Football: FS Northside tops Heritage in scrimmage

DeAndrea Mendez runs the ball for Rogers Heritage Monday as Greg Washington of Fort Smith Northside attempts to make the tackle at David Gates Stadium in Rogers.
DeAndrea Mendez runs the ball for Rogers Heritage Monday as Greg Washington of Fort Smith Northside attempts to make the tackle at David Gates Stadium in Rogers.

ROGERS -- Fort Smith Northside edged Rogers Heritage in a controlled scrimmage Monday night, thanks to a 33-yard field goal by Henry Hernandez in mistake-plagued two-quarter battle Monday evening at Gates Stadium.

Northside moved the ball inside the Heritage 20 twice, but came away with just three points thanks to a lost fumble and a sack. Heritage was stopped on fourth-and-8 from the Grizzlies 11 when coach Tony Travis eschewed a possible game-tying field goal attempt. midway through the second quarter.

Northside coach Mike Falluer said his team did some good things, but there's also plenty of mistakes to fix before the season opener.

"We've got a lot of young guys it's their first time in action," Falleur said. "We moved the ball down the field and a young sophomore fumbled. We've got to fix some penalties and get better."

Northside junior quarterback Derrick Wise completed 8 of 10 passes for 107 yards, but also had a couple of long completions erased on penalties.

The Grizzlies were flagged for six penalties for 45 yards in the two quarters, including at least three that wiped out big gains. Heritage had a drive stall thanks to an 18-yard loss on a bad snap.

Senior linebacker Jheovany Hernandez recovered a Northside fumble at the War Eagle 1 to turn the Grizzlies away. Teammate Nathan Micelles also sacked Wise on third-and-2 from the Heritage 7 to force Hernandez's field goal attempt.

Farmington wins scrimmage

FARMINGTON -- The Cardinals scored on their first three offensive possessions to win Monday's scrimmage against Gravette.

Farmington coach Mike Adams said he was pleased with his team's offensive performance, especially in the passing game as senior quarterback Trey Waggle found success with a variety of receivers including 6-foot-4 senior Xavier Staten.

"I thought our offense played really well," Adams said. "I thought Trey had a good night throwing it and I thought our receivers had a good night catching it."

Adams was not as pleased with his team's running game, although Reid Turner scored three touchdowns.

"I was disappointed in our run game," he said. "I thought we had some individual effort plays out of our tailback position that made a difference. But on the inside plays, we did not do a very good job blocking, so I'm disappointed in that."

Gravette looked crisp on its opening drive of the one-half scrimmage. The Lions marched 70 yards and capped the drive with a short scoring run by Bailey Soule'. Gravette got several nice plays from senior running back Austin O'Brien and new quarterback Tajae White.

Lions coach Bill Harrelson said he saw some bright spots that the team can build on leading into the season opener next week.

"I thought we executed fairly well, but we still have a lot of improvements," Harrelson said. "We had a lot of breakdowns especially late in the game when we got tired, so we've got to get in better condition."

O'Brien looked sharp on run plays and had a 70-yard scoring run to highlight the Lions' offense.

Greenland also participated in the scrimmage and faced Gravette for two eight-minute sessions. Pirates coach Lee Larkan had mixed reviews for his team.

"We did OK," he said. "We played about like I thought we would. Our offensive line was offensive, but we really just wanted to come out here and practice a little bit, so it was good for us."

Farmington will open the regular season at home next Tuesday when it hosts Prairie Grove in the annual Battle of Highway 62. Gravette and Greenland each have regular Friday, Sept. 1 openers as Gravette travels to Ozark, and Greenland hosts longtime rival West Fork.

-- Chip Souza • @NWAChip

New-look Purple'Dogs rally comes up short

GREENWOOD -- A slow start was to be expected with a new coaching staff and starting quarterback, but Fayetteville finished off its scrimmage at Greenwood in strong fashion.

Score was not kept on the scoreboards, but in three varsity quarters, Greenwood defeated Fayetteville 34-31 at Smith Robinson Stadium. The Blue Bulldogs led 28-10 after Connor Noland's third touchdown -- including one rushing -- late in the first half, so the Purple'Dogs outscored them 21-7 in the final quarter.

"We were sloppy," said first-year coach Billy Dawson. "We've got some things to work on and tonight really helped us."

Junior quarterback Darius Bowers completed just one of his first five passes, but then strung together 10 straight completions before having a pass batted down at the line by Greenwood's Tuck Colton. Bowers finished 17 of 24 for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

"He was a little nervous," Dawson said. "I thought he settled down and played really well. ... And we missed a couple of balls I thought we should have had and we overthrew a couple that would have been touchdowns. But he made some good decisions."

Bowers was sacked five times as quarterbacks wore different-colored jerseys, so they were basically ruled "sacked" each time a defender got a hand on them.

"When those jerseys come off, he's going to be hard to handle," said Greenwood coach Rick Jones. "That guy is tough. He threw it well against us and they have some guys who can make plays and make people miss."

The biggest star of Fayetteville's offense was senior Kris Mulinga, who made a circus catch on his back from reserve quarterback Hank Gibbs and finished with 10 receptions for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, the Purple'Dogs gave up too many big plays early -- especially on third downs -- but still enjoyed success with a couple of defensive stands late. Brayden Butler had an interception, two pass deflections and a a key third down sack. Another stop came when Keni Foreman Jr. intercepted a pass -- no land's second interception thrown -- and returned it 45 yards to set up Mulinga's final touchdown that created the final margin.

-- Mike Capshaw • @NWACappy

Sports on 08/22/2017

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