BENTONVILLE
Tigers will finally get to compete
It comes a week later than planned, but Bentonville finally gets to open its season opener Friday as the Tigers head to Conway for what becomes the first of three long trips to nonconference games.
Bentonville could be a slight disadvantage since Conway already has played a game, having defeated Fayetteville last week, but coach Jody Grant said there’s also some things that could help the Tigers’ situation as well.
“It’s hard to call what we had last week a bye week,” said Grant, who referred to Bentonville’s game against Liberty (Mo.) North being canceled. “But because we knew who we were playing, it gave us the opportunity to have an extra week of preparation.
“It gave us two weeks to prepare for Conway, which is a quality opponent. It’s why we schedule them because this game is a great preparation for the upcoming weeks. Conway is an athletic team that has a new offensive coordinator, and this will be a good game to see where we are right now.”
Senior Andrew Edwards will start at quarterback, even though he sat out of the Aug. 20 scrimmage against Springdale Har-Ber because he was a little banged up. Grant, however, said junior Drew Wright will also take some snaps with the varsity offense after his performance.
“Drew earned the opportunity to see some playing time after what he did in the scrimmage,” Grant said. “Both of them will play. Some don’t like the idea of playing two quarterbacks, but we’re going to do it and see how this all shakes out.
“I’m not saying both of them will see 50-50 on the snaps. We’ll give them both an opportunity to come up with the hot hand.”
— Henry Apple • @NWAHenry
BERRYVILLE
Bobcats idle for now
It will be a while before Berryville gets to play another football game.
The Bobcats had their game this Friday against West Fork canceled after a covid-19 issue caused the team’s players and coaches to be quarantined for 14 days.
“It’s crazy because we were taking all the precautions,” coach Doug Shott said. “We were following the social distancing guidelines. We would let seniors get dressed in the locker room, then juniors, then sophomores. We were providing bottled water for the players.
“It’s just the times we live in. I can’t see how we could have done anything differently. Now we are going to be even farther behind because we can’t practice for two weeks.”
Because Berryville’s coaches oversee the junior high and seventh-grade teams, those games will also be called off for the next 2 weeks. The Bobcats (0-1), who lost Friday to Cedarville, have an open date next week before they are scheduled to take on Greenland in their final nonconference game Sept. 18.
“It’s just an unfortunate situation,” Shott said. “We’ll have to sit things out and see what happens.”
— Henry Apple • @NWAHenry
ROGERS HIGH
Mounties’ defense tightens in second half
Rogers High coach Mike Loyd acknowledged feeling a twinge of ‘here we go again’ after his team gave up 35 first-half points in last week’s opener at Siloam Springs.
The Mounties surrendered 559 points, a staggering average of more than 50 points per game a year ago. But Rogers tightened up in the second half, allowing only seven more points and returning an interception for a touchdown in the 52-42 win.
“The kids played hard,” Loyd said. “The coaches made some adjustments, but the kids just played so hard. We had a big goal-line stand and then the pick-six. Those were huge plays.”
Senior linebacker Jesus Gomez stopped the Panthers’ ball-carrier on fourth-and-goal from the 1. That spurred a string of 17 straight points that carried Rogers to the victory. Senior Matt Couts picked off a Siloam Springs and returned it all the way for the score.
“They just made plays at key times. They all did. That’s all you can say,” Loyd said.
The Mounties offense did its part, too. Senior quarterback Chris Francisco accounted for more than 450 yards of total offense and five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) in his first varsity start at the position. He completed passes to five different receivers. Junior Noah Goodshield led the way with six catches for 133 yards. Francisco finished with a team-high 86 yards rushing on 14 carries.
— Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB
ROGERS HERITAGE
War Eagles making strides
Rogers Heritage coach Steve Hookfin would have liked a season-opening victory but he was still pleased with the progress he saw last week.
“It was 100 times better,” said Hookfin, referring to the effort compared to the scrimmage against Siloam Springs. “It may not have been a win on the scoreboard but it’s a win for where we want to go.”
“I thought we played hard and that’s number one.”
Hookfin made a few personnel changes, the biggest was giving sophomore Carter Hensley his first start at quarterback. That allowed Jeb Brown, the returning starter at that position, to play some on both sides of the ball, Hookfin said.
“He’s an athlete and that allowed us to put him in places he can help us on offense, defense and special teams,” Hookfin said. “Carter improved throughout the game. He threw four interceptions but that’s par for the course with a sophomore.
“We’re kind of skipping a step in his development. We’d like to have him develop a year as a JV quarterback. But he’s proven he can handle what we’re putting on his plate.”
Another change was moving Josh Ezell from linebacker to fullback, after losing tight end Jaxon Stout and running back Eli Craig to injuries in the preseason scrimmage.
“He brings that physical mindset to the offense,” Hookfin said. “With Craig and Stout going out, we had to change some things in our scheme. They were going to be big parts of what we did.”
— Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB
OZARK
Hillbillies ready to open season
Ozark had not one, but two season-openers canceled last week.
