.
“He’s
playing
now,”
Hickingbotham said. “We held him
out for quite a while because he was
limping on it and it was bothering.
We brought him in slowly, and
now it looks like he’s not worrying
about it. He’s just going out there
and playing. It’s not on his mind
anymore so we’re looking for big
things from him.
“He leads us and we’re going to
lean on him. He’s the cow, the bell
cow. We lose him we lose a ton.”
It’s a similar scenario with
Gause on the offensive side.
Hickingbotham has said all along
that he first wants to establish a
strong running game, and he
knows he has one of the state’s
most dynamic backs to build it on.
“When you have a guy like him
you have to find ways to get him
the ball,” Hickingbotham said of
Gause. “I need him to hone in the
focus a little more at times but
he’s gotten a lot better at that here
recently, too. He can get by you,
get around you and he can leave
you behind when he does. That’s a
pretty good combination to have in
that backfield.”
Gause and Abbott are the Jacksonville football team’s only players to have started every game the last two seasons.
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• 13
NORTH PULASKI FALCONS
The North Pulaski Falcons have a small roster but a large number of seniors who believe they can begin to exhibit the fruits of a stable program after several years of a coaching carousel.
FALCONS FULL OF SENIORS
T
he distant future may not look very bright at
North Pulaski, but fourth-year head football
coach Teodis Ingram is excited about the
2014 Falcons. And he has reason to be.
There are only 31 players on the team this year, and
there may not be an NPHS in two or three years. But
more than half of the players on the 2014 squad are
seniors, and all those seniors will be getting the bulk
of the playing time this season.
“These guys were all ninth-graders when I got
here, so it’s the first group to come up entirely in my
system,” said Ingram. “And you can really tell a difference in the way they approach this game.”
Ingram is the consummate optimist and keeps at
his high-energy approach on the practice field, but
it hasn’t resulted in any more wins than usual for
the program that has never made the playoffs in its
37-year history. Since the turn of the century, the team
has never won more than two games in a season, and
that only twice. The head Falcon understands why
fans and other onlookers might be skeptical about this
team being any different, but he’s not worried about
the outlook of fans and onlookers.
“All I’m concerned about is what the guys on the
inside of these walls expect,” Ingram said from his
field house office. “People on the outside of these walls
can say or think what they want, but frankly they’re
not my concern.”
Ingram believes this team has the leadership qualities to be a better team than in his previous three
years.
“We expect to be better because of this group of
ARTICLE BY
RAY BENTON
•
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY DAVID SCOLLI
Teodis Ingram
Years at school: 4
Conf. Finish: 8th
Record at school: 1-29 Off./Def. Returns: 5/8
2012 Record: 0-10
seniors,” Ingram said. “We may not be as talented
in some spots, but this group of guys is a lot more
dedicated and showing a lot more commitment than
that group last year. And I’ll tell you something else,
this group will be more talented in some spots than
last year’s, too.”
Ingram went back to his days at Crossett to illustrate his point about leadership.
“The most talented team I ever had at Crossett
started out 5-0, and finished
7-4,” Ingram said. “What I didn’t
realize at the time was that all
the leadership on that team was
in the junior class. The next year,
when we weren’t nearly as talented, we went 10-0 and finished
13-1. I’m not saying we’re going
to go 10-0. I’m just saying don’t
look at the guys we lost and automatically write us off.”
With only 33 players on a 5A
Kalise Vines
team, depth will be a big issue for
the Falcons. Several players will have to play offense
and defense, but Ingram doesn’t plan on having anyone play both ways full time.
The entire starting defense will be seniors, and will
be anchored by three-year starter David Jackson at
tackle. Jackson is 5-feet, 10-inches, 280 pounds with
good quickness for his size. Ingram expects him to be
a force this year.
“He’s been starting for us but I’m so
pleased with David because he’s worked so
hard and gotten even better,” Ingram said.
Please see FALCONS, Page 26
• 15
KNOWS HOW TO DEAL WITH ADVERSITY
North Pulaski senior quarterback Michael Barnes brings life to the football field, instead of vice versa.
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ing him through a very
Everyone experiencARTICLE BY
difficult time and such
es tragedy in life, but not
a fragile age.
everyone experiences
RAY BENTON
“My dad has been
it before high school.
•
a big influence on me
Sadly, that’s not the case
for North Pulaski senior P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y just because of how he
stayed strong through
Michael Carl Barnes II,
DAVID SCOLLI
it all,” Barnes said. “I
who lost his mother in
needed that at the time
2010 as he was entering
his first year of high school. It’s often said and he taught me how to do that.”
On the field, Barnes is part of the first
that sports is an important teacher for young
people because it’s a great metaphor for life. group of North Pulaski seniors to have played
That’s truer for Barnes than it is for most his entire high school career under one head
people, and he’s a big believer in that senti- coach. When he surveys the landscape of NP
ment, though he probably lives it backwards. football, he sees a much better program than
“I really believe in that because football when he arrived here, despite the fact that the
can be influential,” said Barnes. “It’s a great team has won only one game the last three
place to get away and focus on something seasons.
He gives some of that credit to head coach
else, and you can learn to deal with adverTeodis Ingram, and some to his classmates,
sity.”
which make up more than half the Falcons’
There’s probably no one more equipped roster this season.
to lead the historically hapless Falcons than
“Our senior class is a lot more intense and
Barnes, who brings a level of maturity and a lot more committed than the last couple
background of dealing with extremely dif- have been,” Barnes said. “We want to practice
ficult situations to the quarterback position.
and we want to work out and we want to hit
Barnes is the son of Michael Carl Barnes
Sr. of Jacksonville, who the quarterback says
Please see ADVERSITY, Page 26
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BEEBE BADGERS
The Beebe Badgers have more speed than any team seventh-year coach John Shannon has had, and has a strong first string of linemen. The only thing lacking is a bit more depth.
SPEEDY TEAM AT RIGHT TIME
A
s the Beebe Badgers get ready to join the
newly re-organized
5A Central, they do so
with a great optimism. They
understand that they won’t be
donned league favorites their
first year in a conference outside the East or Southeast, but
they also believe the pieces are
in place to compete for that
top spot.
Beebe seventh-year coach
John Shannon puts it plainly.
Aaron Nunez
“This is probably the most
talented team we’ve had since my second year here,”
said Shannon.
That group finished second to Batesville in the 5A
East, and Batesville has been
one of the most consistently
successful team in class 5A in
the last 10 years.
The main thing that sets this
team apart from Beebe teams
of the past is an uncommon
amount of speed, at least for
Beebe. And it’s a good year for
the Badgers to have a lot of
speed, too. The new conference
is widely considered a speed Connor Patrom
conference, while the better
teams in the East played power football.
The 2014 Badgers are the fastest team since
ARTICLE BY
RAY BENTON
•
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
DAVID SCOLLI
John Shannon
Years at school: 7
Record at school:
41-37
2013 Record: 5-6
Conf. Finish: 4th
2002, when it lost a fourth-quarter lead to Alma in
the quarterfinals in the school’s first year in class 5A.
Shannon wasn’t here in 2002 and wouldn’t say
this team is as fleet of foot as that one, but is excited
about the group he’s going to put on the field
this season. The head Badger
believes he has quality players
at every position, but he is worried about depth.
“Staying healthy will be a
big key for us this year, especially on the lines,” Shannon
said. “I think this is the most
skill people we’ve ever had, but
injuries on the line could hurt
us.”
Beebe has nine starters
Tripp Smith
returning on offense and six on
defense. Sylvan Hills also has nine back on a potent
offense, but only two returning
on defense.
“I think we’ve got more back
than anybody in the conference,” Shannon said. “So we’ve
got as much or more returning experience as anybody. You
have to feel pretty good about
that.”
Among those returning
starters on offense is one of
only three 2,000-yard backs in
Ty Walburn
the state, junior fullback Tripp
Smith. He has gained about 15 pounds since finishPlease see SPEEDY, Page 33
• 17
FLIPPING
THE SWITCH
N
ot every
more season.
ARTICLE BY
leader
A converRAY BENTON
sation
with
on
a
•
head
coach
football
team has been
P H O T O G R A P H Y John Shannon
a
an obvious one B Y D A V I D S C O L L I flipped
switch
in
since seventh
grade. Some are. Some grow Jones’ mind, and he’s been,
into the role and some sud- not just a different player, but
denly become so overnight.
also a different person ever
Beebe senior guard Wade since.
Jones is the latter of those
“I was really worried
three. Jones will be a three- about him and really had my
year starter on the offen- doubts about him being with
sive line this season for the us much longer at one time,”
Badgers, and will likely play a said Shannon. “He let his
lot on defense this season as grades get really bad, too low
well. He is one of the team’s to be eligible. I just had a talk
clear leaders this season, but with him and told him where
wasn’t always on that path.
he was at. And it’s like a light
In fact, Jones was on the
brink of losing his eligibilPlease see SWITCH, Page 34
ity altogether after his sopho-
Beebe’s Wade Jones made an overnight change in attitude, approach and work ethic once he got some bad news from his coach.
LONOKE JACKRABBITS
The Lonoke Jackrabbit football team has only 40 players on the team this year, but still hopes to improve upon a 9-3 season and a second-place conference finish from last year.
NUMBERS LOW, GOALS ARE NOT
A
fter a busy summer of team camps and 7-on-7
meets, the Lonoke Jackrabbits are ready to
kick off the 2014 football season.
The Rabbits had one of their better seasons in
2013, finishing with a 9-3 record and advancing to
the second round of the class
4A state playoffs.
Several key players, like AllState wideout Blake Mack, who
will play for Arkansas State this
fall, All-Conference quarterback Kody Smith, and a trio of
All-Conference linemen graduated in May. But the Rabbits
do have some key returnees, as
well as some new starters that
are looking to impress.
Chance Bronson
About 40 players took part
in fall camp, and starting at quarterback for Lonoke
this season will be dual threat junior SaVonte
Rountree, who backed up Smith last season and
quarterbacked the junior high
team to a perfect 10-0 record
two years ago.
“We’ve been real pleased
with him throwing,” said
Lonoke head coach Doug Bost
of his junior quarterback, who
also plays baseball. “He’s about
6-1, probably weighs around
180, 185, and he’s got a rocket arm. He can put the ball
through you he throws it so
Josh Coleman
hard.
“But he’s gotten better with his touch, his accuracy, with 7-on-7s and team camps this summer.
When we timed him this summer he ran a 4.8
ARTICLE BY
GRAHAM POWELL
•
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
DAVID SCOLLI
Doug Bost
Years at school: 5
Record at school:
35-24
2013 Record: 9-3
Conf. Finish: 2nd
(40) and we were real pleased with that.”
Lonoke runs the Power Spread offense, which
likes to mix the run game with the passing game
in that formation, and Bost said Rountree gives his
team more options in the passing game than it’s had
in recent years, but added that he can run the ball
hard when called upon to do so.
Bost said that he and his staff also has a hand-
ful of packages for sophomore Logan Dozier (5-11,
180), who quarterbacked the junior Jackrabbits to a
conference championship last fall.
The Rabbits won’t have a go-to guy like Mack at
receiver this year, but Bost says
he’s had several contribute at
the position. Justin Meadows
(5-11, 175) started the last six
games at receiver in 2013, and
is expected to contribute heavily to the passing game this
season.
“He ran the fastest 40 time,”
Bost said of Meadows. “We had
him at a 4.5. We’ll definitely get
him the ball.”
Devan Mosley
Jawan Bryant (5-10, 170)
played some at receiver last year and should make
significant contributions to the passing game in his
senior season, and Bost said Dozier will see a lot of
playing time at wideout as well.
“He made plays every
Thursday night last year,” Bost
said of Dozier. “So we’re excited
about him.”
Josh Coleman (5-10, 190;
4.6 speed) is the most noticeable returning starter on
offense for Lonoke. The junior
tailback had a stellar sophomore campaign – rushing for
more than 1,400 yards and 18 Jacob Vandiver
touchdowns in 2013.
“He reminds me of a guy I had my first year in
’09, Brandon Smith,” Bost said of Coleman, “just a
Please see GOALS, Page 21
• 19
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Lonoke’s Chandler Elmore went from 157 pounds to 185 since the end of last year.
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onoke senior Chandler
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and an ACT score of 30, but he’s a
heck of a football player that possesses a tireless desire to improve
every facet of his game.
The three-year starter for the
Jackrabbits has always excelled in
the classroom, and he’s used that
same work ethic to go along with
his natural ability to excel on the
football field as well.
Elmore became a starter in his
first season with the Jackrabbits as
a sophomore, playing corner, but
going into the offseason after that
six-win season in 2012, he went to
head coach Doug Bost and told him
ARTICLE BY
GRAHAM POWELL
•
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY DAVID SCOLLI
he wanted to make the transition to
linebacker.
However, in order to achieve
that goal, he knew he needed to
show his head coach how committed and determined he was going to
be in meeting that goal.
“In the offseason I weighed
about 157, 160 pounds,” said
Elmore, “and we had three weeks
of Christmas break. I hit the gym
for three hours, five days a week
that whole three weeks, and I got
up to about 178. I put on about
15-to-18 pounds in about a threeweek period.
