VIDEO: PREP FOOTBALL: Brock Steady

SPRINGDALE -- Brock Pounders lay motionless on the sideline. Sweat mixed with the droplets of a light rain covered his face under his red helmet.

For a few minutes, the senior wide receiver looked like his night might be over last Friday at Fayetteville after taking a big hit on the sideline.

Pounders had other ideas. With the help of Springdale High trainers, he got to his feet, shook off the cobwebs and returned to the field a few plays later in his customary position wide to the right side of the scrimmage line. The play drew two penalties, but even that could not keep Pounders out of the game.

His toughness isn't a surprise to fourth-year Springdale football coach Zak Clark. He knew what Pounders (5-foot-8, 165 pounds) brought to the program well before Pounders and five teammates from Springdale Har-Ber transferred last January to its crosstown rivals.

"He can flat-out play," Clark said. "We knew that when we played against him. He just seems to make plays. You watch him on defense when he really doesn't get many reps. When he's out there, he always seems to make a big tackle or a big pass break-up."

In a 37-27 win against Rogers High two weeks ago, Springdale defensive back Jujuan Boyd was credited with a late interception return of 95 yards for a touchdown, but it was actually Pounders that set the pick in motion when he deflected the ball to Boyd, Clark said.

"On that play, Brock got his hand in there and tipped it up and kept the ball alive," Clark said. "He's just one of those players where good things happen to him when he's on the field."

Springdale (6-2, 3-2 7A-West) is off to its best start to a season since the 2005 season when the Bulldogs went 14-0 under current Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. That team is regarded by many as one of the best ever in the state.

One of the reasons for that turnaround has been the transfer the half-dozen players last January. Pounders and quarterback Grant Allen made a huge impact, although Allen suffered a season-ending leg injury last week against Fayetteville just a few plays after the hit on Pounders.

Prior to his injury, Allen was 144 of 229 passing for 2,316 yards and 21 touchdowns with three interceptions. Pounders caught 48 of those passes for 900 yards and also has an interception on defense.

The decision to change schools was not an easy one, Pounders said.

"It was tough," Pounders said. "We spent two years there (at Har-Ber), but we felt like coming over here was the right move. I'm glad we did it."

Pounders said the Bulldogs' coaches and players accepted them quickly although they had been fierce competitors since junior high.

"This felt like home right away," Pounders said. "This has been a great team to be a part of."

Coming into the season, Springdale had lost 11 straight games to Har-Ber. That streak finally ended on Oct. 5 when the Bulldogs rallied from two touchdowns down with just over four minutes left to claim a 43-42 win. Both Pounders and Allen played crucial roles in the win.

Allen fired the winning touchdown and two-point conversion with nine seconds left, and Springdale students and players celebrated in the middle of Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium after the win.

Pounders caught 9 passes for 88 yards in that game, but it was a punt return that might have had the biggest impact on the outcome, Clark said.

"To have a guy who can catch punts and not let the ball roll is huge in the yards you save," Clark said. "Catching the ball and he had a 15 or so yard return out to the 50. If he doesn't catch that punt, that's huge. I mean it was a difficult catch. If he doesn't catch it, maybe it rolls and that's a 30-yard difference."

Pounders said he relished the win over his former school.

"It was huge, just a great game to be a part of," Pounders said. "Just to do that with my friends and to just be a part of that was amazing."

Allen and Pounders have been teammates and best friends since their days in the Kiwanis Kids' Day youth football program.

"We've always played sports together and had a great relationship from early on," Allen said. "It's cool to see this translate to high school. We've played on the same football team since we were like seven years old."

Ironically, both Pounders and Allen were injured when they made the move to Springdale. Allen was rehabbing from a shoulder injury, and Pounders was recovering from a torn ACL that happened last October.

"The rehab was tough mentally and physically," Pounders said. "It takes a toll on you, but you just have to be tough and fight through it.

"It was about six months before I really got back to being myself again."

Pounders said he wore a heavy brace on the injured knee when he first returned to the field, but he has since tossed the brace to the side after he developed confidence that his knee was fully recovered.

The Bulldogs suffered a 48-14 loss to Fayetteville last week, and have another tough assignment at home against Bentonville tonight. But Springdale is still in line for a high playoff seed and possible home game for the first round.

"That would be really big to host a playoff game," Pounders said. "Just the comfort level to be at home would be huge."

Sports on 10/26/2018