High school football report

Bryant's fortunes improve as team goes on four-game winning streak

Coach Buck James (middle) and the Bryant Hornets travel to North Little Rock on Friday night riding a four-game winning streak and are in the mix for at least a share of the 7A-Central championship. “If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that we would have a chance to play for a conference championship in Week 9, I would have said you were probably crazy,” James said.
Coach Buck James (middle) and the Bryant Hornets travel to North Little Rock on Friday night riding a four-game winning streak and are in the mix for at least a share of the 7A-Central championship. “If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that we would have a chance to play for a conference championship in Week 9, I would have said you were probably crazy,” James said.

Bryant was a work in progress in Week 1 against Benton in the Salt Bowl at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium.

But the Hornets enter the final week of October with a four-game winning streak and are in the mix for at least a share of the 7A-Central Conference championship.

Bryant (6-2, 4-1 7A-Central) travels to North Little Rock (8-0, 5-0) on Friday night. If the Hornets knock off the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's overall No. 1 team, they would be tied for the 7A-Central lead with North Little Rock and Fort Smith Northside, should Northside defeat Cabot.

The Hornets installed a new offense in the offseason under first-year Coach Buck James and had several new players enter the program, including sophomore quarterback Ren Hefley (a transfer from Pulaski Academy) and senior wide receiver Reece Coates, a former quarterback at Pocahontas. They struggled in a scrimmage at Pulaski Academy and mustered 10 points in a 10-7 victory over Benton on Sept. 2.

Eight weeks later, Bryant is gunning for the top of the conference.

"If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that we would have a chance to play for a conference championship in Week 9, I would have said you were probably crazy," James said.

Bryant defeated Cabot 48-20 on Friday behind Hefley's 330 yards and four touchdowns. The Hornets held Cabot to less than 230 yards offensively.

"We knew we would be good defensively," James said. "I thought our defensive line would be good. But we never dreamed that we would have taken off offensively.

"Coach [Robert] Hooks and coach [Kirk] Bock have done an outstanding job. They have those guys here early in the morning to teach them and walk them through the offense, then bring them back in the afternoon with our team."

James has been one of the state's top coaches since 2000, leading Star City for five seasons and Camden Fairview for eight seasons. He led Camden Fairview to the Class 5A state championship in 2012.

While James has said this year's Hornets team isn't where he wants it to be, he's been pleased with their success so far.

"It's a lot of hard work behind the scenes that's got this team to be in a chance to play North Little Rock," James said. "North Little Rock has got a great football team, there's not a doubt in my mind. They're very athletic.

"For us to have a chance says a lot."

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