Joel Wells has returned to his home state after spending the past 24 years of his coaching career in Missouri.
Wells takes over for Chad Harbison at Harrison as he looks to put the Goblins back among the state's top teams. He was born in Harrison and moved to Marshall, where he spent the first 10 years of his life until he and his family moved to Missouri.
Once he graduated from high school in Missouri, Wells' parents moved back to Marshall, where they live today.
The opportunity to return to Arkansas was enticing for Wells, who was 31-13 in four seasons at Springfield (Mo.) Kickapoo.
"I know the tradition that Harrison has had over the last 30 years," said Wells, who has also coached at Liberty, Nixa and Cassville high schools in Missouri. "I know the success Coach Tice has had here."
Tommy Tice, who came out of retirement before the 2011 season to coach at Huntsville, is the state's active leader in victories with 284. The Goblins' success during Tice's tenure -- a Class 4A state championship in 1999 and six state semifinals appearances -- is something Wells wants the school to get back to.
"I've known Coach Tice for a long time," Wells said. "I have a lot of respect for him and what he did here. We're trying to bring that tradition back and get it back to where it was."
Wells is the Goblins' second coach in four years. Harbison took over for Tice in 2012 and led the Goblins to a 6-5 finish last season before accepting an assistant coaching position at Russellville in April.
Harrison is playing only four home games this season. It will open the season at Mountain Home on Sept. 4.
So far, Wells, who is 162-92 in 24 seasons overall, has said the Goblins have adjusted well to his new offense, a multiple offense compared to Harbison's Spread offense.
"I want to see us compete," Wells said. "If we compete every snap every Friday, then you can live with the result every time. They're hungry to win football games. They're hungry to get better. The kids have bought into what we're doing."
PULASKI ROBINSON
Back to 7-4A
Pulaski Robinson is on the move again.
The Little Rock school is moving back to the 7-4A Conference for football in 2016 after Waldron's appeal to move to the 4-4A was approved Thursday by the Arkansas Activities Association's board of directors.
Waldron cited travel as the main reason for wanting to play in the 4-4A instead of the 7-4A.
The Senators currently play in the 4-4A, where they've been since last season.
Coach Todd Eskola, who is also Robinson's athletic director, is fine with the move, but laments the school's inability to have proper rivalries with teams because of the conference changes.
"It's hard to develop rivalries when you move every two years," Eskola said. "Being in the central part of the state, I wish it was like 5A where we had a 4A-Central where you could develop some rivalries.
"As it is now, our kids will say, 'Who is Ashdown?' Well, we played them four or five years ago, but we've been out of the conference. These kids don't know who Ashdown is. They don't know who Nashville is. They're too far away to play in junior high, so it's really difficult to develop rivalries.
"We've had a few in the 4-4A that would have cultivated very fast, but we're leaving. So we'll have to start the process over in the 7."
The 2016-2018 makeup for the 7-4A includes Robinson, Arkadelphia, Ashdown, Bauxite, Fountain Lake, Malvern, Mena and Nashville. The 4-4A in 2016-2018 features Booneville, Dardanelle, Dover, Ozark, Pottsville, Subiaco Academy, Waldron and West Fork.
GREENWOOD
Playing big
Greenwood is entering its second year in the 7A/6A-Central Conference. Last year was an eye-opener for Coach Rick Jones and his team.
The Bulldogs play four 7A teams during conference play -- Bryant, Conway, Little Rock Catholic and Van Buren -- and scheduled Springdale, Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside during nonconference play.
Greenwood went 7-4 last year and earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 6A playoffs from the 7A/6A-Central, but lost a quarterfinal game to El Dorado.
Greenwood, which has 90 players in fall camp, is the smallest school in Class 6A with 824 students.
"It's what you expect when you go up in classification," Jones said. "My background has been in coaching the biggest schools in the states I've been in. It reminded me of the days of when I was in Oklahoma. There were more kids to choose from. They're bigger, faster and stronger. They're better. They have bigger staffs.
"You expect the competition level to be better."
The Bulldogs will scrimmage Fayetteville at 6 p.m. Monday before opening the season Sept. 4 at Smith Robinson Stadium against Springdale.
EXTRA POINTS
Smackover and Bearden will play twice during opening week. Smackover, last year's Class 3A runner-up, faces defending Class 4A state champion Warren in the second game of a doubleheader Aug. 31, a Monday, at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's Golden Lion Stadium. Bearden takes on Lafayette County in the first game of the doubleheader. Bearden turns around and plays at Camden Harmony Grove on Friday. Sept. 4, while Smackover hosts three-time defending Class 2A champion Junction City on Saturday, Sept. 5. ... Scrimmage games for Arkansas high schools begin Monday and will run through Friday. Cost is $5 per person.
Sports on 08/23/2015