“After that I just kept working
out and kept staying in the weight
room, and over the course of the
offseason I just kept putting weight
on and I got up to about 185 pounds
when it was all said and done.
“Coach Bost knew then, especially after he saw the hard work I
put in over Christmas break that
I was going to play linebacker for
him. So that whole offseason I was
prepping, trying to get in that linebacker mentality.”
Bost was highly impressed by
Elmore’s work ethic then, and was
very straightforward when describing what Elmore means to the team
now.
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2014 Lady Jackrabbit Cheerleaders
The 2014 Lonoke High School varsity cheer team includes captain Sophia Vincent, front from left, cocaptain Amanda Sexton; middle from left, Destanie Reed, Madison McFadden, Baylee Pack, Constance
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Lonoke junior Josh Coleman, 7, is the team’s workhorse this year, according to coach Doug Bost.
t
Goals
big ole rascal, just a pure tailback. He’s going
to run that ball and give you effort every
Friday night. We lean on him. He’s our workhorse back there.”
Bost said that senior Devan Mosley (5-9,
220) will also contribute in the backfield, and
fellow senior Chandler Elmore (5-10, 195)
will start at fullback.
The loss of three All-Conference linemen
from a year ago won’t be easy for Lonoke to
overcome, but the Rabbits have two returning starters up front.
Two-way player Jacob Vandiver, the biggest kid on the team at 6-2, 335, returns
to anchor the right tackle spot, and fellow
senior Chance Bronson (6-0, 230), who started every game for Lonoke in 2013, returns at
center.
At the left tackle spot will be Preston
Jacks (5-10, 220), who played various spots
on the line last season and started three
games. Fellow senior Dylan Goforth (5-10,
240) played fullback all of last year, but Bost
said he’ll take over one of the guard spots this
season.
Also starting at guard will be junior Ethan
Ellis (5-10, 200), the only non-senior starter
up front, who earned the starting role with a
solid offseason.
Anchoring the defensive line will be
Goforth, who earned All-State honors at end
last season, and Bost said he’s the leader up
front.
“He made All-State last year at defensive
end,” Bost said of Goforth. “He’s been recognized as a Super Sonic preseason pick at
that spot. So he’s definitely our leader on the
defensive line.”
Bost said that Mosley will start at nose
guard this season, because of his speed and
ability to blow by opposing linemen after the
snap, and that junior Lucas McKenzie (6-1,
205) is expected to start at the other end spot.
“Devan Mosley has been down there all
summer,” Bost said. “He’s a real fast kid
and he’s just blowing by those guys, so we’re
going to go with him. And Lucas McKenzie is
a big, tall, long-armed kid. He’s stepped up
this summer and looked good at the other
defensive end.”
Vandiver returns for his third season at
defensive tackle in Bost’s 4-3 scheme, where
he earned All-Conference honors as a 10thgrader. Bost said Vandiver could emerge as a
college prospect.
Starting at the Sam (strong side) outside
linebacker spot is Elmore, a three-year starter
on defense.
Bost said that Coleman could see time at
outside linebacker as well this season, and
junior linebacker Ethan Holland (5-10, 180),
who led the team in tackles a year ago with
87, will return as Bost’s middle linebacker.
“Ethan Holland, we didn’t even start him
till Week 5, and he ended up being our leading tackler,” Bost said. “Chandler was one
tackle behind him and he missed three full
games. So they were our two leading tacklers
after missing several games.”
Lance Dugger (5-10, 170), another junior,
will see plenty of time at outside linebacker,
switching in and out with Coleman. Bost says
his linebackers are the biggest strength of the
team’s defense, and the experience there has
a lot to do with that.
“We feel like we’ve got some good experience at linebacker,” the coach says.
Senior Caleb Bailey (5-8, 160) returns
at corner after improving his footwork and
quickness in the offseason, and senior Braylin
Bryant (5-7, 150) and juniors Brayden Hardy
(5-8, 160) and Hayden Holman (5-11, 170)
compete at corner.
Trey Bevis (5-10, 170) returns for his third
season at safety. The senior transferred from
Nettleton before his sophomore season and
has led Lonoke with six interceptions over the
last two seasons.
Meadows impressed the coaches this
summer at free safety and junior Deondray
Joyner (5-7, 150) provides depth in the secondary. Sophomore Zach Murray (5-11, 225),
who Bost said was dominant in junior high
last season, will see playing time on both the
offensive and defensive lines.
The one spot that’s still a question mark
for Lonoke is at kicker. The Jackrabbits lost
a solid one to graduation in Jose Garcia, who
was a gimme on extra points and excelled at
field goals.
Vandiver and Bevis, among others,
Football Season Kickoff
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• 21
The 2014 Lonoke coaching staff includes Brandon Barbaree, from left, Bret Watson, head coach Doug
Bost, Drake Widener and Taggart Moore.
worked at the position throughout fall prac- scrimmage game at Maumelle on Monday,
tice, but Bost said that position is still up for and will open the 2014 season at home next
grabs.
Friday against Star City in nonconference
The Jackrabbits played their annual action.
2014 FOOTBAL
CABOT PANTHERS
Sept. 5 at Conway
Sept. 12 vs. LR Catholic
Sept. 19 at LR Fair
Sept. 26 vs. North LR
Oct. 3 at Marion
CARLISLE BISON
BEEBE BADGERS
Sept. 5 at Greenbrier
Sept. 12 vs. Lonoke
Sept. 19 at Vilonia
Sept. 26 at LR McClellan
Oct. 3 vs. Jacksonville
Oct. 10 vs. Pulaski Academy
Oct. 17 at Mills
Oct. 24 vs. LR Fair
Oct. 31 at Sylvan Hills
Nov. 6 vs. North Pulaski (Thurs.)
Sept. 5 vs. England
Sept. 12 vs. DeWitt
Sept. 19 at Augusta
Sept. 26 at Des Arc
Oct. 3 vs. Marvell
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Oct. 10 at Hazen
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LL SCHEDULES
JACKSONVILLE RED DEVILS
Sept. 5 vs. Maumelle
Sept. 12 at Benton
Sept. 19 at LR Christian
Sept. 26 vs. LR Fair
Oct. 3 at Beebe
Oct. 10 vs. Sylvan Hills
Oct. 17 at Pulaski Academy
Oct. 24 vs. North Pulaski
Oct. 31 vs. Mills
Nov. 6 at LR McClellan (Thurs.)
LONOKE JACKRABBITS
Sept. 5 vs. Star City
Sept. 12 at Beebe
Sept. 19 at LR McClellan
Sept. 26 vs. Heber Springs
Oct. 3 at Newport
Oct. 10 vs. Southside Batesville
Oct. 17 vs. West Helena
Oct. 24 at CAC
Oct. 31 at Stuttgart
Nov. 7 vs. Riverview
NORTH PULASKI FALCONS
Sept. 5 at LR Hall
Sept. 12 vs. Maumelle
Sept. 19 vs. Pulaski Robinson
Sept. 26 vs. Pulaski Academy
Oct. 3 at Mills
Oct. 10 vs. LR Fair
Oct. 17 at Sylvan Hills
Oct. 24 at Jacksonville
Oct. 31 vs. LR McClellan
Nov. 6 at Beebe (Thurs.)
SYLVAN HILLS BEARS
Sept. 5 at Vilonia
Sept. 12 at HS Lakeside
Sept. 19 vs. Newport
Sept. 26 vs Mills
Oct. 3 at LR Fair
Paid political ad
Oct. 10 at Jacksonville
Oct. 17 vs. North Pulaski
Oct. 24 at LR McClellan
Oct. 31 vs. Beebe
Nov. 7 at Pulaski Academy
• 23
SYLVAN HILLS BEARS
The Sylvan Hills football team has a large and talented crop of seniors that believes it can realize the potential many felt it had since dominating conference in ninth grade.
STRIVING FOR CENTRAL TITLE
S
ince the creation of the 5A-Central
Conference three years ago, Pulaski
Academy has had a
stranglehold on the top
spot in the league. In fact, only
one team has been able to compete on a consistent basis with
the football powerhouse from
west Little Rock. That team has
been Sylvan Hills, and though
the Bears haven’t pulled out a
win over the Bruins yet, they
have been close the last two
years.
Haden Hawkins
This year the Bears have
nine returning starters on offense and they believe
it could be the year to knock PA off its perch, but
there’s another wrinkle.
“We add Beebe this year, too, and it sounds like
they’re going to be really good,” said Sylvan Hills
coach Jim Withrow. “You’d like for it to be a twoteam race, but I don’t think that’s going to be the
case.”
Withrow also expressed concern about a couple
of teams who are usually considered easy wins.
“You know I’ll be honest. Fair and McClellan
both got new coaches this year that have been
ARTICLE AND
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
RAY BENTON
Jim Withrow
Years at school: 7
Record at school:
45-32
2013 Record: 8-4
Conf. Finish: 2nd
headcoaches before,” Withrow said. “Those schools
always have players that are dangerous. If you get
the right guy at a place like that who can get them
all playing together and buying into a system, they
could sneak up on you.”
Still, Withrow believes his squad to be one of the
league’s front-runners, and thinks that beating PA
and Beebe would give his team
the major upper hand.
“We should be the top
three,” Withrow said. “It’s
always hard to say. Nobody in
this league is loaded down with
90 players on the roster, so
an injury here and there could
hurt anybody, but talent wise I
think we have as good a group
as anybody with our starters.”
Trajan Doss
The Bears aren’t loaded with
depth, but most teams in class 5A aren’t either. The
strategy in the offseason was to load up the offense
and put together a defense with what was left over.
Things have come together a little better than that
since then.
“I think we’re going to end up with some athletes
on the defensive side of the ball,” Withrow said.
“Deangelo Bell and Romello Jones are two guys that
have been phenomenal for us on defense so far. I
Please see BEARS, Page 27
• 25
BLEEDING
BEAR BLUE
ARTICLE AND
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
RAY BENTON
W
hile most publications and fans have
high expectations for the Sylvan Hills
football team this year, most of that is
based on the arms-length list of talented skill position players. One of the Bears’ best-kept
secrets is their talented, big and experienced offensive line. That line is also strong, and is centered
around one of the strongest players in the state in
senior center Clark Thornton.
Thornton is a three-year starter who bleeds
Bear Blue. He’s also gone from an averaged-sized
center with average strength, to a 6-foot, 290pound bully on the line, who has enhanced his
blocking acumen by taking up wrestling and competitive weight lifting.
He has excelled greatly at the latter, winning four
weight-lifting contests over the summer. One each
at Henderson State, Arkansas Tech University,
Please see BLUE, Page 32
’N-Chi
g
i
k
Support
our
teamS
Wishing The BesT Of
Luck TO ALL TeAms!
P
We
Sylvan Hills center Clark Thornton is 10 pounds away from breaking the school record for bench press with a maximum lift of 365 pounds.
GOOD LUCK IN 2014!
Cabot
Panthers
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Falcons
Sylvan Hills
Bears
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t
North Pulaski’s Michael Barnes plans to study sports broadcasting at UT-Austin, North Texas or OBU.
Adversity
and get after it. I think we’ve got a lot more
heart, a lot more intensity and we’re a lot
more of a family. Nobody gives up and we all
encourage each other. We really didn’t see a
lot of that last year. We’re more accountable.”
Barnes can give some specific examples.
“Like last year if someone was struggling or walking during practice or conditioning, there wasn’t anybody yelling for
them and trying to pick them up,” Barnes
said. “This year we’re all yelling for each
other, trying to help encourage them to help
them finish. We’re just a lot closer team.”
On any football team, there should be no
question whether or not the quarterback is
a leader. It should be a given and Barnes
understands that. But that doesn’t mean he
hasn’t drawn some inspiration from some of
his teammates.
The one he says has been the most influential for him is defensive lineman David
Jackson, who has maintained a strong work
ethic despite battling injuries throughout his
career.
“He’s just a good friend and he always
pushes me to work harder,” Barnes said of
Jackson. “He’s always worked hard and now
he’s staying healthy. The ankle is better this
year and he’s going to be key for us.”
Barnes also mentioned tailback Kalise
Vines, who took over the starting position a
little past the midway point of the season last
year, and the offense got better.
“Because he gave it his all every game,”
Barnes said. “Because he wants to win just
like the rest of us. That’s what this senior
group has. We’re all tired of losing. We all
want to win and we’ve been willing to work
for it.”
Barnes was born in Texas, and though he
only lived the first year of his life there, he
still loves the Lone Star state. His dream is to
play football for the Texas Longhorns, and he
realizes that’s a long shot. He says he could be
happy settling in at North Texas University
or even Ouachita Baptist University in
Arkadelphia.
There are currently no offers on the table
for Barnes from any colleges, but he hasn’t
ruled out anything. He’s a sports guy who
also loves the Dallas Cowboys, and plans to
be involved in sports in some capacity in the
future. His grades are already well in line for
further academic pursuits, and If he can’t
play sports, he wants to talk about them.
“I think I’m going to study sports broadcasting,” Barnes said.