The Hillbillies were originally scheduled to take on Clarksville in the opener, but the Panthers had to pull out of the game due to coronavirus issues the week leading into the game. Ozark scrambled to fill the spot with Valley View, but that game was also canceled because of weather concerns from Hurricane Laura, which actually proved to be minimal rain.
Finally this week Ozark will open the season by hosting Booneville on Friday at Hillbilly Stadium.
“Unless the river comes up from all the rain and Booneville can’t get here, we will play Friday,” Ozark coach Jeremie Burns laughed. “After Valley View canceled last week, we just scrimmaged on Friday. Hopefully we get Booneville over here and we’ll have a game.”
The Hillbillies are loaded with returning starters and experience from a team that advanced to the 4A semifinals last season, but Ozark was dominated in a scrimmage two weeks ago by Maumelle. That was a wake-up call, Burns said.
“That scrimmage did not go well,” said Burns. “But it kind of got their attention and they really came back and I was really proud of them last week for working hard and getting back on track and focused in. So of them said they got humbled in the scrimmage, so it was a good eye-opener for us to get us refocused with everything going on this spring and summer being away from everybody.”
Burns said the Hillbillies have rescheduled the game with Clarksville for Sept. 11.
— Chip Souza • @NWAChip
SPRINGDALE HIGH
Bulldogs find positives in loss
Springdale appeared to have all the momentum as the fourth quarter started in its opener against Van Buren last week.
After trailing 13-0, the Bulldogs rallied to take a 28-27 lead into the fourth quarter before the Pointers scored three touchdowns over the final 10:04 to claim a 48-28 win.
“At halftime, we told the kids, ‘hey, we can come back. We’re more physical than they are,’” said Springdale coach Zak Clark. “I’ve never been in a game where you win 4-1 in the turnover margin and have a lead in the fourth quarter, then just literally just ran out of gas. We lost a bunch of guys to cramps and we have to do a better job with that. And their two studs played like it in the fourth quarter.”
It doesn’t get any easier this week as the Bulldogs will host Choctaw, Okla., a team that boasts a number of Power 5 recruits including wide receiver Chase Jackson, who is committed to TCU and defensive back Jordan Mukes, who is committed to Oklahoma.
Clark was pleased with several aspects of his team last week, including first-year starting quarterback Landon Phipps, who scored three touchdowns and rushed for 121 yards.
“He is a tough kid, he’s athletic,” said Clark. “He really presents a lot of problems in the run game. We had a problem with snaps, with the ball being wet. We had three or four big lost-yardage plays because of that. I think we run for 250 if you take those plays out. He’s a dynamic guy with his legs, but we’ve got to develop him and get him more comfortable throwing the ball.”
Friday’s kickoff at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium is at 8 p.m.
— Chip Souza • @NWAChip
PRAIRIE GROVE
‘Battle of 62’ Renewed
Danny Abshier can earn his 200th career victory at Prairie Grove on Friday with a win in the season-opener against Farmington, but that’s a challenge.
Farmington has won the past two games in the “Battle of 62” Highway after Prairie Grove won in 2017 and 2016. In addition, Farmington has already had a game and a scrimmage while Prairie Grove has yet to see any real action after its scrimmage two weeks ago with Clarksville was canceled because of a covid-19 outbreak.
“I think it is a disadvantage,” said Abshier, who added he’s not concerned about the 200-win plateau. “You never really know about your team until you’ve played and Farmington’s got it going on pretty good with the win against Rogers Heritage.”
Farmington was dominant on defense last week in its 24-6 victory over Rogers Heritage at Cardinals Stadium. Farmington intercepted four passes, blocked a punt, and contributed points on the scoreboard with Hunter Nass’ sack for a safety.
Offensively, junior Devonte Donovan displayed his athleticism with seven receptions and two carries for nine yards.
“They’ll give you multiple looks with a lot of skill guys and they have a lot of size on their offensive and defensive lines” Abshier said. “Those guys are gigantic.”
Prairie Grove hopes to counter with an offense that includes seven returning starters. Senior Knox Laird returns at quarterback while seniors Cade Grant and fullback Foster Layman head the running games. Both rushed for over 500 yards last season.
— Rick Fires • @nwarick
WALDRON
Powell wins Waldron debut
Waldron beat Gentry 44-29 to hand Doug Powell a victory in his first appearance as the Bulldogs’ coach.
The passing game was a big factor with senior quarterback Braden Williams throwing for 249 yards and four touchdowns. Bryson Bailey was the top receiver with four catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Williams is a three-year starter for Waldron.
“(Williams) is an experienced quarterback and it showed,” Powell said. “He kept plays alive and our receivers did a good job. On defense, we tackled pretty well. We’ve focused on that and it paid big dividends against Gentry.”
School was canceled and the Bulldogs missed a practice session because of heavy rain that hit Waldron hard over the weekend. But Waldron should still be ready to face Mansfield, which opened the season with a 41-0 victory over Magazine.
Quarterback Zayne Dugan threw for 184 yards and four touchdowns against the Rattlers.
“(Dugan) is a big kid and we’re going to have to do a good job of tackling him,” Powell said. “They’re a lot like Gentry. They’re going to be bigger than us and they do a little different things on defense we need to be aware of.”
— Rick Fires • @nwarick