All-Arkansas Preps Coach of the Year

Carpenter's in a class by himself

12/13/14
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORNTON
Junction City's head coach David Carpenter embraces player Akeem Gibson  after winning their 2A state championship football game Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Junction City vs. Hazen
12/13/14 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORNTON Junction City's head coach David Carpenter embraces player Akeem Gibson after winning their 2A state championship football game Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Junction City vs. Hazen

Coach David Carpenter likes to say that Junction City's football success comes down to one thing.

The senior class.

"They can talk about coaches all they want, but if these guys -- the upperclassmen -- don't get out and perform and practice like they should and make the underclassmen work hard, it puts a big strain on you," Carpenter said. "As long as each senior class continues to work and lead like that, things will be good."

Of course, when you've won six state titles overall, there is something to be said about the guy at the head of the class too.

Carpenter, 58, has been chosen as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps Coach of the Year award for 2014 after guiding the Dragons to their third consecutive Class 2A state championship.

Junction City capped its second consecutive undefeated season by defeating Hazen 38-6 on Dec. 13 in the Class 2A state title game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Dragons finished 13-0 in 2014, with 12 of those games finishing under the Arkansas Activities Association sportsmanship rule.

Junction City has won 40 consecutive games since a season-opening loss at Earle in August 2012. The 40-game winning streak is the state's longest active streak and the state's fifth-longest all-time. Barton won a state-record 63 games in a row in 1985-1990.

"This bunch has done a great job for us," said Carpenter, who is 211-62-1 since 1996 in his second stint as Junction City's coach. "They continued to work."

The Dragons finished the season as one of two undefeated teams in the state, the other being Charleston, and were led by a talented senior class that included running back JaQwis Dancy, quarterback Randall Holyfield and tight end/defensive end Jamario Bell.

"They're a fun bunch of guys," Carpenter said. "When it's time to come out and practice, they get out here and take everything serious and work as hard as they can. When it's time to sit down and relax, they'll go on and do that."

Carpenter said Junction City's success on the football field also can be traced to its work in the weight room.

"When you start to get stronger, you feel stronger," Carpenter said. "That's what you have to be. To put up with the grind, the stronger you are, the easier the whole grind is. That's a big part of it."

Carpenter, the son of the late Henderson State coach and Arkansas Sports Hall of Famer Sporty Carpenter, was 13-22-1 in four seasons in his first stint at Junction City (1990-1993). He returned to Junction City in 1996 after being an assistant at Warren and Mountain Home and has led the Dragons to at least the semifinal round of the playoffs 12 times since 2001.

It's that type of success that has the kept expectation levels high and the work ethic strong at Junction City.

"You win one state championship, and you worry about your team thinking everything's good," Carpenter said. "Then the senior class that came in behind the other bunch kept them going. These guys followed them.

"Their goal was to go out and win the state championship. They got after it. They've done an outstanding job."

Sports on 12/28/2014

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