Falcons
At the other tackle will be fellow threeyear starter Keaton Nichols, who stands 6-3
and weighs 270. On one end of the 4-4
defense will be transfer Mike Morris, who is
6-0, 190 and has impressed the head Falcon.
“He could be an impact player for us,”
Ingram said.
At the other end is Devin Smith, who also
has impressive measurements at 6-4, 220.
Right behind those four will be two inside
linebackers that also boast good size. Hunter
McPherson returns at 5-10, 205, and Cabot
transfer Brady Rhodes joins the team after
sitting out a year. Rhodes is 6-0, 215, and
draws high praise from Ingram.
“I haven’t seen him in a real game yet, but
I’ll still say this, Brady Rhodes might end up
being the best linebacker I’ve ever coached.”
At outside linebacker, Miles Hunter will be
a 5-9, 180-pound bandit and Jake Newman is
a 5-8, 165-pound rover.
Jesse Baltimore was one of the team’s
most athletic defenders last year before
breaking his leg in week six. He’s back at one
cornerback position while Deaundre Allen is
back at the other corner. They are both about
5-8, 160. Dequontay Henry will roam the
defensive backfield at safety, going 6-0, 170.
Running the offense will be three-year
starter Michael Barnes – who has earned
Ingram’s full trust.
“What Michael Barnes can do is run this
football team,” Ingram said. “He can walk up
to the line scrimmage, recognize a defense
and get people in the right spot and direct
what to do. The players have confidence in
him and he’s a leader on this football team.”
Protecting Barnes on pass plays and creating holes for the backs will be an offen-
sive line anchored by junior returning starter
Charlie Long at center. Hodrain Turner and
Brent Stone will start at the guards while
Ryan Hicks and Brandon Rogers will be
at tackle. Ingram also said that sophomore
Casey Barger, who has the best feet of all his
linemen, could go in at center and Long could
move to one of the tackles. Nichols will also
see time on offense at tackle.
The Falcons have some depth at wide
receiver with 6-5 senior Michael Dean joining Cedric Handley, 5-9, 160, and Allen split
wide. Dean is also the backup quarterback
and throws a pretty deep pass, but Ingram
says he’ll play most often as receiver.
“Barnes and Dean have to be on the
field for us at the same time,” Ingram said.
“They’re both too important to us for one of
them to be on the sidelines.”
The area Ingram is most excited about
depth is at running back.
Kalise Vines started the last half of last
season after an injury to the starter forced
him into the role. After a couple of games
starting Vines, Ingram realized he had his
best running back on the field.
“Vines understands his role as a running
back,” Ingram said. “He brings more football
savvy to the position than we had last year.
He understands the game of football and the
dedication required. He’s also willing to play
with a few bumps and bruises here and there.
I don’t want anybody to play injured, but I do
expect you to play through a little bit of pain
if it’s nothing serious. Vines has shown he’s
willing to do that.”
Miles Hunter provides the depth at the
tailback position, as well as some of the other
skill players.
“If there’s one position that I feel comfortable with it’s running back,” Ingram said. “I
think we have a number of guys who can step
in if need be. But Vines is the main man and
Hunter is going to get his carries, too.”
North Pulaski running back Kalise Vines finds running room during a preseason team scrimmage.
t
Bears
think we have some other guys that are coming along. As we get further along, I get more
and more confident with that group.”
Bell will be the starting free safety and
Jones will start at one of the corners. Joining
Jones is another player Withrow has been
pleased with in Brandon Bracely. When
Bracely needs a breather, he’ll be replaced by
Marlon Clemmons, who will start at tailback.
Jones will be backed up by Tim McCourt.
At strong safety, Withrow has two players
he likes and feels comfortable with in Joe
Craft and Tyler Yeoman. Also at safety will be
James Waller and every so often, quarterback
Trajan Doss.
Calling the shots on defense will be linebacker Jonathan Hicks, a Sherwood native
who transferred back to Sylvan Hills from
North Little Rock.
“Hicks has been a big get for us,” Withrow
said. “We got a few guys back that are all
Sherwood kids that had gone somewhere
else. You know we’re making some changes
here at Sylvan Hills, like every kid is getting
in iPad. Our test scores are the best in the
district. People are starting to see things like
that and they’re staying here or coming back
home.”
Joining Hicks at linebacker is Matthew
Molden, and those two will be backed up by
Eric Givens and Marquaylan Jones.
Up front will be Hagen Jones and Tyler
Reeves bookending the defensive line. Their
backups will be Eric Taylor and John Peeples.
Left tackles are Undevontae Bens and Matt
Evans, while right tackles are Devin Spencer
and Keyandra Muldrow.
Doss will be running the offense for the
third season in a row. While he had a marvelous junior season, he has made great strides
of improvement since the spring.
“He looks great,” Withrow said. “I think
he’s a little bored like the rest of us are.
We’ve been going all summer and we’re
ready to get after somebody besides each
other. But he has looked really good this
offseason. He’s throwing the ball really
well and that was the one thing that need-
ed a little improvement last season.”
Doss is a major running threat. And with
a tailback like Marlon Clemons joining him
in the backfield, defenses will have to show
great respect to both options on the zone
read.
“Marlon’s a college guy,” Withrow said.
“He’s a little on the small side so I don’t know
if the big colleges are going to come after him.
But let me tell you, that guy is gifted.”
Clemons will also spend a lot of time as a
slot receiver, and has looked good doing it.
That means another will line up frequently at
tailback, and that will be Fred Williams, who
is also a very dangerous threat. Tyler Davis is
another gifted back that will get some carries.
Craft will be the two-deep backup for
Doss, but Withrow is comfortable with any of
three quarterbacks.
“This is the best group of quarterbacks I’ve
had,” Withrow said. “We’ve even got two in
ninth grade that look really good. Usually you
don’t have one in every class, but I’ve got a
senior, a junior and a sophomore that I would
feel good about no matter what.”
The sophomore quarterback is Jordan
Washington, who will only play the position if necessary. Withrow says the 6-3, 185
pounder is a Division I caliber wide receiver.
“That guy is a tremendous athlete. At
the other wideout is Jamar Lane. Even with
all that ability at the skill positions, the slot
opposite of Clemons is Nathan Thomas, who
led the team in receptions and receiving
yards last season.
“He’s already proven what he can do,”
Withrow said. “He’s quick, runs good routes
and he’s got great hands.”
Cameron Dews and Elijah Sowards will
also line up split wide at times, and Sowards,
6-2, 215, will be utilized from the tight end
position as well.
To go along with all that talent at the
skill positions is some pretty good beef up
front, starting with three-year starter at center Clark Thornton. Joining him on the starting line will be Haden Hawkins at left guard,
Walker Meriweather at left tackle, Sam Perez
at right guard and Temuulen Zolbayar at
right tackle. Providing the depth on the line
will be Taylor Miles, Landon Martin, Chris
Goodman, Kenneth Tyree and Knoa Smith.
Computer Repair &
Network Management
• 27
Sylvan Hills running back Marlon Clemons puts both hands on the ball as he draws contact on Friday.
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t
SEIZING
Cabot finished last season with a stellar
12-1 overall record and a 7A state runnerup finish, while Ferguson earned the state’s
Defensive Player of the Year honor after totaling 87 tackles – 14 of which came in the state
title game – and leading the team yet again in
interceptions with five.
He also carried offensive duties full time
last season, lining up at receiver.
Cabot’s run-heavy Dead-T offense doesn’t
allow for its receiving corps to stack up offensive numbers, but Ferguson led the way in
2013 in that category, hauling in a team-high
20 catches for 354 yards and six touchdowns.
Ferguson will continue to play both ways
for Cabot in his senior season, and the fact
that this will be his last in a CHS uniform is a
bit surreal, he admits.
“I’ve been playing tackle football since I
was in kindergarten,” Ferguson said. “So 13
years, it’s just hard to believe that after this
season there’s no more organized football. It’s
all college, and it’ll be time to buckle down,
and it’ll be a job, for real, and it’s just hard to
believe.
“I started playing when I was 5 years
old. My dad was a college football player in
Missouri, and he started me as soon as he
could, and then me and my cousin, Colby, we
played together all the way up until we got to
junior high, then we split (schools), until we
got to high school and played together.”
Despite playing the game since his early
years, Ferguson is a natural talent on the
field. His coach has gone on record saying
“he’s a natural football player. It’s what he
was born to be.”
Ferguson said part of his uncanny skill
and vision as a free safety comes from being
a former quarterback in his own right. He’s
also the backup QB on the high-school team.
“My instincts come from reading the quarterback,” Ferguson said, “because when I
was in junior high I played quarterback. So
I know how they think. My instincts come
from being a quarterback before.”
But regardless of his production on the
field and the numerous individual accolades
he’s continued to rack up, he’s essentially
gone unnoticed by Division I schools because
of his size.
Although he’s not small by any means to
most at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, it’s not the
size Division I schools find appealing.
Ferguson did get invited to the Arkansas
Razorbacks’ prospect camp over the summer
after posting a 4.4 second 40-yard dash time
in front of Razorbacks tight ends coach Barry
Lunney Jr., and even though he showed out
at the camp, he was told he wasn’t what the
Hogs were looking for.
“Barry Lunney Jr. came and watched me
one day when we were running our 40s,”
Ferguson said, “and I’ve always wanted to
GO CABOT
PANTHERS!
be a Razorback. That’s been my dream ever
since I was a little kid. He came and watched
me, and he always told me if you get that 4.4
we can start talking real business.
“He watched me and I ran that 4.4, invited
me to the camp, it just wasn’t what they’re
looking for.”
Even though Division I schools have yet
to show serious interest in Ferguson, at least
one Division II school has taken notice of his
exceptional abilities and playmaking skills.
Ouachita Baptist University made him a
scholarship offer just before the end of last
school year.
Ferguson is hoping more offers will come
as he gears up for his senior season, but it’s
not just scholarship offers that he plays for,
and it’s not just the lack of attention from bigname schools that fuel his drive. He says he
draws inspiration from a much closer source
– one that has far more sentimental value.
“I was really close to my grandmother,”
Ferguson said, “and when I was in 10th grade
she was diagnosed with colon cancer. She
ended up passing away a few months after
she got it, and she always wanted to watch
me play.
“She always wanted me to go big, and it’s
more of an I want to make her proud thing.
When I’m out there, that’s who I play for. She
would always tell me, you’re going to go big.
You’re going to do big things.
“I’ve always been the undersized kid, so I
always thought that after high school I was
going to be done because nobody’s going to
want a 5-10 kid. But she always just told me
to keep faith, keep faith.”
Another thing that fuels the Panther playmaker’s drive is the goals he’s set for himself
– goals that he knows if he can come through
on that it will only benefit his team this
upcoming season.
He said before he hangs up his CHS uniform for good at the end of this season that
he’d like to break the state’s career interception record, but he said he has an even bigger
goal in mind.
“The one goal I want is there’s never been
a player in Arkansas to ever get Defensive
Player of the Year three years in a row,”
Ferguson said. “Cedric Cobbs got it two years
in a row when he was at J.A. Fair. That’s the
biggest goal on my list.”
In addition to standing out on the football
field as a two-time All-State selection and
Defensive Player of the Year award recipient,
the basketball court, where he was named to
the All-State Tournament team last season,
and in track where he finished in the state’s
top five in the 400-meter race last spring,
he has close to a 4.0 cumulative grade point
average.
“Nobody from my family has ever graduated from college,” Ferguson said. “My dad
ended up dropping out because he got hurt
in football, and that was the only reason he
went, so he ended up not finishing.
“I never really thought I’d ever get the
chance to play college football because of my
size, and I didn’t even get my first scholarship
offer till two days before summer started. My
family, we’re not very wealthy, so I have to get
a scholarship to go to college.
“If I don’t get good grades then I don’t go.
So I figured if you have to be there you might
as well learn something. You might as well
work hard at it. If you have to be there there’s
no reason not to.”
Have A Great Year!
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1-501-941-3929
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Jake Ferguson draws inspiration from his late grandmother, with whom he shared a close bond.
• 29
The 2014 Cabot coaching staff includes Matt Malham, from left, Michael Falcinelli, Brandon Jay, Jason Rogers, head coach Mike Malham, defensive coordinator Randall Black, Michael Bryant and Clark Bing.
Cabot sophomore Brock Bottoroff gets a carry during the annual Red-White Frenzy last Friday night.
Have a Great Season!
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208 West Plaza Blvd., Suite B • Cabot, AR
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CARLISLE BISON
First-year head coach Jack Keith believes his Carlisle Bison can have a similar record to last year, but may not be able to blow opponents away like last year’s team did.
NEW EVERYTHING FOR BISON
C
arlisle’s football team will look very different than it did in 2013. The 2013 senior
class was a part of Bison teams that won 35
games over the last three seasons, the most since
Carlisle won 38 games from 1991-1993.
Jack Keith has taken over as head coach. He
was an assistant last year with the team, and even
though Carlisle has their third different head coach
in as many years, the Bison have maintained the
same offensive and defensive systems in that time,
and Keith wants to keep that continuity going.
