It was a fun but hectic week at Centerton, where Bentonville West hosted a state tournament for the first time.
Our staff filed plenty of stories, pictures and videos from the four-day Class 6A tournament, but there’s always a few more items to add before wrapping up.
GOODBYE, CARLA
Rogers’ victory in a girls’ game Thursday came at the expense of coach Carla Crowder, who announced before the tournament she was retiring from a coaching career that lasted 38 years, including the final 16 at Cabot.
Rogers coach Preston Early was keenly aware of the fact, and he paused to give Crowder a hug following his team’s 48-40 victory over the Lady Panthers.
“Carla’s been a family friend for a long time, and I’ve known her since I was a kid,” Early said. “She called last year and gave me support when my dad (Alvy) was battling cancer, and that meant so much.”
Crowder won more than 900 games during her long career and led Cabot and Bryant to a combined four state championships, the last one in 2012.
“She is a trailblazer,” Early said. “She opened doors when it was even tougher for women (coaches). I told her that if anyone does half of what she’s done, it’ll be a Hall of Fame career. I love and respect her so much, and I want to congratulate her on such a wonderful career.”
FAMILY NIGHT
Friday’s matchup between Fayetteville and Fort Smith Northside was extra special for Billy Joe Releford, who watched four relatives play in the game.
“It would’ve been five if it was a regular-season game because there’s another Releford who plays on the sophomore team for Northside,” said Billy Joe, a former Northside and Northeastern State (Okla.) football standout who spent one preseason with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Four of Billy Joe’s relatives are brothers who played for Fayetteville, which lost 63-58 to Northside on Friday. Tamaury Releford and Alonzo are sophomores while Isaiah is a freshman at Fayetteville. Their sister, Hatianna Releford, is a freshman and the starting center for the Fayetteville girls team that played the Northside girls on Saturday.
Javion Releford is a senior who scored 25 points during a win over Fayetteville in November.
“The Fayetteville kids — their great-great-grandpa and my grandpa — were brothers,” said Releford, who was a longtime track coach and assistant football coach at Northside. “Now Javion, his great-great grandpa, and my grandpa, are the same man.”
So, who would Billy Joe pick first in a playground basketball game involving his young relatives?
“Javion,” Billy Joe said.
Because he’s from Northside?
“No,” Billy Joe said, “because he’s good.”
HELLO, RED WOLVES
Bentonville West is a second home to Will Jarrett, who’ll soon be making the transition from a Wolverine to a Red Wolf at Arkansas State.
Jarrett is a standout quarterback who had his senior season cut short following surgery for a severe high ankle sprain he suffered in the season-opener against Owasso, Okla. Jarrett eventually returned and played in six games, where he led West to its first playoff victory before the Wolverines were eliminated by North Little Rock.
“I had a lot of emotions for a while after I got hurt,” said Jarrett, who watched West battle Northside in a first-round game on Wednesday. “But I came back and had some decent games, and that opened up some doors again for me.”
His injury so early into his senior season prompted some college recruiters to back off, but Jarrett will still get an opportunity to play Division I football as a preferred walk-on at Arkansas State.
“Will’s a winner,” West coach Bryan Pratt said. “He’s the best quarterback I’ve had in 23 years of coaching. He’ll get to go in early at ASU, and he’ll be treated like a scholarship player. Given an opportunity, I can see positive things happening for him at Arkansas State.”
HUGHES MOVES UP
Avery Hughes hasn’t slowed much since surpassing 1,000 points for her career against Rogers on Feb. 15.
Hughes scored 12 points against Little Rock Central on Friday to move into second place on Benton-ville’s career scoring list. Hughes surpassed Martha Hancock, and she had 1,047 points entering Saturday night’s semifinal game against Conway.
Becca Boyce (1996-98) is the all-time leading scoring for the Lady Tigers with 1,264 points.
“Avery is the total package,” Bentonville coach Tom Halbmaier said of Hughes, who began her varsity career as a freshman. “She has the ability to get to the rim and finish in traffic. Early on, she shot the long ball really, really well then she just kind of created another skill set for herself, so she’s not one dimensional.”
Rick Fires can be reached at rfires@ nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWARick.