High school football

War Memorial to be NLR’s home for 2014

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK MCFARLAND--08/04/14--    North Little Rock football players do stretching exercises during their first practice early Monday morning in Burns Park.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK MCFARLAND--08/04/14-- North Little Rock football players do stretching exercises during their first practice early Monday morning in Burns Park.

North Little Rock is making adjustments and audibling before it takes its first snap of the 2014 football season.

Construction of the school's new stadium, which was scheduled to open this fall, was slowed by inclement weather during late fall and winter, forcing the Charging Wildcats to not only move their home games to Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium this season but also relocate their football operations to a former North Little Rock School District elementary school, Bellwood.

On the first day of high school football practice in the state Monday morning, the Charging Wildcats were bused to two softball fields at Burns Park, where they'll be practicing throughout the season.

North Little Rock Coach Brad Bolding said the team was planning to use the rugby and soccer fields at Burns Park as it did during spring practice, but the uneven surfaces at those fields and the absence of lights concerned him and North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith helped secure the softball fields for the Charging Wildcats.

Early morning traffic from Interstate 40 provided annoying background noise for the Charging Wildcats.

"You have to talk louder. You have to coach louder where your kids can hear you," Bolding said. "Quarterbacks are the big factor in that because of all the checks. They have to be loud with their snap count. It can't hurt us."

North Little Rock, expected to be one of the state's top teams, has advanced to the Class 7A semifinals four of the past five seasons and is led by receiver K.J. Hill, last year's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Offensive Player of the Year.

"Our kids have adjusted well to everything we've done," said Bolding, who is entering his eighth season at North Little Rock. "They're all excited about what's to come."

North Little Rock Stadium, which seated approximately 7,500 and was used by the district's athletic teams since the 1930s, was torn down in November. The Charging Wildcats used the stadium in 1990-2013, following the merger of Ole Main and Northeast high schools.

The Charging Wildcats beat Mountain Home 68-7 on Nov. 1 in their final regular-season game at North Little Rock Stadium. Two weeks later, they played their final game at the stadium, beating Rogers Heritage 49-16 in a Class 7A first-round playoff game.

The new stadium is part of NLRSD's $265 million capital improvement project that is reducing the district's campuses from 21 to 13. A new high school is also part of the project and will wrap around the new stadium.

A tight construction window between November 2013 and this fall forced North Little Rock Athletic Director Gary Davis to make alternate plans as early as last September, and he lined up War Memorial Stadium for the Charging Wildcats' four home games, with three of those games on Thursday nights.

War Memorial will also host one University of Arkansas game this season -- against Georgia on Oct. 18 -- and the six state championship games in December. Little Rock Catholic also plays its home games there.

The Charging Wildcats' first "home" game at War Memorial Stadium is Thursday, Sept. 18 against Pine Bluff, but their season opener, technically a road game, is also at War Memorial Stadium against Catholic on Thursday, Sept. 4.

"A lot of coaches don't want to play on Thursday night," Davis said. "But it will be good because more people will be able to watch us play."

Davis said the team's preparation will be affected when it has to play a Friday game followed by a Thursday game. That will be the case early in the season, when North Little Rock travels to Fayetteville on Sept. 12 followed by a game against Pine Bluff at War Memorial six days later.

Davis said he has been proud of the professionalism shown by the North Little Rock coaches.

"When some people would throw their hands up and say, 'This is too much,' they've looked at all the options and do the best with what they've been told to," he said.

North Little Rock moved its football operations to Bellwood, a former NLRSD elementary school, earlier this year. The weight room is in the school's old cafeteria and a turf field is in the gymnasium. Meeting rooms and coaches offices are located in former classrooms.

The lighted Burns Park baseball and softball outfields became an option last Wednesday, and Davis took it.

"We won't need the lights now, but in October when Daylight Savings Time hits, we're going to have to have a place that has lights," said Davis, who credited Smith, North Little Rock Parks and Recreation director Bob Rhoads and park superintendent Jason Rhodes for their help in securing fields for the football program. "These fields are the answer to that."

The Charging Wildcats will practice at Burns Park today and Wednesday before heading to War Memorial Stadium on Thursday. Next week, they'll practice later in the afternoon as North Little Rock has staff development meetings in the morning.

It's possible that practice, but only practice, could be moved to the new stadium late in the season after Field turf is installed in mid-October.

"We have to have good weather," Davis said. "We can't hit a lot of snags as far as plumbing issues, drainage issues and electrical issues. It's a massive project."

Davis said he can't help but look forward to what's next for the Charging Wildcats.

"We're going to have a beautiful stadium," he said. "We're looking forward to it."

Sports on 08/05/2014

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