High school football

NLR football moves on with new coach, new stadium

North Little Rock players go through stretching exercises during the first day of fall practice Monday at their new on-campus stadium. The Charging Wildcats, with new coach Jamie Mitchell taking over for the fired Brad Bolding, were forced to practice during the preseason last year on softball fields at Burns Park because the stadium was still under construction. But with the facility nearing completion, the team was able to work out in shorts and helmets on their new field.
North Little Rock players go through stretching exercises during the first day of fall practice Monday at their new on-campus stadium. The Charging Wildcats, with new coach Jamie Mitchell taking over for the fired Brad Bolding, were forced to practice during the preseason last year on softball fields at Burns Park because the stadium was still under construction. But with the facility nearing completion, the team was able to work out in shorts and helmets on their new field.

North Little Rock took its first steps toward putting the soap opera that was its offseason in the past.

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New North Little Rock Coach Jamie Mitchell, who will coach his first regular-season game on Sept. 4 against Little Rock Catholic, said he was impressed with the way his players worked over the summer.

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North Little Rock football players huddle up Monday during the first day of practice in their new stadium on the North Little Rock High School campus. The Charging Wildcats will be playing in North Little Rock for the first time since 2013. Last season, the team played its home games at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. At left is new North Little Rock Coach Jamie Mitchell.

Preseason practices officially began for schools across the state Monday, and it wasn't a moment too soon for the Charging Wildcats, who took the field twice under new head coach Jamie Mitchell.

It is Mitchell who was hired in May to replace Brad Bolding, who was fired by North Little Rock in April for violating district purchasing procedures and recruiting rules. Bolding filed a lawsuit against the North Little Rock School District in Pulaski County Circuit Court in late April. That case has yet to be heard.

North Little Rock players were glad that the focus had returned to football.

"We were sad for a little bit," senior wide receiver Tobias Enlow said of Bolding's firing. "Everything is still good."

Over the past 2 1/2 months, North Little Rock has taken part in spring football as well as team camps at Ouachita Baptist University, Benton, Pulaski Academy and Pulaski Robinson.

So Mitchell has certainly been busy in a short amount of time on the job.

"It's been a wildfire up to this point, but I wouldn't trade it for anything," Mitchell said.

Mitchell oversaw the Charging Wildcats' opening practices at their new on-campus stadium, which is part of what started as a $265 million capital improvement program that is reducing 21 campuses to 13 schools in the North Little Rock School District.

Mitchell brought an impressive resume with him to North Little Rock. He was 163-61 in 18 seasons as a high school head coach at five schools and won the 2012 Mississippi Class 5A state championship at Starkville, where he coached in 2010-2014.

But coming into North Little Rock and the tumultuous situation surrounding the departure of Bolding, there was some uncertainty regarding the state of the program, which returns seven starters from last season's 10-2 team.

At the end of Monday's second practice, Mitchell thanked assistant coaches Blake Pizan and Larry Standley in front of the players for keeping the program running from late January to May.

Pizan and Standley were assistants for Bolding, who was terminated in two firing notices Jan. 30 and Feb. 25 under the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act. In the firing notices, the school district accused Bolding of violating inventory and purchasing procedures involving more than $230,000.

"I was amazed when I got here to see the condition it was in," Mitchell said of the program. "They had taught these kids how to work. That wasn't something I had to come in and change. Their work ethic was great. It's a direct reflection of them.

"What a tough spot they were in, from January to May and not having a head ball coach and still going in there every day with those kids. It's real easy in those situations not to work because there's nobody there to motivate. Those two guys didn't do that. They held those guys accountable. They pounded them in the weight room.

"It was very evident when I got here that the work ethic was already instilled in them."

One of the first things Mitchell wanted to do when he arrived in North Little Rock was to get to know his staff, as Pizan, Standley and Brett Clawson were retained. Mitchell hired two new assistant coaches to complete his staff. Clint Reed, formerly of Hot Springs Lakeside, will coach the offensive line, while Mac McCurry, a former Mississippi high school head coach, will be in charge of the defensive line.

"We work together, we play together, we enjoy our time together," Mitchell said. "I'll say this, I've done it for a lot of years at some of the most exclusive places in Mississippi: This staff we've got here is as good as I've had, which says a ton because I've had some great ones. These guys understand what work's about."

North Little Rock's football program has been one of the most successful in the state, but has not delivered a state championship. The Charging Wildcats have lost in the Class 7A state semifinals the past two seasons to Cabot and Bentonville.

Enlow, the Charging Wildcats' leading returning receiver with two touchdowns, said he is buying into his new coach's philosophy as the Charging Wildcats prepare to christen their new stadium in the season-opener Sept. 4 against Little Rock Catholic.

"We're going to be a good team by the first game," Enlow said. "We're going to give everybody a shot."

Sports on 08/04/2015

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