“Last year, winning 12 games, that’s a heck of a
year,” said Keith. “We had a big senior class that we
lost. It’ll be a regrouping year. We’ll be competitive,
but it’ll be a different style. We’ll have to grind some
games out this year, where last year we were able
to pull away, we’ll have to grind some out this year.
“We’re still going to be in the Double Wing. The
kids know that offense and they’re good at it, and
so there’s no sense in trying to revamp and bring
something brand new to the table.
“There’ll be some changes to it. I’m going to put
my own spin on it, but we’ll still be a running team
and we’ll still be based out of the Double Wing.
Defensively, we were in a 4-4 last year. We’ll stay
mainly in that. I’m big into doing what you do well,
getting into something you’re comfortable with and
not overthinking it.
“If you do what you do well, you should be all
right.”
The Bison began fall practice with just over 30
players on their roster, and they return half of their
offensive starters from a year ago. Chase Brazeal
ARTICLE AND
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
GRAHAM POWELL
JACK KEITH
Years at school: 1st
Record at school: 0-0
2012 Record: 12-2
Conf. Finish: 2nd
(5-10, 170) took over last season at quarterback in
Week 9 after graduated QB Austin Reed injured his
knee the week before at Hazen.
Brazeal specializes in running the ball, but can
make timely passes when necessary. Keith said
all positions are open to competition, but Brazeal
entered fall practice as the leading candidate to once
again get the nod at QB.
“I want to have a lot of competition,” Keith said.
“Nothing’s safe, but if we played tomorrow he’d be
our guy. It’s his spot to lose right now, but I always
like to create competition because I think it helps
push the players. And that’s at every position.
“I want to create that competition so that everyone will strive to get better and not get complacent. I
want them to play for it.”
Carlisle graduated three running backs in May
that helped the Bison rush for a school record 4,627
yards in 2013. Senior running back Jacob Cagle
(5-11, 200) will replace DeRon Ricks as the team’s
feature back in 2014.
Ricks, who rushed for 2,005 yards and 25 touchdowns last year, graduated in May and signed to
play for GAC member Southern Nazarene. Cagle
showed promise when he did get carries last season,
averaging 6.4 yards per carry in 2013.
“We’re looking for him to have a bit of a breakout
year this year,” Keith said of Cagle.
Senior fullback Thomas McCallie (6-0, 200) will
start at fullback after starting most games at the
position in 2013. He ran 47 times for 201 yards and
two scores last season.
Sophomores Ty Golleher (5-10, 160) and Devon
Kendrick (5-10, 175) will play at wingback, and Keith
said he needs to have a lot of production out of those
Please see BISON, Page 34
• 31
DEEP ROOTS IN CARLISLE COMMUNITY
A
fter
spendhopefully a state chamARTICLE AND
ing his Friday
pionship once the postnights in the fall P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y season begins.
“Our first goal is to
going to Carlisle Bison
football games as a child, G R A H A M P O W E L L win conference,” Schafer
said, “but obviously the
fifth generation Carlisle
native Nick Schafer is ready for his senior number one goal is to win a state championseason in a Bison uniform, and the responsi- ship. That’s how it is every year.”
bilities that come with it.
Schafer said winning is his favorite part
Schafer said he can’t remember the exact about the game, but added that getting the
time he took interest in playing the game ball on offense and putting a good crack block
of football himself, but that he remembers on an opposing player is always fun, too.
from an early age the experience of going to
“A good crack block is always fun,” Schafer
Carlisle High School football games on Friday said, “but really anything I can do to help the
nights, and what it means to actually be a part team and make us better.”
of that experience as a player.
In addition to football, Schafer also plays
“Friday nights in Carlisle is probably the basketball and baseball. He was an Allbest nights you’ll ever have in this town Conference selection in baseball last season,
for sure,” said Schafer, “because everyone’s and was the lone Bison to be named Allbehind you, they’re backing you, and it’s just Conference in basketball last season, but
the hype of the game. You get out there and despite his individual success, he said he
you hear the crowd, it’s pretty cool.”
doesn’t put much focus on individual accoSchafer has been a Bison football player lades, regardless of what sport he’s playing
since his seventh grade year, and in high at the time.
“I just want to help the team, honestly,”
school, he’s been a part of some very successful Bison teams. Carlisle advanced all the way Schafer said. “I don’t have any individual
to the state semifinals last year, and made it goals. I mean, All-Conference would be nice,
to the quarterfinals the year before that.
but if you help the team and play to the best of
It was in the latter part of last season that your ability then that stuff will come.”
Schafer saw his first amount of significant
Academically, Schafer takes his studies
playing time with the high school team, play- just as seriously as he does his athletics.
ing mostly at receiver. He’ll be a two-way Schafer is at the top of his class with a 4.0
starter for the Bison this season, playing at grade point average. He scored a 28 on his
receiver and outside linebacker, and he said ACT, and said he’s leaning towards attending
he’s ready to take on that responsibility and college at Arkansas State and that he’s thinkhelp lead the team to what he and the rest ing about studying engineering.
“My parents are real strict about grades,
of his teammates hope is continued success.
“I know now that being a senior I have to and they need to be because academics are
lead the team and help get guys going, help important,” Schafer said. “I have a 28 on my
pick guys up if I have to,” Schafer said. “I ACT right now, and I’m trying to get that a
have to hold myself to a higher standard, you little better.”
Schafer said he’d like to score a 30 on the
know, because people are watching me. I’ve
ACT, because that would lead to more acagot to play better and step up.”
Schafer isn’t the most vocal Bison on the demic scholarship offers. As far as whatever
team. He does more of his leading by exam- free time Schafer gets, which isn’t much with
ple. It’s nothing out of the norm to see him school and athletics, he said duck hunting is
finish first in conditioning drills and hustling his favorite hobby.
every play, whether it’s in practice or in a
“Duck hunting for sure,” Schafer said.
meaningful game.
“When winter comes around that’s my favorKnowing that some of the younger play- ite thing to do – waking up on a Saturday
ers, as well as his classmates, are watching morning after getting a win in a football game
him is part of what motivates him to push and going duck hunting.”
himself in that regard, but the other part of it
With it being his and his fellow senior
is that he wants to leave everything he has out classmates’ last season with the team, Schafer
on the field with this season being his last as a said he and that group in particular are looking forward to the opportunity to continue
Bison football player.
“I figure I have to lead by example,” carrying on the winning tradition of Carlisle
Schafer said, “but the other deal is there’s football, and he also described what those
nothing to work for after this year, so you individuals mean to him personally.
“That’s a great group of friends,” he said.
might as well give it all you got to get better.”
Schafer says the team has the same expec- “They mean a whole lot to me. They’ve been
tations it always has, and that’s to compete there for me and I’ve been there for them. It’s
for a conference championship first, and a brotherhood for sure.”
Senior Bison Nick Schafer is a fifth generation Carlisle native and a starting receiver/linebacker.
t
Blue
the game between your freshman and sophomore years is a whole lot different.”
Thornton drew from his background as a
proud Bear from a proud Bear family to carry
him through the rough start.
“It’s always been the thing in my family,
you always got to fight through the pain and
do what we do, which is our best,” Thornton
said.
Thornton is the son of Charlie and Missy
Thornton, and is the youngest of three boys,
including older brothers Chase and Clint
Thornton, who were both Sylvan Hills Bears.
Clint Thornton hit the key home run in
Sylvan Hills’ state championship baseball
game in 2008.
“I’ve been a Bear since kindergarten,”
Thornton said. “You got to stay true to your
home.”
Loyalty has been a key to this team’s success. Other schools in neighboring areas have
come calling on some current Bears, not the
least of which is quarterback Trajan Doss. But
almost all have stayed at home.
“We have a lot of high class guys,”
Drive
state school in the spring, and because of
his stellar GPA and ACT score, most Ivy
League schools have given him a serious
look as well.
In addition to returning as the team’s
starting outside linebacker, Elmore will
also be starting at fullback for Lonoke’s
Power Spread offense this season.
Elmore’s work ethic in the classroom, on
the football field, and in the weight room is
uncanny, and someone with that level of
work ethic is always pushing themselves
to achieve even greater things. As far as
football goals, he has plenty he’d still like
to achieve, both team-wise as well as individually.
“A lot of guys sitting here right now
would say I want to win a state championship,” Elmore said. “And, of course, every
single football player that cares anything
about the game wants to win a state championship.
“I’m not going to say I don’t want to win
a state championship because that would
be great. But, if anything, I want to look
back with the guys I played the game with
and just see the saving grace, the friendship
and brotherhood that I have with my team.
I want to look back and I want to be able to
smile on it.
“I want to be successful. I want to have
a winning record, of course. But I just want
to be able to look back and smile on my
senior year, and know that I did everything
during this offseason to make the best out
of Friday nights.
“I would love to see increases in stats
and increases in the winning records. I
would love to make All-State this year. I
would love to have another 100-plus tackle
season, and be in the end zone as many
times as the coach calls my number. But
Southern Arkansas University and accomplishing a personal best at the University of
Central Arkansas by lifting 225 pounds 26
times.
He’s also 10 pounds away from breaking
the school record for max bench press, currently sitting on 365 pounds. But he wasn’t
always the strongest kid on the team.
“When I was a freshman I was not the
strongest,” said Thornton. “I was just average. But I joined the wrestling team and started working out after school and it’s helped
me a lot. I want to break the school record
this year and think I can do that.”
Thornton admits to have a tough go of it
on the field early in his sophomore year.
“It was extremely rough,” Thornton said.
“I wasn’t fully up to game speed that first
game but as it got further along in the season
it got a whole lot easier. That intensity level of
t
“He’s the heart and soul of our team,”
said Bost. “He’s got the best work ethic on
the team.”
Elmore came into his own last season
in his junior year. Despite missing three
games, he finished a tackle shy of being tied
for first on the team in tackles in 2013, and
was a first-team All-Conference selection at
his strong side outside linebacker position.
Elmore has been a football player since
he was 5 years old. He grew up playing
in the Cabot youth football league, and
officially became a Jackrabbit in seventh
grade. To him, he said, football is as much
of a safe haven as it is anything else, and
not just for him.
“Football has always been a safe haven,”
Elmore said. “My home background is very
nice. My parents have been very good to
me, but a lot of kids don’t have that. When
you come out here, football is their time,
whether it’s anger or insecurity or whatever
it is, a lot of things change when you put
on a uniform, and I’m no exception to that,
regardless of my home background.
“So when you come out here it’s more of
a safe haven, you love it out here. And yes,
sometimes you do get sick of it, especially
during two-a-days. But when you come out
here under the lights and the entire bleachers are packed full when you’re playing the
Beebe Badgers – the Battle of Highway 31
– it makes it all worth it.”
Being a first-team All-Conference player
on the Jackrabbits’ 9-3 team a year ago
helped put Elmore on the recruiting map.
He was recruited by every Division II in-
Thornton said. “Lots of teams come and
talk to our players trying to get them to go
somewhere else. But most of us have been
playing together since PeeWee. We want to
stay here playing with our true friends and do
something special.”
With so many senior starters, Thornton
doesn’t think talent is this team’s only attribute. He says leadership is also in good form.
“With guys like Trajan Doss, Haden
Hawkins, Nathan Thomas, they’re all
great leaders on this team,” Thornton
said. “As long as we keep our heads on
straight our leadership can pull us through.”
Playing smart, or “keeping our heads on
straight”, seemed to be a recurring theme
with the big center as he discussed the team’s
prospects.
“We know we’re very experienced, but we
also know we have to get back to square one,”
Thornton said. “We know this offense. We
know we’re strong enough to run this offense.
As long as we stay healthy and stay smart,
we have a chance to really do something this
year.”
He also knows who the primary target for
a 5A-Central championship is.
“Really our idea of a conference championship is a battle with PA,” Thornton said.
“That’s due to last year when we had a pretty
good game going but we fell off in the fourth
quarter. We’re really excited for a chance to
play them again and that’s the main game
we’re looking forward to.”
Beyond this year, Thornton hopes to play
college football. He has the size, strength and
grades, but one thing is still lacking.
“I’m not eligible right now,” Thornton
said. “I have to get that ACT score up. Once
I do that I hope some offers will start coming through. I’d love to play college football
somewhere.”
When he’s not on the practice field, in
the weight room or training for wrestling,
Thornton loves training and hunting with his
purebred black lab, Gauge.
“I love to hunt and I love to train my dog,”
Thornton said. “He’s a great dog and when
I have some spare time, that’s where I’m
spending most of it.”
Chandler Elmore enjoys football, but believes his success will stem from his thirst for knowledge.
the main thing that I want out of myself
this year is when coach Bost calls number
13, I want to make a play for him. The stats
will come, but when your number’s called,
are you going to show up? That’s definitely
what I want to pull out of myself this year.
That’s what I’m striving for.”
Elmore said he’d love to continue playing football at the next level after he graduates high school, and the schools that he’s
giving serious consideration are higher
academic institutions with smaller football
programs – like some of the Ivy League
schools and other high-academic institutions, the majority of which are out of state.
