First in a series profiling Pulaski County high school football teams
All that stopped last season's turnaround for the Central Arkansas Christian Mustangs were ankle-deep mud and the Pea Ridge Blackhawks in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
CAC followed up a total of six victories in 2014 with an 11-2 record in 2015. The Mustangs had won 10 consecutive games and the 2-4A Conference championship, and they scored at least 35 points in their last seven regular-season games.
CAC at a glance
COACH Tommy Shoemaker
CONFERENCE 2-4A
2015 RECORD 11-2 (7-0 2-4A)
KEY RETURNERS QB Noah Evans (Sr.); WR Josh Johnson (Sr.); LB Tanner Weber (Sr.); WR/DB Cade Huckaby (Sr.); WR Hunter Corbell (Sr.)
SCHEDULE
DATE;OPPONENT
Aug. 30;Mayflower^
Sept. 9;at Pulaski Robinson
Sept. 16;Clinton
Sept. 23;at Riverview*
Sept. 30;Helena-West Helena*
Oct. 7;Heber Springs*
Oct. 14;at Southside Batesville*
Oct. 21;Lonoke*
Oct. 28;at Baptist Prep*
Nov. 4;Stuttgart*
- 2-4A game
^ at War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock
But more than 4 inches of rain arrived the same day Pea Ridge came to Mustang Mountain for the playoffs. It was Nov. 27, and the quagmire plus Pea Ridge's defense limited CAC to 87 yards of offense. Pea Ridge turned a scoreless tie at the end of regulation into a 3-0 overtime victory.
"This is the first game like this I've ever been involved in," Tony Travis, Pea Ridge's coach at the time, said after the game. "The conditions were unbelievable."
CAC Coach Tommy Shoemaker remembered it clearly when he spoke between practices Tuesday.
"We just couldn't do anything," he said. "We were fortunate just to get a snap."
Shoemaker said the good news is the confidence his team had headed into the playoff has carried over to this season.
"As disappointing as the way it ended was, overall it was an outstanding season," he said. "We just kept getting better and gaining confidence, and toward the end, we thought we could play with anybody. Our players expect to be in the mix for a state championship."
Hope begins with CAC senior quarterback Noah Evans, who completed 55.5 percent of his passes for 2,788 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2015. Evans has played in Shoemaker's system since he was in middle school.
"Noah really has a great handle on what I want him to do," Shoemaker said. "It's one of those things where I don't really have to coach him much anymore. He knows what I want to do, and he knows where I want the ball to go."
Shoemaker said his team is deep in talented receivers, a group led by senior Josh Johnson, who caught 79 passes for 1,236 yards and 7 touchdowns last season.
"He's an elite route runner," Shoemaker said. "That's what makes him stand out, his ability to come out of the break still maintaining his speed. It makes him tough to cover."
Evans praised his top target.
"He's just so quick, and his routes are so sharp, it's almost hard for him not to get open," Evans said.
Last season, junior tailback Kamryn Vick backed up Braylon Harris, who graduated and signed to play for Missouri Southern. Vick is expected to start this season after rushing for 364 yards and four touchdowns in 2015.
"I think people will be really surprised at how good our tailback is," Shoemaker said. "We think he's going to be a really good football player for us."
Shoemaker said his team's defense will be led by its linebackers and defensive backs. Senior linebacker Tanner Weber is expected to stand out.
"He's the leader of our defense," he said. "He's probably the leader of our team. He's just one of those guys we know we can count on."
Weber said the Mustangs are benefiting from last season's success.
"Last year, we knew we could be good, but we didn't know we could be as good as we were," Weber said. "This year, we have a little bit of higher expectations. We think we should get the conference championship again, and we think we can compete a little bit better in the playoffs."
Sports on 08/11/2016