Young War Eagles show signs of leaving nest

The 14th in a series profiling Pulaski County high school football teams.

Optimism is not a word synonymous with the Little Rock Fair War Eagles' football program, but it may have found a bit with its current coaching staff and roster.

Since a victory in its 2013 season opener, Fair has lost 40 consecutive games. The past 30, not counting forfeits, have occurred in three seasons under Coach Roosevelt Turner.

Fair won the 1998 championship in the state's top classification, but is a combined 9-107 in its past 11 seasons.

Turner watched as his players went through drills at a preseason practice recently, just as he did on a sultry summer afternoon three seasons ago. On that day, he said his only realistic hope was that he would have enough players to field a team throughout the schedule. Now he said there is room for hope.

"I don't know about stopping the losing streak, but maybe we can be more competitive," Turner said. "Maybe in the second or third quarter, we won't be in the mercy rule every game."

The Arkansas Activities Association's mercy rule applied to each of Fair's 10 games last season. It goes into effect when a team trails by 35 or more points in the second half, and Fair's closest game was a 56-20 loss to Beebe.

"My thing is just to get better each and every game," Turner said. "Once we get better, maybe winning will take losing's place, but right now, we're just focused on getting better."

Including freshmen, Fair had 22 players for last season's summer drills. This summer, Turner said he has 25 upperclassmen and 15 freshmen.

"What I'm going to try to do is leave the ninth-graders where the ninth-graders are at," Turner said. "That's pretty much where you build a team, from the ninth-graders playing a ninth-grade schedule. They can come up when their schedule is over for our last two games."

Turner said he will try to not use freshmen in varsity games this season unless they are required to field a team, such as what was needed in 2016.

One such player, sophomore quarterback Akeem Gilmore, started eight games last season as a freshman. Turner said Gilmore adjusted well as the season progressed, and he passed for 199 yards in Fair's loss to Beebe.

"Akeem really matured last season," Turner said. "Once we got about halfway through the season, he realized it wasn't quite as bad as he thought. He had a breakout game against Beebe, and this year, after being thrown in the fire last season, he should be a little better."

"I have a lot more confidence," Gilmore said. "It seems like everyone is a lot more enthusiastic."

Senior all-purpose running back and receiver Kalik Brazile should lead the way for Fair's offense, Turner said. Brazile combined for more than 700 yards of offense in 2016.

"The good thing about Kalik, he has not missed a practice in four years," Turner said. "He is the only player I can say that about."

Turner said there are at least five offensive and defensive linemen he can count on, led by seniors Bradley Benton and Saquan Riley, and sophomore Colton Turner, who is not related to the coach.

"Colton played as a freshman, and he's been here all spring and summer," Turner said. "He's a dedicated lineman."

Turner said win or lose, this year's team shows up.

"That's new to me," Turner said. "That's very new to me. This team comes to practice and does everything I ask them to do, and that's what it takes."

"We want to win," Gilmore said. "I know the thing to say is that we tried our best, but it's more than that for me. I want us to win."

Sports on 08/30/2017