“We play football while we’re young, we
play it for four years in college, but most
people don’t make a career out of football,”
Elmore said. “Aristotle said, you know,
knowledge is power. And it really is. I definitely believe the brain and the mind is key
to long-lasting success.
“You’ve got to be smart with where you
put your time and where you put your
efforts. I’ve had a lot of mentors in my life
that definitely stress that to me. I took it to
heart. I love school. I’m a science nerd and
I love learning. Knowledge is power, and I
want to keep building on that as much as
I can.”
Speedy
t
“Jake has great feet for a kid his size,”
Shannon said. “He’s just behind in the
strength department because he sat out last
year. But he’s going to help us. He moves
ing his sophomore campaign, but hasn’t lost very well.”
Shannon and the Badgers spent some
any speed. Smith is 5-foot-10 and now 200
pounds, but still runs the 40-yard dash in time at Cabot this year for 7-on-7 camps, and
he picked up some pointers on the
the 4.6-second range. In Shannon’s
altered formation the Panthers ran
Dead T offense, there are two halflast season, going with one tight
backs that lineup on each side of
end and one split end. If Beebe
the fullback, but there are more
lines up in that formation, it will
than two Badgers that could play
likely be junior Connor Patrom out
that role.
wide. Patrom, 6-0, 161, will start
Jesse Crisco and Quentin Scherer
full time at cornerback, and probmake up a pair of 200-pounders
ably share time at wideout with
that will play halfback, with Crisco a
Wyrick, Meurer and Tyler Woodall.
returning starter who gained more
Those last three will also rotate
than 500 yards last year. Clayton
at
the
two safety positions.
Meurer has spent time at halfJesse Crisco
Patrom is the team’s second
back and backup quarterback, and
Jo’Vaughn Wyrick is a 5-8, 165-pound trans- fastest player. He and Wyrick both run the
fer from Augusta and the fastest player on 40 in the 4.5 range, with Wyrick coming in
slightly under 4.5. He will be joined by Justin
the team.
“You can only have two of those guys on Burlison, 5-9, 150, at the other corner.
The all-important inside linebackers in
the field at a time, so a lot of them will play
Beebe’s
3-4 defense are two juniors that
other places, too, but we feel like we’re pretty
Shannon is very excited about. Bo Smith, 5-8,
much set at running back,” Shannon said.
Aaron Nunez is back at quarterback. He’s 186, and Reese Anders, 6-2, 196, have played
a three-year starter but missed most of last very well at the team camp competitions at
season after tearing his ACL in the third Conway. Scherer and senior Andy Hurt have
also played there and have played well.
game.
“We’re bigger at linebacker than
Beebe’s offense actually got better after
we’ve
been in a while, and all those guys
Nunez’s injury, but Shannon still believes he
can run pretty well,” Shannon said.
was and is the right man for the job.
Other than a couple, there are some
“We were really young on
familiar names on the defensive
offense last year and he was tryline, and that’s Shannon’s only coning to do too much by himself,”
cern. Hunter Newman is a 5-11,
Shannon said. “He fumbled it six
254-pound nose that Shannon is
times in those first two games tryconfident with. Sophomore tackle
ing to force it himself instead of
Xazier Jones, 6-4, 244, is one of the
relying on his teammates. When
best raw talents he’s ever had.
we lost him, we didn’t have as many
“He ran the ball for us as a ninth
options on offense as we did with
grader but he’s got the size and
him in there, so it was easier on his
speed that we’re trying him out
backup. This year, he knows very
at defensive tackle,” Shannon said.
well he’s got a lot of help as far as
Dusty Grier
“He’s still a project, but he has the
playmakers go, and he doesn’t have
nearly as much pressure on him. You can see potential to be a special player.”
Wade Jones, Huhn and Greer will also
it on the field too. He’s a lot more relaxed
and he’s been making great decisions on the rotate on the defensive line.
“We don’t have a whole lot of depth right
option. I’m very excited about the season he’s
now,” Shannon said. “We’ve got some young
poised to have.”
There is a pair of three-year starters at guys we hope will improve and be able to step
both tight end positions, and they bookend in for us, but if we had to start tomorrow,
a beefy Badger offensive line. Dusty Grier, those are the guys we’d go with.”
The Badgers should be solid in the kick6-2, 247, and Austin Huhn, 5-11, 242, will
be on the outside of the line. Center Logan ing game with the return of Tyler Jones. He
Yarbrough is the smallest offensive linemen made 3 of 5 field goals last year with a long of
at 190 pounds, but puts up a 280-pound 30 yards, and was almost automatic on extra
points. The team is still looking for a punter.
bench press.
Besides having talent, what Shannon is
On each side of him are guards Ridge
Tally – a 230-pounder who won the job in the most excited about is the effort this group
spring, and three-year starter Wade Jones, gives each day.
“It’s not all that common to have a really
who comes back at 280. Three players will
rotate at tackle. Three-year starter Spencer talented group that’s also a really hard-workTapp is the only one of the three who is a ing group,” Shannon said. “Seems like you
returning starter. He weighs 282 and is the usually get one or the other, but this senior
smallest of the three. Ty Walburn will likely class has been the best as far as overall leaderbe the other starter.
ship I’ve had since I got here. That first group
Walburn is 6-3, 325, and will rotate with was really hungry and jumped in there and
Jake Majors, a 6-4, 301-pound senior who worked really hard. This is the best one I’ve
didn’t play his junior year.
had since then.”
• 33
Greystone
Nursing & Rehab
Good Luck
This Season!
Football changed my
life and it gave me a
platform to get out my
aggression and it gave
me a sense of value.
- Dwayne Johnson
121 Spring Valley Rd.
Cabot, AR 72023
For more information
please call
501-605-1545
“The Heart of Healthcare in the
Heart of Arkansas”
Bison
two in order for the Bison to have success
running the ball this season.
“We need them to step up and be productive on offense,” Keith said.
Clinton Hampton, who didn’t play last
year, came back for his senior season and
could see some time in the backfield, as well
as sophomore Tyler Teel (5-11, 180).
Carlisle’s biggest team strength will be
on the offensive line. Three seniors return
with experience up front. Colton Isbell (6-0,
220) and Dylan Brazeal (5-10, 260) return to
anchor the line at right guard and right tackle.
Isbell earned All-2A-6 honors at left tackle
last fall, and Brazeal is the strongest Bison on
the team, bench pressing 345 pounds, squatting 425 and power cleaning 260. Senior
Miles Cunningham (5-10, 200) returns at
center, where he started every game a season
ago.
Senior Keyshaun Allen (5-10, 300) played
only on defense last year, but could start at
left tackle this season. Senior Jaden Daniels
(5-11, 205) and sophomores Gray Amaden
(5-11, 215) and Zach Means (5-11, 195) are
battling for the other guard spot.
Junior Cody Edge (5-9, 200) and sophomores Brian Henderson (6-0, 215), Mason
Carter (6-0, 240) and Christian McCallie
(6-0, 180) will push for playing time on the
offensive line.
Senior Nick Schafer (6-2, 205) will start
full time at receiver after seeing a lot of playing time at the position as a junior. Along with
Schafer, the receiving corps includes Conway
Christian transfer Grant Sumner (5-10, 160)
and Colby Flynn (5-11, 155), both juniors, and
sophomore Zach Caviness (5-11, 170).
Hard-nosed junior Clay Parker (5-11, 170)
will start at one of the tight end spots, and
Keith said the other tight end position has yet
to be filled.
Defensively, Carlisle’s top five tacklers
from a year ago have graduated. Allen and
Dylan Brazeal return to anchor the interior
line. Keith said Daniels will probably start at
one of the defensive end positions, but he’s
currently recovering from offseason surgery.
Thomas McCallie played some at end last
year and he’ll be asked to either anchor one
of the end spots this season or contribute at
linebacker, while Cunningham, Carter, senior
Korbin Burton (6-1, 270), junior Austin Wolfe
(5-10, 210) and sophomore Ki Dearen (5-10,
200) will assist up front.
Carlisle replaces all four starting linebackers from last season. Keith said that Parker
will likely be one of the inside linebackers, as
well as Thomas McCallie, if he’s not needed
more at end.
Schafer and Hampton are the projected
starters at outside linebacker, and Keith said
he’s got three sophomores in mind that will
need to step up and help at the linebacker
positions.
Means, Kendrick and Tyler Sanders (5-11,
210) are the three sophomores Keith said
the team will need to get some solid production from this season. At safety, Cagle is the
projected starter. Keith said he’d rather have
Cagle at linebacker, but that he’s needed
more at safety.
Sumner and Chase Brazeal will man up
the corner positions, and Keith said he has a
slew of sophomores that will have to contribute in the secondary, but said none have yet
to emerge as a leading candidate.
The Bison scrimmaged last night at Fred
C. Hardke Field with three other teams –
Dumas, Stuttgart and Rison, and will open
the 2014 regular season at home next Friday
against England in nonconference action.
The Carlisle Bison get physical during an intrasquad scrimmage the second week of preseason.
t
t
Switch
came on. He’s just been totally different in
every way since then. He’s one of our best
examples right now to show the younger guys
how to do things right.”
Jones said that conversation with the
coach was the turning point.
“I had like a 1.5 grade-point average and
coach came up and talked to me one day and
told me I probably wasn’t going to play,” said
Jones. “From right then I decided to work as
hard as I could. It was just an effort problem.”
The 6-foot-3, 303-pound guard also came
to understand the benefits of giving your best
in other areas.
“If you’re not going to get the grades or
any of that. If you’re not going to work your
butt off, then you’re not going to be a leader
on the field either,” Jones said. “I started to
see if I could get better grades, then maybe
people would look up to me out here too. It’s
good that I can show people how hard work
pays off.”
Jones doesn’t just see himself as an example. He sees work ethic like his as common on
this year’s Badger football team, especially in
the senior class. Jones notes more camaraderie among players and more commitment to
what coaches are asking them to do.
“Ever since we started offseason everybody has been more committed,” Jones said.
“Really just as a whole group, we’ve been
working hard. More than ever before we’ve
been working together. Pretty much everybody on the team has at least one thing in
common. Like a while back, we were more
like a group of singles than we were a united
team. We spend time together after practice.
Every Thursday we all go over to my buddy
Austin Huhn’s house and have a big meal
together. We’re just like more of a whole.”
Intangibles like work ethic and team
chemistry can go a long way in helping a team
be successful. But there also must be talent.
Jones believes this team has that as well, and
expects a lot from the team his senior year.
“I think we’re really good overall,” Jones
said. “Our offensive line for one. We have a lot
of returning starters and a lot of experience.
Most of the line has been playing since we
were sophomores. We have some guys back at
running back and also some new guys coming
up that I think are going to be really good. I
think it should be a good year.”
While there is experience and size on the
offensive line, there aren’t very many of them.
That’s meant Jones has had to work on the
defensive side of the ball this offseason for
the first time. He admits to not enjoying it
very much, but isn’t backing down from the
challenge.
“It’s a lot harder going both ways,” Jones
said. “Even just in practice it kind of sucks.
But they put me over there a while back and
I guess I’m doing OK because they’ve still got
me over there. I just want to do whatever I
need to do to help the team.”
Still, offense is what he knows and offense
is what he focuses on when it comes to personal goals. He led the team in blocking per-
centage last year, and plans on eclipsing that
mark this season.
“I just want to do better,” Jones said. “I
want to get as close to 100 (percent) as I can
get.”
A 300-pound pulling guard is not common in high-school football, but Shannon
said Jones moves very well for his size. That
blocking percentage is an average of on-side
blocking and backside blocking, which the
guard has to do both on the option.
“So if you execute your block on the on
side, that’s half your grade,” Jones explained.
“But if you do terrible on the back side like
when we scoop, you get a 50 percent. I want
to be 100 percent because I think our backs
can be pretty dangerous if we can open up
some holes.”
Team goals are also very high.
“Obviously everybody wants to win a state
championship,” Jones said. “But we want to
win that conference championship to put us
in a higher seed in the playoffs. So our main
goal right now is to win a conference championship.”
It’s a new conference for Beebe this year.
After spending several years in the 5A East,
the Badgers move to the 5A Central, which
has a different makeup and different dynamic
from the East that Jones thinks will present
different challenges.
“I think we’re probably going to see more
passing teams,” Jones said. “And I think
there’s definitely going to be more speed. I
think we have more speed this year, too, so I
think it will be a good challenge for us.”
EEES
FESR
TIMAT
ON NEW
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Teams!
UNITS
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The Cabot South freshmen team believes it can compete for another conference championship.
FRESHMEN FIELDING
STRONG TEAMS
By RAY BENTON AND GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sports staff
The Cabot ninth-grade teams took part
in the town’s annual Red-White Football
Frenzy in front of a packed crowd last Friday
at Panther Stadium, and after the brief intrasquad scrimmages, both teams are eager to
kick off the 2014 football season.
CABOT SOUTH
Of the two teams, the Cabot Junior High
South team looked to be the more impressive
of the two out of the gate. The South Panthers
are expecting to have a big year after finishing 8-1 last year as eighth-graders, and head
coach Lee Melder says nearly all of those
players from last year’s team are back for the
2014 season.
