COACH OF THE YEAR: Steady Eldridge helps lead Badgers to crown after 0-5 start

Arkadelphia overcame an 0-5 start to win its second consecutive Class 4A state championship.

The Badgers captured the 4A crown by defeating 7-4A Conference rival Joe T. Robinson 28-0 on Dec. 8 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

With Arkadelphia's 10-game winning streak to end the season, J.R. Eldridge has been named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps coach of the year.

Eldridge, who is 71-32 in eight seasons with the Badgers, credited his players and assistant coaches for the Badgers' success in 2018.

"Obviously, in the beginning it was a struggle because of our record," Eldridge said. "But as far as our players and our coaches go, it was a real joy and satisfying experience.

"You've got players and coaches who just continue to work to find a way. When we talk about energy, effort and focus in practice, our players and coaches continued to bring that every single day in practice.

"Our coaches and players, they just kept coming to work every single week with good energy, effort and focus."

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Arkadelphia typically goes with four captains for a season. But before the 2018 season, Eldridge and his staff decided to go with eight captains. The decision was made in part because the eight players -- seniors Victor Tademy, Zion Hatley, Gabe Goodman, Carlos Haynie, Josh Wallace and Alec Ruble; juniors Cannon Turner and Kyren Harrison -- were so close in the voting made by their teammates.

"Those eight guys did a great job of leading our football team," Eldridge said. "They tried to take what the coaches said and apply it to the rest of the team."

The Badgers were the No. 3 seed from the 7-4A Conference after a 5-2 league campaign. In the Class 4A playoffs, Arkadelphia defeated Gosnell at home before knocking off four No. 1 seeds -- Warren, Stuttgart and Shiloh Christian on the road and Joe T. Robinson in the state title game. It was the first time in state history that a team has achieved the feat.

"We started to play our best football and then, our players took everything more seriously, like how we run practice and the little things on our road trips," Eldridge said. "Going on the road can be a real distraction, depending on how your players handle it.

"Our players did a great job of really having a serious demeanor about it."

Arkadelphia won two state championships in 1979 and 1987 prior to Eldridge's hiring in 2011. The Badgers now have four state championships, including the past two Class 4A titles.

The state championship runs have helped Arkadelphia become one of the state's top programs, regardless of classification.

"It's just outstanding for our community and our coaches who have worked so hard for a long time," Eldridge said. "Most of them have played since the seventh grade and they're seeing that hard work pay off. Being able to play 30 games in a period of two years adds to the experience for everybody involved, all the way down to the ninth-graders who got to dress for the road games.

"It pays off a ton for our program."

Sports on 12/23/2018