Benton football Coach Brad Harris will have two of his children -- Brayden and Ava -- at his side Saturday at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium when the Panthers play Greenwood at noon for the Class 6A state championship.
Megan Harris, Brad's wife, and Drew, the couple's oldest child, will not be in attendance.
Mother and son will be 60 miles away at Ouachita Baptist University's Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia where the Tigers take on Ferris State at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinals of NCAA Division II football playoffs.
"Divide and conquer," Brad Harris said, "and hopefully we can get two wins."
It's not an ideal situation for a close-knit football family, but once it became apparent that a scheduling conflict was developing, Brad and Megan, a third-grade teacher at Angie Grant Elementary, talked it out.
"She asked me what I wanted her to do, and I wanted her to be with Drew, with the possibility of it being his last game and everything" Brad Harris said. "I wanted somebody there."
Megan Harris said she agreed with her husband.
"I want to be in both places, of course, but I can't be in both places," Megan Harris said. "I haven't missed a game in his entire life and I'm not going to start now."
Brad Harris said Megan will be busy before, during and after the game.
"I've got a little tradition every time I've seen him play," Brad Harris said. "I'm there about an hour and a half before the game, high five all the guys. I feel like I've got a real good relationship with all those OBU guys. So Megan's going to fill in for Coach Harris this weekend. She's going to be giving the guys high fives and all that. She's going to be filling my shoes on Saturday."
Megan Harris said she can count on one hand the number of times she has missed her husband coach a game in the past 20 years.
"Maybe three," Megan said.
It's not like Megan Harris won't be tuned in to what's going on at War Memorial Stadium.
She said she'll have a mobile computer in hand with the intention of watching the live streaming of the Benton-Greenwood matchup, at least when Drew is off the field.
"I might need to have spotter," she said with a laugh. "I'm going to incorporate some of the people around me. What a dilemma, but I'm not complaining at all."
Megan said it's been a particularly difficult season for Drew, who has been in and out of the lineup with a knee injury after scoring 26 touchdowns as a junior.
"He has learned to take things in stride," Megan Harris said. "He's a leader of the team. Yes, you are injured and not where you want to be, but these teammates still look up to you. You are needed and we are trying to make sure he understands that."
Megan Harris said her emotions were jumbled at one point in the first half of OBU's 35-7 victory over Indianapolis last week.
Her son made a diving catch, then limped off the field.
"I thought he was done," Megan said. "I just knew he's finished."
But Drew Harris came back and caught an 8-yard touchdown pass to give OBU a 21-7 lead before halftime.
"It was so fast, I wasn't even truly processing everything," she said. "I'm not really surprised. Both he and his father have this way of meeting adversity and keep plugging away."
OBU Coach Todd Knight has nothing but praise for Drew's perseverance and the Harris family.
"You usually find that the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree," Knight said of Drew Harris. "They're a great football family."
Brad Harris said he will completely focused on coaching the Panthers on Saturday, but said his son Brayden has been assigned with the job of providing a halftime update.
"I want an update at halftime and at the end of the game," Brad Harris said. "After the game, I'll turn my attention to trying to listen to his ballgame. After we celebrate."
Brad said it's going to be bittersweet.
"He understands I've got to get my job done here in the 6A championship game," Harris said. "He's going to take care of business over there at OBU on Saturday. He's assured me that I'll get to see him play again."
"It's a good problem to have," Drew Harris said.
Megan Harris said the family understands things sometimes happen that nobody can control. And she recalls the conversation Brad had with Drew when the conflict was looming.
"I thought, 'no way that can happen, no way,' " Megan said. "But it did. And I'm thankful."
Sports on 11/30/2018