Principals to decide 7A’s path
The Class 7A Principals’ Association will decide in July whether to certify all Class 7A football teams to the playoffs during the 2012-2013 school year, according to Johnny Johnson, outgoing athletic director of the Little Rock School District.
The association tabled a vote in February, Johnson said, because “there wasn’t a football coach there topresent their proposal.”
Class 7A coaches met late last year and endorsed a plan to take all 16 teams to the playoffs this fall, said Ellis Register,Little Rock Central’s football coach.
Class 6A already certifies all 16 teams to the postseason, and Class 7A is expected to follow that lead in 2012-2013.
Class 7A now certifies 12 of 16 schools to the postseason.
Taking all schools will eliminate first-round playoff byes that now go to the top two seeds from each conference.
Because of “geographical conferencing” - the state’s largest 32 schools compete against each other during the regular season before splitting for state championship competition - Class 7A and Class 6A have developed power ratings for playoff seeding.
For seeding purposes, Bryant (7A/6A-South Conference during the regular season) will be placed in the 7A-West, Siloam Springs (7A/6AWest) will be placed in the 6A-South, Cabot, Central, North Little Rock and West Memphis (7A/6A-East) will be placed in the 7A-Central, and Greenwood, Little Rock Hall, Little Rock Parkview and Russellville (7A/6ACentral) will be placed in the 6A-East.
PA opens in LA
Pulaski Academy, which finished 14-0 and won the Class 4A statechampionship last fall, will open this season Aug. 31 at Chaminade, a private Catholic college preparatory school in suburban Los Angeles.
Pulaski Academy Coach Kevin Kelley said the Bruins needed an opening game after Central Arkansas Christian ended its series with PA in the offseason.
Kelley said he advertised Pulaski Academy’s open date on the ArkansasActivities Association website and made several phone calls trying to secure a Week 1 opponent.
The game with Chaminadewas arranged by West Coast-based Hercules Sports Management, Kelley said.
“Every year somebody calls us, wanting to put us in one of these games,” Kelley said. “But every first game, we kind of try to play CAC.
We couldn’t find a first game. We kind of had to accept this game, but I think we’re ready to take that next step.”
Chaminade, which has an enrollment of 1,250, or about four times more than Pulaski Academy, finished 10-3 last fall.
Kelley said the deal with Hercules Sports Management is for two years, but a site and seasonopening opponent for the Bruins in 2013 hasn’t been finalized.
Walking on
Brian Anderson of Little Rock Central, one of the state’s most highly decorated linebackers in the past few years, is walkingon at Arkansas State, Tigers Coach Ellis “Scooter” Register said.
Anderson, 5-11, 230 pounds, was a member of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas team and the Democrat-Gazette’s Metro Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He was also the Democrat-Gazette Sophomore Defensive Player of the Year in 2009.
Anderson had 131 tackles (12 for loss), 14 assisted tackles and 1 sack last season.
Anderson, who played for Little Rock Catholic as a sophomore before following Register to Central, turned down scholarship offers from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Henderson and Arkansas Tech to walk on at ASU.
He will report toJonesboro on Tuesday, Register said.
“ASU got on him late, but he always had the desire to play Division I football,” Register said.
“They convinced him that if he’ll go up there and do what they ask him to do, he’ll probably get a chance to play.” Talking turf
Defending Class 3A state champion Charleston is installing an artificial playing surface at Alumni Field, a $580,000 project that will be completed beforethe 2012 season begins in August.
The Charleston Tiger Football Foundation will contribute $460,000 in private funds for the project, said Bryan Smith, president of the foundation.
Smith said the school district will cover the remaining $120,000, an amount equal to 10 years of maintenance for the existing grass field.
Charleston will join Harding Academy (installed in 2005) and Fountain Lake (2010) as Class 3A schools with an artificial playing surface.
Major 7-on-7
summer tournaments FRIDAY Boll Weevil Camp, Arkansas-Monticello SATURDAY Air Devil, West Memphis High School Air Raid, Harding University, Searcy JUNE 6-7 Ouachita Baptist University Camp, Arkadelphia JUNE 7 Summer Showdown, Pulaski Robinson High School, Little Rock JUNE 8 Young Guns, Little Rock Parkview High School JUNE 9 Harding University Camp, Searcy Mena Tournament, Mena High School JUNE 12 River Valley Shootout, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville JUNE 14 Southwest Arkansas Shootout, Hope High School JUNE 15-16 Shootout of the South, Mighty Bluebird Complex, Little Rock JULY 6-7 Tiger Classic, Little Rock Central High School JULY 7 Fountain Lake Tournament, Fountain Lake High School JULY 10 SEARK Shootout, Warren Sports Complex, Warren JULY 13-14 Border Battle, Harrison High School Garrett Uekman Memorial, War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock Southwest Elite Showcase, Shiloh Christian High School, Springdale JULY 14 Perryville Tournament, Perryville High School JULY 19 Arkansas State University Tournament, Jonesboro JULY 21 Beast of the East, Hoxie High School
Sports, Pages 28 on 05/27/2012