THREE RIVERS AREA — Anyone who's watched a Mike Malham-coached team in the last 30 years knows his squads are almost always dened by the sum being greater than its individual parts.
That's the way Coach likes it, and ideally, that's the way a team should be built.
But it helps to have some studs here and there, and Cabot hasa two-headed monster looking to lead it back to the promise land.
Michael James and Spencer Neumann are close pals. On weeknights, they like to hang out with each other and other teammates. On weekends, they like to go to the lake together to catch some rays. On Friday nights, they like to try to knock people's heads o◊.
"They're almost like bookends," said Malham, who said it's hard to praise one without praising the other.
For the past two years, James and Neumann have been the respective o◊ensive and defensive stars of the Panthers. With a smaller senior class this year, though, and a legitimate shot at a state championship, that's all going to change. Neumann will join James in the Cabot back◊eld on o◊ense, and James will accompany Neumann at linebacker to chase down the unfortunate souls who clear the line of scrimmage.
It's a move to which they're both looking forward.
"Hopefully we won't leave the◊eld," Neumann said.
Watching the two interact during and after practice, it's a wonder they're such good friends. James is the guy cutting up and mak-ing jokes, the guy with the tattoo on his arm. Neumann's more quiet, so◊-spoken, but both, in their own ways, are focused.
"We both joke around in practice and everything, but we both know when it's time to get serious," Neumann said.
On the◊eld, Malham said they're the perfect one-two punch.
Of Neumann, he said he has "great hands" and is one of the fastest players on the team.
"James, when he gets in the open◊eld, he's almost looking for a d-back to run over instead of scoring," Malham said with a chuckle.
Physically, there's not a lot of di◊erence between the two.
Neumann is 6-0, about 200 pounds. James, at 5-11, 208, readily admitted that Neumann beats him in an open-◊eld sprint.
"But [James] is de◊nitely stronger," Neumann was quick to point out.
◊e numbers these guys have put up are nothing short of gaudy. James, who found himself the starting fullback for Cabot two years ago as a sophomore, has topped 3,000 yards in two years, and Neumann led the team in tackles with 114 from his linebacker spot a season ago.
Both are garnering plenty of attention from college scouts, Malham said. Schools like the University of Central Arkansas and Arkansas State University have been interested, "and most of these D-2 schools, I think that'd be a no-brainer," Malham said.
James said they haven't really talked about it much, but the idea of going to college together would be "awesome."
While in some ways the teammates will compete against each other for playing time this year, that's not the way they see it.
"[◊e coaches] are trying to push us against each other in practice," James said.
◊ey just◊gure when one player's in and the other's out, that's a chance to rest up and get ready for the next play. And with Cabot's multiple-option, run-almost-always o◊ense, both players will likely be on the◊eld on most o◊ensive downs, posing a dual threat to defenses.
◊ey're each trying to prepare for their new roles - James shi◊ing to defense and Neumann to o◊ense - but it's not like they've never played those positions before.
"We both played there in junior high," Neumann said.
James has been hitting the weight room extra hard in the o◊season to increase his strength, and Neumann has been "trying to run a little more because it'll be two times harder" to play both ways.
James and Neumann each said they've appreciated what they've learned from Malham over the years.
"He's pretty tough," James said. "He's a really good coach."
Neumann said the most important thing he's learned from Malham is to "hold onto the ball."
With this being their last go-around in high school, neither are taking time to take stock of their careers : yet.
"I don't really want to think about it" being his senior year, Neumann said. "I'll probably re◊ect on the season once it comes closer to an end."
Until then, there's still a lot of memories le◊to build.
Special, Pages 170, 171 on 08/23/2009