SPRINGDALE -- Tyler Blackston is a two-sport athlete who makes the most of his opportunities.
In baseball, Blackston batted .292 for Springdale Har-Ber last spring and led the team in runs scored (30) and stolen bases (21 of 22) while starting all 32 games.
At A Glance
Tyler Blackston
SCHOOL: Springdale Har-Ber
CLASS: Senior
HEIGHT: 6-0
WEIGHT: 170
POSITION: Wide Receiver
NOTABLE: Leads the 7A-West with 10 touchdown receptions on 23 catches for 564 yards. … Caught 17 passes for 423 yards and 4 touchdowns as a junior. … Started all 32 games for the Har-Ber baseball team as a junior, where he hit .292 and led the team in runs scored (30) and stolen bases (21 of 22). … Hit a game-winning home run against Springdale High.
In football, Blackston is second on the team with 23 catches, but he's among the leaders in the 7A-West with 10 touchdown receptions. He averages 24.5 yards per catch and 43 percent of his receptions have resulted in scores.
Those numbers clearly show that whether on the baseball diamond, or the football field, Har-Ber can count on Blackston to produce.
"Tyler averages nearly 25 yards a catch, which is really impressive," Har-Ber football coach Chris Wood said. "He was our leading receiver last year as a junior and he's gone to a different level for us this year as a senior. He runs great routes, he's our big-play guy, and he's been that way since Week 1."
Blackston will be back at receiver tonight when Har-Ber (9-1) hosts Conway (6-5) in a Class 7A state playoff game at Wildcat Stadium. Har-Ber received a first-round bye while Conway advanced with a 42-7 victory over Springdale High.
Tonight's game will be a rematch from Week 3 in Conway. Har-Ber won easily, 37-7, but Blackston has played sports too long to know his team can't afford to overlook the Wampus Cats, who've three of their last four games by sizable margins.
"Conway has gotten a lot better the last few games," Blackston said of Conway, which outgained Springdale High 425-158 last week. "We used the bye week to keep our minds straight and, hopefully, we can come out and play another good game against them."
Har-Ber has won nine consecutive games, and the Wildcats are No. 1 in Class 7A after earning their first outright conference championship. That's an impressive turnaround from a year ago when Har-Ber lost eight of 11 games.
"As juniors, we were all kind of thrown into the fire a little bit," said Blackston, who caught 17 passes for 423 yards and 4 touchdowns last season. "We were playing against some older guys and it showed. But we've matured as a football team and we're a lot stronger now."
Blackston is hoping for another postseason run after helping the baseball Wildcats reached the semifinals last spring. If Har-Ber wins tonight, the Wildcats will advance to the quarterfinals against the Cabot vs. Fort Smith Southside winner. Har-Ber hasn't played Cabot this season, but the Wildcats beat Southside 38-0 in a league game four weeks ago.
Once the football season ends, Blackston will shift his focus to baseball, where he'll again be a key cog for the Wildcats. Har-Ber is hopeful that won't be for a few more weeks.
"Tyler is a guy you want in clutch situations," Har-Ber baseball coach Ron Bradley said. "He set the table as our leadoff hitter and helped us win a lot of games last year. That's carried over into football, which sets the tone for your whole school year with the boys teams."
The semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 27 and the championship game will be held Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at War Memorial in Little Rock.
Sports on 11/20/2015