“We’ve got just about all those kids back
from last year,” said Melder. “They’re real
good kids. They play hard. They’ve had a really good work ethic in our offseason program
and they really worked hard in the summer.
“I think they’re on their way. We’ve still
got a little ways to go, but we’re going to be all
right I think.”
The CJHS Panthers have 36 players on
their roster, which is typical for the South
team, and one of the team’s strengths is in the
backfield. Fullbacks Sebastian Stinnett and
Jordan Clark each made plays throughout
the scrimmage last Friday, but Melder says
he’s got others that can run the ball as well.
“We’ve got several,” Melder said. “That’s
one thing; we’re deep at running back. We’ve
got a lot of kids that I don’t have a problem
rotating in. I can go to my third or fourth
running back and not have to worry about
any let up at all.”
The biggest thing that will help the South
Panther run game produce this fall will be the
team’s offensive line, which looked good all of
last Friday.
“Dayonte Roberts (left tackle), he moved
here from Jacksonville,” Melder said. “He’s
still raw. He’s still got a lot of things to learn
about the kind of stuff we’re doing, but he’s
tremendously talented.
“Then we’ve got Billy Connell, a guy
that’s been with us for three years, Michael
Crumbly, Charlie McCoy – we’ve got some
guys that can really play.”
CABOT NORTH
The CJHN Panthers were conference runner-up last season, and this year’s North team
has a long way to go if it wants to achieve the
success last year’s group had, according to
North coach Danny Spencer.
“We’ve got a lot of big holes to fill,” said
Spencer. “It’s nice to see them get out here
and compete, but we’re still not anywhere
close to where we need to be. It’s a good thing
we’ve got two weeks to get ready.”
The North Panthers have 37 players on
their roster this season, and although fall
practice sessions haven’t gone as smoothly as
Spencer would like, he did say he’s proud of
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HOGS TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER
Arkansas tailback Korliss Marshall, 33, will likely see a lot more than the 17 carries he had last season.
linebackers coach Randy Shannon.
Cornerback, last year’s woe of woes,
is vastly improved because seniors Tevin
Mitchel and Carroll Washington have vastly
improved, Bielema said.
Free safety Alan Turner of Junction City
returns as the team’s leading tackler with
fourth-year junior Rohan Gaines returning
at strong safety.
Senior Preseason All-SEC defensive end
Trey Flowers and sophomore tackle Darius
Philon headline the defensive line that could
get a boost from heralded freshman tackle
Bijhon Jackson of El Dorado.
Sophomore Brooks Ellis of Fayetteville
returns as middle linebacker with senior
Braylon Mitchell of Heber Springs back as
the strong side outside ‘backer and senior
Martrell Spaight of North Little Rock at
weak side ‘backer.
All, Bielema said, are better than last
year. Some are being pushed by longtime
reserves and precocious freshmen.
Ambidextrous punter Sam Irwin-Hill
returns while in preseason senior John
Henson and true freshman Cole Hedlund
seldom missed their attempts to succeed
graduated place-kicker Zach Hocker.
and Kendrick Edwards also impressed.
ule in college football,” Bielema said. Though still searching for a fullback to
All they can control is developing what
replace graduated to the NFL Kiero
they have got and adding to it
Small, Bielema has three of the
recruiting.
nation’s best running backs: Doak
Bielema develops the picture
Walker Award watch list candifirst with junior quarterback
dates Alex Collins, last year’s SEC
Brandon Allen, roasted on the talk
Freshman of the Year, and junior
show and message board circuit
Jonathan Williams plus Osceola
as last year’s fall guy, but team
sophomore Korliss Marshall, who
respected laboring from the seais faster than both.
son’s third game with separation
Arkansas graduated Allin his throwing shoulder. Allen is
American center Travis Swanson
healthy and developed into a solid
Bielema
and early-stage develops another
SEC starter, Bielema believes.
“People see the same quarterback and great one, Bielema believes, true freshman
right away think the same is person is going Frank Ragnow.
Meanwhile, fourth-year junior Mitch
to arrive with the same results,” Bielema
said. “Well, that’s why you coach, to make Smothers starts. Transfer guards Sebastian
Tretola and Cameron Jefferson
people better. I think he is going to
challenge Denver Kirkland, a
be much improved.”
sophomore incumbent, and Luke
Allen’s supporting cast should
Charpentier. Senior right tackbe, too. Sophomore tight end
le Brey Cook is the line’s leadHunter Henry made second-team
er. Sophomore left tackle Dan
All-SEC as a true freshman last
Skipper last year started at guard.
year despite playing hurt from the
Though Chris Ash, last year’s
opening game. He’s healthy and
Arkansas defensive coordinahas big-time complementary suptor now at Ohio State, shared
port from tight ends AJ Derby,
in Bielema’s Big Ten success at
Jeremy Sprinkle and Alex Voelzke.
Brandon Allen Wisconsin, his chemistry with last
Flankers Keon Hatcher and
Drew Morgan posted a better preseason year’s struggling defense didn’t jell.
Bielema seems more comfortable with
than any season that Razorbacks wide
receivers posted last year. True freshmen new coordinator Robb Smith and the
receivers Jared Cornelius, Jojo Robinson revamped defensive staff returning only
ARKANSAS OFFENSE
SE–Demeterius Wilson, Kendrick
Edwards
LT–Dan Skipper, Brian Wallace
LG–Luke Charpentier, Cameron
Jefferson
C–Mitch Smothers, Frank Ragnow
RG–Denver Kirkland, Sebastian Tretola
RT– Brey Cook, Austin Beck
TE–Hunter Henry, AJ Derby
QB–Brandon Allen, Austin Allen
RB–Jonathan Williams, Alex Collins,
Korliss Marshall
FB–Kody Walker, Patrick Arinze
IR–Jared Cornelius, Jojo Robinson
ARKANSAS DEFENSE
DE–Trey Flowers, Tevin Beanum
DT–Darius Philon, DeMarcus Hodge
NT–Taiwan Johnson, Bijhon Jackson
SLB–Braylon Mitchell, Daunte Carr
MLB–Brooks Ellis, Josh Williams
WLB–Martrell Spaight, Dwayne Eugene
CB–Tevin Mitchel, Jared Collins
CB–Carroll Washington, D.J. Dean
SS–Rohan Gaines, De’Andre Coley
FS–Alan Turner, Davyon McKinney
SPECIALISTS
P–Sam Irwin-Hill
PK–John Henson, Cole Hedlund
DS–Alan D’Appollonio
H–Matt Emrich
KOR–Korliss Marshall, Drew Morgan
PR–D.J. Dean, Jojo Robinson
By NATE ALLEN
Special to The Leader
FAYETTEVILLE – Bret Bielema absolutely, positively knows these Arkansas
Razorbacks he coaches in his second year
are better – much better – than last year’s
3-9 outfit.
It’s impossible to record worse than 0-8
in the SEC, Arkansas’ first SEC winless team
in its SEC history that began in 1992.
Bielema believes the 2014 Hogs won’t
be just law of averages better but significantly better than 2013. He started feeling
it the final two games of last season, SEC
games the Hogs could have, in retrospect
even should have won 24-17 in overtime to
Mississippi State in Little Rock and 31-27 to
LSU in Baton Rouge.
Since then he has been buoyed by spring
drills the preseason practices that began
Aug. 4.
Time, development, recruiting and
shared purpose enhances the second-year
coach’s bond with his team and his team
with him.
“When you’re coaching a football team,”
Bielema said after the Razorbacks’ Aug. 16
last major preseason scrimmage, “and you
physically know that they’re capable of doing
and you begin to understand mentally what
they can do and handle, that’s when you
begin to see the things you believe in work.
That’s to me a very exciting time.”
Of course it would be considerably more
exciting to Arkansas fans if their Razorbacks
won a whole bunch more games.
“As far as how many translating wins that
comes into, I can’t put a count,” Bielema
said.
Most prognosticators count not many.
“I think the general perception that we
may not see the improvement in our wins
and losses is out of respect as to who our
opponents are,” Bielema said.
He’s right. Starting with opening Aug.
30 at Auburn, the reigning SEC overall and
West champion and national runner-up,
to closing Nov. 28 at SEC East champion
Missouri, the Razorbacks’ 12-game schedule
includes 10 teams that went bowling last
season.
Eight SEC opponents rank in the AP
Preseason Top 25. Three rank in the Top
10: Alabama, second, Auburn, seventh, and
Georgia ninth.
Two more foes, Mississippi State and
nonconference Texas Tech, are among the
“others receiving votes.”
Northern Illinois, also nonconference,
went 12-2 last season.
“We have been voted the toughest sched-
Leader file photo
• 37
CAN THE BRUINS BE DETHRONED?
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The 5A-Central Conference went
through some minor alterations with the
new two-year cycle, and it looks to have
become a little tougher at the top.
Gone are Little Rock Christian and
Helena-West Helena Central, two teams
that only made the occasional push for a
top-four finish and spot in the playoffs.
Taking their place is Beebe and J.A. Fair.
Fair has only won one game in the last
three years, and had nowhere to go but
up. Beebe is a perennial playoff contender
from the historically tough 5A East, and
looks to figure immediately in the championship race in the 5A Central.
But only one team has ever won a
5A-Central Conference championship,
and it is up to the rest of the league to
prove it can knock that team off its perch.
PULASKI ACADEMY is once again
the favorite to win a title. Though it may
not have a roster littered with Division
I athletes like it has the last few seasons, Bruin coach Kevin Kelley has said
this may be the best offense he’s had
since becoming head coach 13 years ago.
Kelley’s been known to say strange things,
but we’ll take his word for it.
That most likely means that teams
are going to have to simply outscore the
Bruins to beat them. A look at the Bruins’
scores from last year seems to indicate
that it didn’t put a whole lot of emphasis on defense. All 12 of their opponents
scored at least two touchdowns and nine
of the 12 scored at least 21 points.
On average, PA gave up 27 points per
game. But counter that with a team that
averaged scoring 50 per game, and it still
bears out that the Bruins dominated.
This season could feature some games
that stretch long into the cool Friday
nights of autumn, because the two teams
with the best chance at beating Pulaski
Academy also have a recent history of
scoring, and giving up, lots of points.
One of those teams is SYLVAN
HILLS.
The Bears should have entered its week
nine meeting with PA undefeated in conference and playing for a league title, but
they were upset in West Helena, finished
in a three-way tie for second and had to
settle for a four seed in the playoffs.
That team returns almost everyone
on an offense that looked very powerful
most of the time, but occasionally sputtered. The Bears are looking for more
consistency this season and should get it
with so much experience returning. The
problem could be on defense, where very
Beebe is a newcomer to the 5A Central, but will become an immediate contender for the league crown.
little experience returns. The Bears also
gave up an average of 27 points per game
last year, so the new players could end up
being better.
Sylvan Hills had just better not focus too
much on week 10 and Pulaski Academy,
because one other team is plenty good
enough to deflate an undefeated balloon
in week nine if the Bears aren’t careful,
and that team is BEEBE.
In fact, it’s probably pretty accurate to
say that the Bears and Badgers are 2 and
2A in the preseason. They’re very comparable on paper. Both have almost everyone
back on powerful offenses, but Beebe has
a little more back on defense. The problem
is that defense also gave up a ton of points
last season. In fact, Beebe had the worst of
the three, giving up a whopping 34 points
per game last season, including an enormous 48 per game against the six playoff
teams it faced during the year.
That’s the key reason Beebe is the No.
3 pick. The Badgers’ offense will be hard
for anyone to stop this season, so wins in
those three games between those three
top teams will likely, if ironically, come
down to defense. The team that is able
to come up with a key stop here and
there will likely emerge victorious. Of the
three, Beebe has the worst track record at
accomplishing that against quality opposition.
While it’s possible that anything could
happen among the league’s top three, it
looks like it will be difficult for anyone
else in the league to hang with those
three. That leaves five teams battling
for one more playoff spot, and the most
likely to take the spot will be MILLS
UNIVERSITY STUDIES.
The Comets lost a lot from last season’s
9-3 team, but for some reason have had
trouble making people around the state
take notice of how strong of a program
has been built by coach Patrick Russell. In
2012, picked to finish sixth with only nine
total returning starters, the Comets went
10-2 and advanced to the second round
of the playoffs. Last year, picked to finish
fifth with only eight returning starters,
they went 9-3 and again advanced to the
quarterfinals.
Lesson learned. The Comets are solid,
and they will make the playoffs despite
this season returning a total of six starters, four on offense and two on defense.
The only other team in the league with any
recent history of success is Jacksonville,
and the Red Devils simply haven’t been as
consistent the last few years as the Comets
have been.
That could all change this year with the
arrival of a new coach and a newfound
enthusiasm surrounding the program.
And if any team is capable of knocking the
Comets out of that final playoff spot, it is
JACKSONVILLE.
The Red Devils, frankly, have underachieved the last few seasons. This team
will probably have to reverse course and
overachieve to get back into the playoffs.
The last few Jacksonville teams have been
rife with talent. Five players from last
year’s 4-6 squad signed with colleges.
That’s way too many for a team to finish
with only four wins.
