CLASS 2A TEAM CAPSULES
HACKETT HORNETS
2018 RECORD 4-5, 3-3 2A-4 Conference
COACH Michael Meador
RETURNING STARTERS 4 offense, 4 defense
KEY PLAYERS QB Avery Hester (Jr., 5-9, 145), RB Fischer Shipman (Jr., 5-10, 165), RB Weston Winters (Jr., 5-10, 175), WR Levin Glass (Sr., 5-11, 170), NG Briar Goins (Sr., 5-10, 320), QB Ethan Slavens (So., 6-3, 160).
THE SKINNY Former Charleston football standout Michael Meador returns to Northwest Arkansas as coach of the Hornets. .... Meador replaces Lonnie Hester, who retired as head coach. ... Meador arrives from Rison, where he was an assistant football coach and head basketball coach. ... Meador graduated from Charleston in 2010 and played college football at Central Arkansas and Henderson State. ... Hackett has only three seniors on the team this season. ... Avery Hester is the younger brother of Brady Hester, a former all-state quarterback at Hackett. ... Fischer Shipman is the younger brother of Cooper Shipman, who was a top running back for the Hornets.
COACH SPEAK "We should be able to run the ball behind a pretty good offensive line. Defensively, our strength is our defensive line. We should be able to get after the ball."
-- Rick Fires • @nwarick
SCHEDULE
Aug. 29^at Mansfield^Oct. 11^Rose Bud
Sept. 6^Pocola, Okla.^Oct. 18^at Hector*
Sept. 13^Spring Hill^Oct. 25^at Magazine*
Sept. 20^at Panama, Okla.^Nov. 1^Lavaca*
Sept. 27^MagazineNov. 8^JC Westside
*-- Denotes 2A-4 Conference game
All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted
.......
JC WESTSIDE REBELS
2018 RECORD 2-8
COACH Joseph Morse
RETURNING STARTERS 9 offense, 9 defense
KEY PLAYERS QB Tanner Bryant (Sr., 6-0, 175), LB Peyton Estep (Sr., 5-9, 185), WR Hunter Andrews (Jr., 6-1, 160), WR James Linton (Jr., 6-1, 180), OL Patrick Smith (Sr., 6-3, 300), OL Jared Helmes (Sr., 6-2, 230), DE Landon Harkreader (So., 6-3, 215).
THE SKINNY Joseph Morse is the third Rebels head coach in as many seasons, and he has almost the entire starting lineup back from last season. Morse, who was the coach at Marshall last season, is a disciple of the Frank Vines coaching tree at Alma, having played under the legendary mentor. Morse believes in the Vines system of power running, swarming defense and clock control. ... Quarterback Tanner Bryant gives the Rebels a dual-threat as a passer and runner, although running is probably his strong suite. ... Westside has a large offensive line that will need to do well in the trenches in order to play the style of attack Morse is wanting build. ... Last season the Rebels were routinely trounced in 2A-4 Conference games, beating only Western Yell County, which has since dropped down to 8-man football.
COACH SPEAK "My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and she lives in Alma, so I felt like I needed to be closer to her," Morse said about leaving Marshall after just one season. "We're going to play smash-mouth on offense and try to run in at you and try to hold you on defense as long as we can."
-- Chip Souza • @nwachip
SCHEDULE
Aug. 30^Cedarville^Oct. 11^at Mountainburg*
Sept. 13^at Two Rivers^Oct. 18^Strong
Sept. 20^Lamar^Oct. 25^Magazine*
Sept. 27^at Lavaca*^Nov. 1^Open
Oct. 4^Hector^Nov. 8^at Hackett
*-- Denotes 2A-4 Conference game
All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted
.....
LAVACA GOLDEN ARROWS
2018 RECORD 4-6, 3-3 2A-4 Conference
COACH Mark Headley
RETURNING STARTERS 3 offense, 3 defense
KEY PLAYERS QB/CB Kaw-Liga Brewer (Sr., 5-10, 160), RB/LB Cazen Winters (So., 5-8, 160), RB/DB Tristan Brown (So., 5-7, 160), OL/DL Zach Gann (Sr., 5-10, 220), OL/DL Skyler Barger (Sr., 5-10, 250), OL/DL Jacob Smith (Sr., 5-7, 220), WR/CB Jackson Floyd (So., 5-8, 140)
THE SKINNY Mark Headley steps back into being the head coach from being the athletic director and baseball coach ... Headley in his previous stint as coach in 2002-2014 led the Golden Arrows to an 84-60 record and made it all the way to the state semifinals in 2008 ... After playing running back last year, Kaw-Liga Brewer looks to be the quarterback in his final season ... Headley says he will be looking for strong seasons from a sophomore class that will play early and often ... Golden Arrows graduated more than 15 players, including their starting quarterback, running back and top tackle leader from a season ago ... Lavaca will just have three home games this season because of some schedule difficulties ... Lavaca moves to Class 3A in 2020 ... Former Lavaca coach Brian Schlinker left to be the coach at Northridge Junior High in Van Buren ... The Golden Arrows have made the playoffs in three of the past four seasons
COACH SPEAK "I'm excited to be back. Baseball and football are the sports I love and am really passionate about. We are working on our culture and mental game right now. We are low numbers right now in high school. We are kind of working on us. We don't really worry about other teams. We want to improve each week and have something to play for at the end of the year. It's about how you finish."
