Harrison Rooney stayed the course, even when Bentonville didn't.
Bentonville was picked as the favorite in Class 7A going into the season and had its sights set on its second consecutive state championship, but the Tigers found themselves in an unfamiliar position four weeks into the season.
Bentonville was 0-4, something that seemed almost unfathomable for a team that had won three of the past five state titles in Arkansas' largest classification.
It would have been easy for doubts to creep in, given that none of the Tigers had ever gone through such a stretch in their high school careers.
Rooney, a senior linebacker, wouldn't let that happen.
His poise and leadership helped keep Bentonville from sinking further, and on the first Saturday in December the Tigers celebrated yet another state championship following its 24-21 victory over 7A-West rival Fayetteville, a remarkable turnaround considering the way they had started the season.
Rooney was at the center of that turnaround, and for that he has been chosen as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps Defensive Player of the Year.
Rooney, 6-0, 200 pounds, led Bentonville with 118 tackles, including 75 unassisted and 5 tackles for a loss, and came up with 2 sacks and 2 interceptions.
Bentonville Coach Barry Lunney said Rooney is as good of a leader as he's had during his 37 years of coaching, which includes 27 as a head coach.
"He had an outstanding senior year," said Lunney, who has won eight state titles in his career, four at Fort Smith Southside and four at Bentonville. "He was always around the football.
"You never saw him waver. He was the same every day."
The Tigers were 0-3 after losing all three of their nonconference games to Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst, Broken Arrow, Okla., and Bergen Catholic (N.J.).
Bentonville followed up those losses with a 10-7 loss to Fort Smith Northside in the conference opener, but Lunney said he noticed something about Rooney in that game.
"We were bad offensively, but I see the guy making plays with two minutes to go," Lunney said, recalling the scene. "He's jumping out of the pile excited. You would think we were undefeated."
They were for the remainder of the season.
The Tigers won their final six regular-season games to earn a share of the conference title with Fort Smith Southside and the conference's No. 2 seed for the playoffs, where they defeated Bryant, North Little Rock and then Fayetteville, for the second time in four weeks, to deliver the school's fifth state title in football.
Rooney was the catalyst for a defense that allowed an average of 9.6 points over the final six regular-season games and only 12.6 in three playoff games.
Lunney said Rooney's best game came in the regular-season finale, when Bentonville defeated rival Fayetteville 45-2 to secure its share of the 7A-West title. Rooney returned an interception for a touchdown and saw time on offense at wide receiver.
"That game was a really huge night for us," Lunney said.
Lunney said Rooney was among several Tigers who had to step up after an August shoulder injury sidelined senior defensive lineman Javier Carbonell for the season, but the coach said Rooney's leadership was evident long before that.
"Just because you're a senior doesn't make you a leader," Lunney said. "It's earned over a period of time, two to three years, even back to your freshman year."
Rooney's leadership also will be put to good use upon graduation thanks to his oral commitment to play football for Army. He originally committed to Air Force, but he changed his mind in the fall and chose Army earlier this month.
"He was really interested in playing at Army," Lunney said. "He was very focused about that. When they did come out, he was really excited."
Lunney said Rooney will be missed.
"Everybody understands Harrison," Lunney said. "His actions are backed up by consistency in the weight room and in film study. He was as laser focused as anyone.
"He wasn't going to let anybody feel sorry for themselves."
Sports on 12/28/2014