This team doesn’t have that multitudinous talent, but it does have some. It got
a pair of key linemen back who missed
last season with eligibility issues, and it
returns a 1,000-yard running back.
New coach Barry Hickingbotham has,
so far, brought increased excitement,
unity and fun to the program, and those
things can go a long way. Hickingbotham
has said since his arrival that it will likely
be quarterback by committee. He’s confident he can make it work, but it’s not
usually a good thing.
Increasingly in today’s game, teams
need that clear-cut leadership presence in the huddle and calling signals.
Jacksonville doesn’t have it. It has, so
coaches say, three adequate quarterbacks
who have all shown a decent ability to
move the offense, but none of who have
risen to the top and staked a claim as the
team’s on-field commander.
None of the four more or equally
equipped teams in the league have that
issue, and that could be a difference in
making the playoffs or not.
The three remaining teams combined
for two total wins last year, and have
combined for six total wins the last two
seasons combined – and four of those
have been against each other.
All three will probably be better than
last year. McClellan and North Pulaski
return almost everyone, and J.A. Fair
hired a proven head coach to try to turn
the program around.
Even though McClellan’s and Fair’s
lone wins last season came against North
Pulaski, the Falcons will avenge both of
those losses this year and finish sixth.
It was evident that NP was the better
team on the field at McClellan last season,
but bad breaks cost them the game. NP
has more returning this season than Fair,
and hopefully won’t rack up more penalty
yards than total yards gained in this year’s
week six game like it did in week one last
year.
WILDCATS BACK ON TOP OF 7A/6A EAST
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The 7A/6A-East Conference champion
from a year ago represented its conference
well by advancing all the way to the class 7A
state championship game in 2013.
That Cabot Panthers team entered last
season expecting to have one of its better
seasons, and the same can be said about this
year’s favorite to come out of that conference on top.
In what’s become the norm over the last
several seasons, the North Little Rock
Charging Wildcats enter the 2014 season
as the favorite to once again take the 7A/6AEast crown and be the team supposed to
make a serious run at advancing to the state
championship game – something that’s
eluded the talent-heavy team throughout
the Brad Bolding era.
Like in recent years, North Little Rock
is considered to again be the team to beat
this season – from the central part of the
state at least – and although it remains to be
seen whether or not the Charging Wildcats
will take that next step in getting to the state
title game (semifinalist four of the last five
seasons), the return of 10 starters on offense
and five more on defense, four of which
were All-State selections last season, should
put the Cats in great position to have their
third-straight 10-win season.
The Jonesboro Hurricane of class 6A
is the popular pick to finish second in the
conference this season, and with 14 returning starters, eight of which on the defensive
side of the ball, it’s understandable why the
Hurricane is expected to build off of its 8-5
season a year ago.
Jonesboro has replaced its graduated
quarterback with its leading receiver from
last season, so athleticism won’t be a problem there. Jonesboro is starting to add tradition to its football program as well.
Since Randy Coleman took over head
coaching duties in 2008, Jonesboro has
won at least seven games a year, and has
had three-straight semifinal appearances
in class 6A.
Last year, the Hurricane fell to eventual state champion El Dorado, 23-21, in
the semis. Perhaps this is the year the
Hurricane makes the December trip to War
Memorial Stadium.
The Cabot Panthers are this guy’s pick
to finish third in the 7A/6A East in 2014,
but it won’t come easy – at all. Last year’s
7A state runner-up had 15 starters graduate from that team in May, and plenty of
sophomores are going to see the field for the
Panthers this season, which could very well
lead to some growing pains.
There is still some talented experience
North Little Rock’s Heath Land escapes a tackle during the Wildcats’ first loss to Cabot last season.
returning, especially on defense. Seniors
Jake Ferguson and Tristan Bulice could
very well be the best in the state at their
defensive positions, and some of the newcomers, like quarterback Jarrod Barnes
and linebacker Easton Seidl, bring tons of
potential to the team.
However, there are still plenty of question marks on both sides of the ball, and
the only way we’ll know for sure where the
Panthers stack up in the conference is to
watch it all play itself out on the field.
The Little Rock Central Tigers could
very well finish third in the conference, but
their lack of depth on defense is going to be
a difficult obstacle to overcome as the season progresses. They replace nine starters
on that side of the ball.
Six starters are back on offense for
the Tigers’ Power Spread attack, including All-State senior quarterback Cooper
Westbrook. Besides that position, the Tigers
are talent-heavy at receiver and even at
kicker, which could lead to a lot of points
scored in 2014 for Central.
After winning just two games in each of
the last two seasons, the Marion Patriots
are expecting better things in 2014 with
a new head coach leading them. Former
Mayflower coach Jed Davis brings a new
philosophy, energy and level of excitement
to the program that’s been lacking over the
last several years.
Davis won 41 games in his seven seasons
at Mayflower and his quarterback last year
led the state in passing during the regular
season (3,975 yards, 46 touchdowns).
Davis’ Spread attack differs greatly from
the run-heavy Diamond-T offense the
Patriots operated for the last 12 seasons
– an offense that averaged less than three
touchdowns per game in the previous two
seasons. Davis’ Spread offense will allow
the Patriots’ skill players more opportunities to get the ball in space and should lead
to more big plays, points scored, and more
wins in 2014.
Another reason Marion should be better is its dramatic increase in participation.
Only 20 Patriots were in the offseason program when Davis took the job in March,
but that number increased to more than 70
players a month later, including 40 sophomores.
Like Marion, the West Memphis Blue
Devils have a new head coach and should
be better this season than they were in 2013.
West Memphis had won 10 games in four of
the last six seasons before totaling just three
wins a year ago.
Billy Elmore takes over head coaching
duties. He succeeds Lanny Dauksch, who
comprised an impressive 116-41-1 record
at the school. Elmore, like Dauksch, knows
how to win.
Elmore has won two state championships as a coach. He won the state championship at Glen Rose in 2007 and at Stuttgart
in 2012.
As usual, West Memphis will have talent at the skill positions, but have question
marks at quarterback and on the offensive
line, which could lead to a slower rebuilding
process than Elmore and Blue Devil fans
would like.
The Searcy Lions have been on a
downward spiral since winning nine games
in 2011. They finished 4-7 in head coach
Jeromy Poole’s first season leading the program, but they know how to win close
games.
Two of Searcy’s wins last year came by
one point, and both were against conference opponents. The Lions beat Mountain
Home, 29-28, in Week 5, and went on the
road to beat West Memphis, 35-34, in Week
9.
Participation has been up as well for the
Lions, but having to play in such a tough
conference will likely lead to another losing
season for the White County school.
The Mountain Home Bombers have
seen little to no success since entering the
7A/6A East. The Bombers went 0-11 in
2013, and won just one game in 2012. As
was the case last season, there isn’t hardly
any depth at the skill positions, and speed,
or lack thereof, is going to be another problem for Mountain Home.
Size and strength, you could say by
default, is the Bombers’ strength. But in
this conference, that lack of speed will be
detrimental to any hopes of success the
Mountain Home faithful have. To be blunt,
it’s expected to be another long year for the
Bombers.
• 39
TAKING A GREYHOUND TO TITLE LAND
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The 4A-2 Conference looks a bit different
than it has in years past with the loss of Pine
Bluff Dollarway, Marianna and Clinton.
Coaches, teams and fans around the
league are surely grateful to see tradition-rich
Dollarway, who dominated the 2013 regular
season en route to the outright 4A-2 championship, leave for the 4A-8, but that doesn’t
mean the three teams that took the place of
the three departures won’t collectively bring
that same level of competition to the conference.
West Helena dropped down from 5A to
take one of the three spots. Central Arkansas
Christian also joined the 4A-2 after spending the last several years in the 4A-7, and
Riverview moves up from class 3A to fill the
third spot.
Of the three new additions, Helena is in
the best position to make a run at a conference title in 2014, but The Leader’s favorite to
take the 4A-2 crown this season is Newport.
The Greyhounds had high expectations
last season and looked to be Dollarway’s
biggest challenger in the conference after
convincingly winning its three nonconference games, two of which were against class
5A playoff participants in Sylvan Hills and
Nettleton.
However, Newport opened its conference
schedule with a 0-2 record. The Greyhounds
were hammered 42-0 by Dollarway in the
conference opener, and lost at Lonoke in
Week 5 after the Jackrabbits scored in the
game’s final minute.
The Greyhounds rebounded with sixstraight wins before losing to Arkadelphia in
the second round of the 4A playoffs, finishing 2013 with a 9-3 record. Newport returns
seven starters on both offense and defense
from that team, including three-year starting
quarterback Gunnar Bullard.
Also returning to the backfield is junior
standout tailback Carl Turner, who paced
the high school Hounds with 1,709 yards as a
freshman, and ran for 1,038 yards last season
on an injured foot.
The rest of the team also provides plenty
of experience to give Newport the best odds
to win the conference, but lack of depth on
both sides of the ball could be crippling to
those title hopes if the injuries start to pile up.
West Helena will likely be Newport’s
biggest challenger in the 4A-2 this season,
and with nine starters back on offense and
eight more back on defense from a team that
finished second in the 5A Central last year, it’s
easy to understand why.
The Cougars’ experienced offense and
overall team speed will lead to some wins
in the 4A-2 this season, and although they
graduated almost all of their secondary from
a season ago, there’s still enough experience
and talent on the defensive side of the ball to
give the east Arkansas school a great chance
to compete for a conference title right away.
Lonoke is another team that could be in
the 4A-2 mix this season. The Jackrabbits
finished 9-3 a year ago and hosted two playoff
games. Seven starters return on defense for
head coach Doug Bost’s squad, and five more
on offense.
Although the Rabbits will be replacing
three offensive linemen and their starting
quarterback from a year ago, junior SaVonte
Rountree will give opposing defenses plenty
to worry about at quarterback.
Rountree “can throw a hole through a
receiver,” Bost said of his junior QB, and Bost
added that he clocked in a 4.8 40 time in the
spring, which will give opposing defenses
another thing to prepare for.
Junior tailback Josh Coleman is coming
off a stellar sophomore campaign. He ran for
more than 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns in
2013, and the junior standout ran a 4.6 40 in
the spring.
Lonoke’s underclassmen had terrific
junior high campaigns – winning back-to-
Good Luck
back conference championships the last
two seasons. The big problem for Lonoke,
though, is its lack of depth. Only 40 players
were on the roster at the start of fall practice,
and if any injuries occur, it’ll be extremely
tough for the Rabbits to overcome.
Stuttgart went from a state championship in 2012 to just four wins in 2013. The
Ricebirds lost their last two regular-season
games by two points before being ousted in
the first round of the playoffs last year.
They return just three starters on offense,
but nearly half on defense, returning five.
Their biggest strength will be at the skill positions, but the lack of size, depth and talent
on both lines could lead to another less than
stellar season in 2014 for the tradition-rich
Ricebirds.
CAC is the team with perhaps the biggest
question mark as far as predicting where it’ll
stand in the 4A-2. The Mustangs return a
total of 11 starters from a team that finished
4-6 and missed the playoffs in 2013.
The battle for the starting quarterback
position was still up for grabs at the start of
fall practice, and even though the Mustangs’
roster, as a whole, doesn’t have a ton of experience at the high school level, their size and
depth has improved from a year ago.
Heber Springs is coming off one of its
worst seasons in some time. The Panthers
went 2-8 last season, and it remains to be
seen whether or not things will be much better in 2014.
They’ll have to replace their graduated AllState quarterback. They have a 1,000-yard
rusher returning to the backfield, and a total
of eight returning starters on offense and
nine on defense.
Experience will be on the side of the
Panthers, and another strength for them will
be on the offensive line. However, considering the Panthers run the Spread, quarterback
play, which is unproven at this point, will be
crucial for Heber Springs to get back into the
playoff mix.
Southside Batesville can’t seem to dig
itself out from the bottom of the 4A-2 barrel. The Southerners, like Heber, totaled just
two wins a season ago and only one came in
conference play – a 27-24 win at Marianna
in Week 7.
Fourth-year coach Kenny Simpson
believes his team can build off consistenPlease see GREYHOUND, Page 42
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HORNETS FAVORED, CARLISLE THIRD
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The 2A-6 Conference has upped its
football teams to nine for the 2014 season.
England, who’s turned its football program
into a winning one as of late, winning seven
games in each of the last two seasons, left the
conference to join the 2A-5, while McCrory
and Augusta take England’s place in the
2A-6.
McCrory is a program that consistently
wins games at the 2A level, and the Jaguars
are no strangers to teams within the 2A-6,
having played Carlisle and Hazen in nonconference games over the last several seasons.
It’s been a while since Augusta has put
together a winning season, winning a total of
eight games since 2011, but the Red Devils’
win total has climbed since then, winning
one game in 2011, three games in 2012, and
four in 2013.
Des Arc was somewhat of a surprise team
last year, going undefeated in conference
play to win the 2A-6 outright and advance all
the way to the class 2A state championship
game. It was the Eagles’ first league crown
since 2008.