-- Harold McIlvain II • Special to the NWA Democrat-Gazette
SCHEDULE
Aug. 30 Mountainburg^Oct. 18 at Magazine*
Sept. 6 at Subiaco Academy^Oct. 25 Hector*
Sept. 13 at Mansfield^Nov. 1 at Hackett*
Sept. 27 Westside*^Nov. 8 at Hampton
Oct. 4 at Mountainburg*
*-- Denotes 2A-4 Conference game
All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted
.....
MAGAZINE RATTLERS
2018 RECORD 6-5, 4-2 2A-4 Conference
COACH Doug Powell
RETURNING STARTERS 7 offense, 7 defense
KEY PLAYERS FB/LB Caleb Hyatt (Sr., 6-0, 220), QB/CB Tatum Scott (Jr., 5-11, 160), RB/LB Kobe Faughn (Jr., 5-11, 205), RB/CB/QB Xeng Yang (Sr., 5-6, 140), OL/DL Bryce McDowell (Sr., 6-0, 280), OL/DL William King (Jr., 6-0, 210), WR Ashton Droemer (So., 5-6, 145)
THE SKINNY Tatum Scott worked himself back from a collarbone injury and helped lead the team down the stretch from the quarterback position a season ago ... Scott will take most snaps as signal-caller, but team has Xeng Yang with experience as well ... Scott and several Rattlers helped take hope the title in the 2A/1A Indoor Track State Championship ... Scott was named the state MVP and won the 200m dash ... Caleb Hyatt won the shot put, while Yang won the 60m hurdles ... Hyatt returns after finishing with about 1,300 yards on the ground last season ... Kobe Faughn had a team-high 121 tackles in 2018 from his linebacker position ... Program excited about having its talented freshman and sophomore classes help fill depth ... Magazine program has been on the rise, winning 11 games in the past two seasons after winning just nine games from 2014-2016 ... Magazine, down just seven in the fourth quarter, had its season end in state playoffs against Foreman, 38-26
COACH SPEAK "We are feeling a little better than we have in a long time. Expectations are a little higher than in the past. We fell short on some things last year. We made a good run and played well at the end. It's hard to know what to expect in the playoffs when you haven't been there in a while. You usually knock on the door before you can bust it open."
-- Harold McIlvain II • Special to the NWA Democrat-Gazette
SCHEDULE
Aug. 30^Bigelow^Oct. 18^Lavaca*
Sept. 6^at Mount Ida^Oct. 25^at Westside*
Sept. 20^Cutter-Morning Star^Nov. 1^Mountainburg*
Sept. 27^at Hackett*
Oct. 11^at Hector*
*-- Denotes 2A-4 Conference game
All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted
.....
MOUNTAINBURG DRAGONS
2018 RECORD 8-3, 5-1 2A-4 Conference
COACH Tom Harrell
RETURNING PLAYERS 6 offense, 6 defense
KEY PLAYERS QB Ethan Gregory (Jr., 6-0 160), RB Malachi West (Sr., 6-3 250), OL Damien Kissler (Sr., 6-1 220), OL Ridge Bonewell (Sr., 6-6 250), DL Billy Jones (Sr., 6-2 220), DL Tristan Murchison (Jr., 5-11 230), DB Ethan Jones (Sr., 5-7 150), OL Dolen Patterson (Sr., 5-9 270).
THE SKINNY Coach Tom Harrell begins his 30th year as head coach and becomes the longest-tenured coach in Arkansas with the retirement of Cabot's Mike Malham Jr. ... Harrell has led the Dragons to a combined 17 wins over the past two seasons since going to a version of the Single-Wing on offense. ... The Dragons will need to replace speedy Austin Taylor, who rushed for 1,250 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, but quarterback Ethan Gregory returns as the trigger man in the unusual offense. The junior rushed for 662 yards and 16 TDs and threw for 892 more to go with 13 TDs through the air. ... Powerful Malachi West accounted for 739 yards on the ground on just 97 carries (7.6 avg.), but could tote a heavier load this season. ... Senior Ethan Jones started at cornerback the past two seasons, but will likely move to offense to take Taylor's spot. ... Junior Tristan Murchison suffered a broken foot late in the season, but returns to help anchor the line
COACH SPEAK "We've had good years the last two years," Harrell said. "Lineman-wise, I think we're gonna be pretty good. Skill people, the quarterback's back and he had a great year last year. We've got the big back. Hopefully, we can find pieces that kinda fit the rest of it. We've had kids that kinda waited their turn behind other guys and it's their turn. Not playing many guys both ways, I think it's helped our numbers. I know it's helped us in September and early October games. You throw in the kicking game I get about 90 percent of them on the field."
-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB
SCHEDULE
Aug. 30^at Lavaca^Oct. 25^Hackett*
Sept. 6^Cedarville^Nov. 1^at Magazine*
Sept. 13^at Greenland^Nov. 8^Hector*
Oct. 4^Lavaca*
Oct. 11^Johnson County Westside*
*-- Denotes 2A-4 Conference game
All kickoffs at 7 p.m. unless noted.
Sports on 08/22/2019