Pulaski County Preview NORTH LITTLE ROCK

Bolding's Charging Wildcats have plenty left to prove

North Little Rock has been one game away from the Class 7A state championship game two consecutive seasons.

Coach Brad Bolding is ready for the Charging Wildcats to take the next step with nine returning starters on offense this season.

At a glance

COACH Brad Bolding (53-28 in eight season)

CONFERENCE 7A/6A-East

2013 RECORD 10-3

KEY RETURNERS QB Heath Land (Sr.), RB Fabian Lewis (Sr.), WR K.J. Hill (Sr.), SS Tyler Phillips (Sr.)

SCHEDULE

Sept. 4 at LR Catholic^

Sept. 12; at Fayetteville

Sept. 18; Pine Bluff^

Sept. 26; at Cabot*

Oct. 2;Mountain Home*^

Oct. 10; at Jonesboro*

Oct. 17; at Searcy*

Oct. 24; Marion*

Oct. 31; at W. Memphis*

Nov. 6 LR Central*^

^Thursday night

*7A/6A-East game

All home games at War Memorial Stadium

The Charging Wildcats lost to Cabot 43-42 in the semifinals of state playoffs last season at Cabot when Zach Launius scored on a two-point conversion in the second overtime. It was North Little Rock's fourth semifinal loss since 2006.

"Our main goal every year is to be better than what we have been the year before," Bolding said. "It's always a tough goal for our kids, because the last four years the standards have been set pretty high."

North Little Rock is led by senior receiver K.J. Hill, who was the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps Offensive Player of the Year as a junior after finishing with 2,071 all-purpose yards and 26 touchdowns.

Hill, 6-1, 192 pounds, is one of the nation's top recruits after wracking up 63 receptions for 1,143 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. He has scholarship offers from approximately 20 schools, including Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

"K.J. brings a lot to the table," Bolding said. "There's a lot of things we can do with him. We can put him in the backfield, we can put him in the slot and split him out real wide, and put him at quarterback."

North Little Rock's offensive threats aren't limited to Hill. Running backs D.J. Brown and Fabian Lewis and quarterback Heath Land will share the load too.

Brown, 5-9, 195, who has orally committed to Northern Illinois, transferred to North Little Rock from Little Rock Catholic, where he had 1,017 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior last season. Lewis, 5-8, 170, is coming off a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered against West Memphis in Week 5 last season.

Land, 6-1, 190, returns for his senior season after throwing for 2,455 yards with 31 touchdowns and 4 interceptions last season.

Left tackle Austin Blair, 6-4, 290, leads a talented offensive line that helped the Charging Wildcats score at least 30 points in 11 of 14 games last season.

"I'm really excited about our offense," Bolding said.

North Little Rock returns six starters on defense, including strong safety Tyler Phillips, 6-2, 210. Phillips has moved from outside linebacker to strong safety.

North Little Rock will play its home games at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock because its new on-campus stadium is still under construction. It will play Little Rock Catholic in its season opener Sept. 4 at War Memorial in what is officially a home game for Catholic.

North Little Rock hasn't played in a state championship game since the playoffs resumed in 1968, but he said this group has a lot to prove before it can think about changing that.

"This senior group, they haven't won a game," Bolding said. "They can't ride the coattails of last year's group. This group has to prove themselves.

"They'll get that opportunity the first game against Catholic."

Sports on 08/19/2014

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