Fayetteville is going with two quarterbacks to start the season Friday night.
Junior Jack Lindsey and sophomore Taylor Powell have been named co-starters by Coach Daryl Patton, who made the decision in the aftermath of his team's 35-13 scrimmage victory over Greenwood
Call us
Please call the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with football game reports before 10:30 p.m. each Friday this fall. Call (800) 272-4650 or (501) 378-3411.
We need records, score by quarters, scoring plays and top rushing, passing, receiving and defensive performances. The Democrat-Gazette also will publish statistics each Friday throughout the regular season.
Email statistics and news tips to Democrat-Gazette high school football coordinator Jeremy Muck at jmuck@arkansasonlin….
Scores also can be tweeted using the hashtag #arpreps.
Lindsey, 6-1, 160 pounds, completed 8 of 10 passes for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns and Powell, 6-1, 190, finished 8 of 11 for 120 yards and 1 touchdown.
"We've got two quarterbacks who have competed so hard, you're splitting hairs," Patton said. "There's not a big difference between both of them."
Powell will start Friday night at Lawton (Okla.) Eisenhower, Patton said. Lindsey started the scrimmage.
Greenwood Coach Rick Jones asked Patton after Monday night's scrimmage why he couldn't play both of them, and Patton eventually agreed.
"Coach Jones told me, 'If they were linebackers, you'd play both of them. If they were running backs, you'd play both of them,' " Patton said.
Using a two-quarterback system isn't new for Patton, who was part of a similar situation as a quarterback at Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State) in 1987 and 1988.
In 2005, Fayetteville started Houston Nutt III and Dallas McCutcheon at quarterback. The Bulldogs finished 9-3 and lost to West Memphis in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals.
Fayetteville plans to go with the two-quarterback system for its first three games before opening 7A-West play Sept. 26. Patton said if one quarterback is hot, he'll stick with him.
"We'll see which one rises to the top," he said.
Fayetteville, ranked No. 3 in Class 7A by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, returns 13 starters from an 8-3 team that lost to Little Rock Central in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs last season.
DUMAS
Tough stretch
Not long ago Dumas was one of the state's top programs, winning 24 games from 2008-2010 with current Arkansas State tight end Darion Griswold at quarterback.
The Bobcats have fallen on hard times in recent years, winning a total of nine games the past three seasons.
The Bobcats' two victories in 2013 were against Lake Village and at DeWitt. They lost 35-0 at Arkadelphia in a first-round playoff game to finish 2-9.
"We just haven't had that special group," Coach Mark Courtney said. "We've had some special kids, but we have to grow up pretty quick. We're very young."
Dumas returns four starters on offense, including LaDarius Harris, who moves from receiver to quarterback.
The Bobcats have added one of the nation's top college prospects, tight end Will Gragg, who starred at Pine Bluff the past two seasons and helped the Zebras advance to the Class 6A state championship game. Gragg's father, Kelvin, took the superintendent's job at Dumas earlier this year.
The Bobcats will play the likes of Warren, Pine Bluff Dollarway and Star City in the 8-4A, which is among the state's toughest Class 4A conferences.
"Our conference isn't kind to young teams," Courtney said. "Every week, can we take a breath? No."
Dumas opens Friday at Mayflower, which features one of the state's top quarterbacks, senior Adam Dycus.
"It gives our defensive coordinator nightmares," Courtney said.
Gragg might give Dumas a boost, but Courtney cautioned that he's only one player.
"He can help us," Courtney said. "He's doing a good job as a leader. I think it's going to show more and more as the season goes on."
TRAVEL TEAMS
Going out of state
Eight Arkansas teams will be traveling out of state for their first game of the season.
Little Rock Central will face Dallas Madison on Monday at Beverly D. Humphrey Tiger Stadium in Lancaster, Texas. The Tigers are coming off a 7-5 season in which they won their first playoff game since 2004.
Seven teams will head out of state Friday.
Texarkana travels 4 miles across the border into Texas to take on Texarkana, Texas, in its annual season-opening rivalry game. Pulaski Academy faces Highland Park in Dallas.
Three teams will open in Oklahoma. Fayetteville plays at Lawton Eisenhower, Ashdown is at Durant and Hartford is at Westville.
Springdale Har-Ber heads to Webb City, Mo., and Cedar Ridge travels to West Lincoln, Miss.
The eight Arkansas teams will have a combined 3,376 miles round-trip from their games.
Sports on 08/31/2014