Hazen, though, will be the favorite to
win the 2A-6 this season. The Hornets lost
some key starters from last year’s team that
went 8-4 and advanced to the second round
of the playoffs, but they have a total of 16
starters returning in 2014 – seven on offense
and nine on head coach Joe Besancon’s 4-3
defense.
The Hornets graduated their all-league
quarterback, but All-State running back
Trenton Mosby, who ran for almost 1,300
yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago, returns
for his senior season, and will once again
be the feature back for Besancon’s offensive
attack.
Hazen will have plenty of others capable
of making plays at the skill positions, and
their team strength as a whole is among the
top teams in the conference, but their lack of
depth on both lines could hurt them – especially if the injury bug bites them early.
Despite losing 11 starters from last year’s
state runner-up team, Des Arc should be
in good position to once again compete for
the 2A-6 championship. The Eagles won 11
games last season, and will return that many
starters – six on offense and five on defense.
The quarterback competition was still
underway at the start of fall practice, and it
remains to be seen whether or not the Eagles
will be able to get the same production it got
at the position the last two seasons under
Jalen Holloway, who graduated in May after
earning All-State honors in 2012 and 2013.
The Eagles, however, despite Holloway’s
departure, should have plenty of depth in the
backfield in 2014, but the lack of overall team
speed could hurt their chances of repeating as
conference champs.
Carlisle graduated one of its best senior
classes in May. That 2014 class was a part of
Bison teams that won a combined 35 games
in the last three years, and they’ll certainly be
missed.
Three of those graduated running backs
helped the Bison rush for a school record
4,627 yards in 2013 – two of which will
be playing college football this fall. Carlisle
didn’t lose its entire team, though.
The Bison return six starters on offense
and four more on defense and despite having their third head coach in three years, the
team has maintained the same offensive and
defensive systems in that time, so experience
in those systems will be on their side.
Line play and tradition will be Carlisle’s
biggest advantage this season, but like every
other team in 2A, depth is a concern.
With nine starters returning on offense
and eight more returning on defense,
McCrory should be in good position to get
into the playoffs in its first year in the 2A-6.
The Jaguars enter the season with experience on their side, a junior quarterback that
started at the position all of last season, and a
running back that rushed for 1,250 yards and
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McCrory has been a six-win team the last
two seasons, and will look to improve on that
mark in 2014, but the Jaguars will need to
stay healthy and win some close games to
achieve that.
After a 0-6 start last season, Brinkley
won three of its last four games to get into
the 2A playoffs, and even won its first-round
game. The Tigers could be even better this
season with eight starters returning on
offense and nine on defense, but the lack of
depth is an issue.
Also, the Tigers entered the spring without
a head coach, and how the players respond
to the transition of a new coach could be the
biggest factor in determining how Brinkley
does this season.
Palestine-Wheatley looked like a team
that could compete for a playoff spot last season. The Patriots were 2-1 entering conference play, but finished the season with a 1-6
record in the 2A-6, including a disappointing
22-12 loss to Marvell, who before that night
hadn’t won a single game since 2010.
The Patriots have a total of eight returning starters – four on each side of the ball
– and their biggest strength will be up front.
However, if teams are able to get the ball past
the PW defensive line, it could lead to a lot of
big plays for opponents, as the Patriots’ biggest team weakness is at linebacker.
Augusta is looking to improve its win
total from the four wins the Red Devils earned
a season ago, but the switch to the 2A-6 won’t
make that an easy goal to achieve.
The Red Devils return five starters on
offense for new coach Chad Floyd, who will
run his offense out of the Spread formation,
and four starters return on defense, which
will be primarily out of the 3-4.
Augusta has athletes that can hurt defenses by getting the ball in space, but the lack of
linemen to block for them could lead to some
long nights for the Red Devils against some of
the top teams in the league.
It was rough first year at the helm for
Clarendon head coach Thomas Thrash in
2013, as his Lions finished last season 1-9,
and almost all of those losses were blowouts.
The Lions are hoping for a better year
in 2014 with nine starters coming back on
offense and eight more returning on defense.
They’re similar to Augusta in the sense they’re
talented at the skill positions, but the lack of
linemen to block for them could mean anothPlease see FAVORED, Page 42
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Freshmen
the effort this group gives him on a consistent
basis.
“It’s hard right now to single anybody
out,” Spencer said, “but overall effort, they
give me all they’ve got, and as long as they
come to work every day, work hard, I don’t
have any complaints. So hopefully we can
get a lot of things fine-tuned and get ready
to roll.”
SYLVAN HILLS
The River City Conference is undergoing
some changes as more and more teams are
added. This year the league will be divided
into two divisions, one for teams in 5A and up
and one for teams in 4A and below.
All of The Leader teams will be in the
larger division, and all three are excited about
the group of ninth-graders it will put on the
field this season.
The largest of the group is clearly Sylvan
Hills. First-year coach Zach James has about
40 players on a roster deep in the skill positions.
There are two quarterbacks on the team
that high school coach Jim Withrow is already
taking notice of. One is Ryan Lumpkin and
the other Darius Wadell.
The deep stable of running backs starts
with Deon Youngblood, who will be joined by
Daelyn Fairrow in the two-back set.
Even reserve back Deviontae Muldrow
broke loose for an 86-yard touchdown
run down the visitors’ sideline during the
team’s Blue-White game last Friday.
“I’m pretty excited about this group,” said
James. “We’re pretty deep at the skill positions and we’ve got some decent size to go
along with it. They’ve split the conference
up this year so it will probably be a little
more challenging. But I think this team has a
chance to win it.”
As eighth-graders, the team went 6-2 last
season in the combined conference.
JACKSONVILLE
The Jacksonville coaches are also excited
about their group of freshmen. The ninthgrade Red Devils don’t have the numbers of
Sylvan Hills, but does have a good mixture of
size and athleticism. Jacksonville will be led
by quarterback Hardarrius (HD) Martin, who
coaches are very high on.
“He’s got a chance to be the real deal,” said
Jacksonville assistant coach Larry Burrows.
“He can run it. He can throw it and he’s a
good kid. He’ll do whatever you ask of him.”
Martin has a number of good receivers to
go to and a good-sized line to give him time
to find them. That line will also be tasked
with opening holes for the running game,
where Shawn Ellis figures to be the feature
back. Ellis got a number of nice gains during
the Red-White game against the 10th-grade
defense.
LONOKE
At Lonoke, the junior Jackrabbits are
seeking their third-straight conference championship. Lonoke finished a perfect 10-0 two
seasons ago and went 8-2 last year, and
head LJH coach Darrick Lowery is hoping
this year’s group can build on the program’s
recent success and carry on the winning tradition. Lowery had more than 50 players on
his roster at the start of summer, and earlier
this month he said they’ve been busy for the
last several months preparing for the upcoming season.
“We went to a lot of 7-on-7s,” said Lowery
at the Lonoke Chamber of Commerce meeting on Aug. 7. “On Monday nights we were
at Cabot; Tuesday nights we were either
going to England, Carlisle, Maumelle or here
(Lonoke). Thursday nights we were going to
Conway.
“We got to travel quite a bit and play
against a lot of the best teams in the state.
We also went to two team camps. We had
one at OBU (Ouachita Baptist University).
We played against Malvern, Lake Hamilton,
Searcy, Arkadelphia – some of these larger
schools than us, and our kids fought hard and
made a lot of great plays.
“We also had a team camp at Conway.
We played against two Conway Junior High
teams, Searcy, Morrilton, Pulaski Academy
and Beebe. What we’re doing in junior high
is trying to build off of our success that we’ve
had the last two seasons.”
All five teams will kick off their regularseason schedules next Thursday.
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• 41
RAY BENTON/Leader photo
Sylvan Hills freshman Deviontae Muldrow gets loose for an 80-yard touchdown in the Blue-White game.
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K-RICH “IS UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS”
FAYETTEVILLE – If at 6-feet he didn’t
have to bulk up to surpass 160 pounds,
Jacksonville’s Kevin Richardson perhaps
would be attending the University of Arkansas
on a Razorbacks football scholarship.
After all, Richardson posted a pretty impressive career at Jacksonville High as a 2-time
All-State jack of all trades, quarterback/
running back/receiver/defensive back/kick
returner/punt returner while also playing
basketball and baseball and running track.
As a 2011 junior, Richardson had come
to the then Bobby Petrino Razorbacks’ staff
attention by surpassing 1,000 all-purpose
yards offensively and picking off seven passes
defensively. After a 2012 doubly effective
offensively with 2,000 all-purpose yards and
intercepting eight passes, the then brand
new Bret Bielema Arkansas staff enticed
Richardson to walk on.
Then just hired, tight ends coach Barry
Lunney Jr. the lone original Arkansas con-
t
Special to The Leader
nection on Bielema’s full-time staff as a
Watching him fly around to break up a
UA grad, former Razorbacks quarterback pass like he did in the first preseason scrimUA grad and high school assistant coach mage of Aug. 9 and showed he could do during last spring’s drills after redshirtat Bentonville, played a significant
ing upon his 2013 arrival, there
role in Richardson opting to walk
is hope that Richardson’s dream
on, Richardson said.
could come true.
“I had prior contact with Coach
Then there is the wincing realPetrino,” Richardson said. “He
ity
that Richardson’s weight makes
was talking to me about receiver. I
him a minnow among whales.
reached out to Coach Lunney and
“I have gained a few pounds, not
he helped me get back on to the
much,”
Richardson said. “I weigh
program.
about 165. They still want me to
You can call me kind of a recruitpile on the weight but they said I
ed walk-on but I feel I still have the
still have the skill level to get on the
Richardson
potential to be on scholarship.”
field with the size I play with.”
He likely could have had a scholThat he does, says defensive backfield
arship at a smaller school but couldn’t dis- coach Clay Jennings, Bielema’s newest hire
miss his dream of playing for the Razorbacks. signed on from TCU last Feb. 20 but already
“It has been a dream since I played Peewee a Richardson advocate.
football,” Richardson said. “Growing up in
“Kevin has been a delight since I have
Arkansas, you don’t have much to look up been here in the spring,” Jennings said. “The
to but professional teams outside the state one thing we want is for Kevin to get a
or the Razorbacks. I have always loved the little more thump in his trunk. But one thing,
Razorbacks. They are my team and they have Kevin is conscientious and knows football is
been my team as long as I can remember.”
important to him.”
2014 Jacksonville
varsity cheerleaders
at nationals
The 2014 varsity cheerleading
squad includes Lori Gray, front
from left, Ashley Adams, Morgan
Lloyd, Katy Gordon; second row,
Lilly Prince, Chloe Watson, Megan
Cavano, Cydnee Ford, Brooklin
Clark; third row second from left,
Lindsey Martin, Ashlee Jones,
Emilee Perry; back row Jasmine
DeBose, Kiki Welch, Jordan Oginski
Haley Smith and Tyanna Thomas.
Submitted photo
Above all, Arkansas football is important
to him and that can set an Arkansas kid apart
among Razorbacks, Jennings has learned
already.
“He does a great job in my meeting rooms
as far as displaying leadership,” Jennings
said. “And once we get on the practice field
he is the University of Arkansas. That’s what
he wants to be.”
That’s what Bielema wants on a grand
scale, opening the program to walk-ons, especially instate walk-ons, as much as he can.
“I feel Coach B gives walk-ons a great
chance to be on this team,” Richardson
said. “I feel like he is giving me a great opportunity to contribute. I feel like I could potentially see some time on the field on special
teams.”
Regardless whether he plays a down,
Arkansas as a state likely some day will benefit just by Richardson attending the UA. He
is a kinesiology major with grand ambitions.
“I may do pre-med,” Richardson said.
“With kinesiology you have a broad selection
of careers.”
Greyhound
cy, having run the same offensive system
(Spread) for three years, and said his team
has made significant strides in the weight
room.
The added depth that includes the arrival of a big sophomore class will be something the Southerners can look forward to,
just not right away. They may be able to dig
themselves out from the bottom of the 4A-2
barrel, but it most likely will not be in 2014.
t
By NATE ALLEN
Favored
er long year for the second-year head coach.
Marvell enters the 2014 season with
something it almost never has – a winning
streak. The Mustangs surprised the league
with a 22-12 win over Palestine-Wheatley in
the 2013 regular-season finale, but their lack
of numbers again this year, which is the norm
for the struggling program, should hurt the
team again in 2014.
The Mustangs do have the benefit of having the same coach for the second year in a
row (four different head coaches in the last
five years), but again, having the lowest numbers in the conference will most likely lead to
another long and tough season for Marvell.
Although Riverview returns nine starters on both sides of the ball from last year’s
team that finished 6-5 in class 3A, there isn’t
much depth to back those players up.
Like almost every other team does in the
conference, the Raiders will run its primary
offense in the Spread formation, but they’ll
likely struggle the most with numbers.
Riverview does have some talent at the
skill spots, and strength on both lines, but
like most teams that are struggling with
numbers in the conference, any injuries that
might occur could make the Raiders’ transition to the 4A-2 a bit tough.
COACHES
CALL US
The Leader would like to hear
from all coaches in all sports in
our coverage area. Please e-mail
results, statistics or information
to [email protected] or fax to 501-985-0026
or call 982-9421.
200
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