Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1015901
1112 Garrison Ave. Fort Smith, AR 72901 479-783-1131 PREP RALLY: Class 7A THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018 15 SPRINGDALE HAR-BER WILDCATS 2017 RECORD 7-4, 4-3 7A-West COACH Chris Wood RETURNING STARTERS 2 offense, 4 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Blaise Wittschen (Jr., 6-0, 180), Hunter Wood (Jr., 6-1, 185), DE Miller Herndon (Sr., 6-3, 225), DE Blake Wade (Sr., 6-2, 245), DB Justin Moto (Sr., 5-10, 150), LB Nick Fusher (Sr., 5-11, 200), OL Yonathan Raya (Sr., 6-0, 280). THE SKINNY The Wildcats started the 2017 season by winning their first five games, but injuries led to a mid-season slide and Har-Ber was bounced from the playoffs in week one to Fort Smith Northside. … A number of Har-Ber players transferred to crosstown Springdale High after the season ended, but the Wildcats have more than 150 players in the program and will get an influx of young talent from yet another undefeated team at Central Junior High. … Junior QB Blaise Wittschen survived a baptism by fire last season when he was thrust into the starting role when starter Grant Allen was injured. That time under center will be a huge benefit coming into this season, coach Chris Wood said. … WR Hunter Wood is one of the best in the 7A-West. He caught 36 passes for 509 yards last season. … Wood said the Wildcats will return to their roots on offense this season by relying on a strong run game with several players expected to log significant carries. … Defensively Har-Ber returns four starters, led by senior Miller Herndon, who slides from linebacker up to defensive end. Herndon had 65 tackles in 2017. … LB Nick Fusher returns after a solid junior campaign and he'll be joined by Gabe Baker and Carter Carlton. … Senior DB Justin Moto leads the back end at cornerback. … The Wildcats open the season at home against defending 5A state champion Pulaski Academy. COACH SPEAK "We like our ballclub and we're just trying to get bet- ter every day," Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. "(Blaise) had a really good mentor in Grant Allen to see how to do things and how to be prepared. Last year due to injuries he was able to get out there and I think it was a great experience. He got that out of the way and we saw some really good things and that just carried over into this year." — Chip Souza • @nwachip SCHEDULE Aug. 24 ............... Pulaski Academy Sept. 7 ......................at Russellville Sept. 14 ...................... at Pine Bluff Sept. 21 ......... at Bentonville High* Sept. 28 ..............Rogers Heritage* Oct. 5 ..............at Springdale High* Oct. 12 ...............Bentonville West* Oct. 19 ......................... Van Buren* Oct. 26 ..................at Rogers High* Nov. 2 ......................... Fayetteville* * — Denotes 7A-West Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. ROGERS HIGH MOUNTIES 2017 RECORD 5-6, 2-5 7A-West COACH Mike Loyd RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 7 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Hunter Loyd (Jr., 6-4, 190), TE Matthew Watson (Jr., 6-5, 215), OL R.J. Long (Jr., 6-2, 290), FB Casey Allred (Sr., 6-1, 215), OL Beau Zarate (Sr., 5-10, 275), WR/DB Wil Sims (Sr., 6-1, 170), WR Mason Ross (Jr., 5-10, 170), LB Tim Howard (Sr., 6-0, 190), DB/WR Coby Bailey (Jr., 6-0, 165). THE SKINNY Loyd returns at quarterback, after throwing for more than 2,200 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore. … Mike Loyd hopes playing as many as 15 sophomores at times last season pays div- idends as they are now a year stronger and faster and accustomed to the rigors of the 7A-West. … The Mounties graduated only one starter from the offensive line, but senior Caleb Stanberry, who didn't play a year ago, could also make an impact. … Long has already received Division II scholarship offers and another year of maturity could bring some D-1 offers, Loyd said. … Ross, Sims and Braden Gentry make up a receiving corps with plenty of speed, while Watson is a big target a tight end. … Several different backs will see action including junior Sammy Zamarron, Allred, Daniel Deleon and even Howard could see some time there. … Bailey should bring speed and athleticism as a receiver and at defensive back. … Howard and Nathan Hahn also brings experience on defense. … Sophomore Carter Cox (6-3, 290) should also add good depth on the line. COACH SPEAK "This is the best group of young men we've had athletically since I've been here. The attitude's good. We've got more depth than we've ever had. We're faster than we've ever been and we're bigger than we've ever been. It's a whole different feeling. The kids got a little bounce. They've got a little confidence. I don't know if that' will equate to more wins, but I guarantee you we're gonna be a heck of a lot more competitive." — Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB SCHEDULE Aug. 31 ...........at Pulaski Robinson Sept. 7 .......................at LR Central Sept. 14 ......................LR Parkview Sept. 21 ....................... Van Buren* Sept. 28 ...................... Fayetteville* Oct. 5 .............at Bentonville West* Oct. 12 ................Springdale High* Oct. 19 ........... at Bentonville High* Oct. 26 ...........Springdale Har-Ber* Nov. 2 .............at Rogers Heritage* * — Denotes 7A-West Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. ROGERS HERITAGE WAR EAGLES 2017 RECORD 1-9, 1-6 7A-West COACH Tony Travis RETURNING STARTERS 1 offense, 5 defense KEY RETURNERS OL Zion Adair (Sr., 6-4, 340), QB Zac Brown (Sr., 6-2, 185), RB Ty Graser (Sr., 5-8, 175), WR Dylan Moore (6-1, 175), DB/WR Isaiah Tibbs (Jr., 6-1, 175), OL Hunter Holland (Sr., 5-9, 210), DL Gavin Pusey (Sr., 5-8, 275), LB Reese Williams (Sr., 6-0, 225), DB Tanner Epps (Sr., 5-10, 160), LB Griffin Brown (Jr., 5-11, 165). THE SKINNY Save a couple of positions, the War Eagles have better overall depth than a year ago, Travis said entering his third season. … Heritage has won just two games total in the past three seasons. … Adair is the lone returning starter on offense, but Brown has taken some snaps on Friday over the past two seasons. … Graser, who finished fifth in the decathlon in the spring, gives Heritage some speed at running back. He played mostly at defensive back a year ago. … Tibbs started as a soph- omore at safety, but will get some time at receiver, too, this season. … Linebacker Parker Lee missed spring workouts because of a back injury, but recently returned to practice this fall. … Senior Tanner Epps, a return- ing starter at cornerback, was not expected back from knee surgery until midseason, but recovered quicker than expected and could be ready for the start of the season. … Williams and Carter Christian give Heritage good experience at linebacker. COACH SPEAK "I think one of the most positive things I've seen since I've been here is we've learned how to be better teammates. They've learned to push each other and to get excited when other people do some- thing good. Everybody talks about winning culture. When I played it was called team chemistry. I feel like we have good team chemistry right now. We see those improvements and I think that will lead to good things on Friday night." — Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB SCHEDULE Aug. 24 ..................at FS Northside Aug. 31 .......................... LR Central Sept. 14 .....................FS Southside Sept. 21 ..........at Springdale High* Sept. 28 .....at Springdale Har-Ber* Oct. 5 ..................Bentonville High* Oct. 12 ..................... at Van Buren* Oct. 19 ...............Bentonville West* Oct. 26 .................... at Fayetteville* Nov. 2 .......................Rogers High* * — Denotes 7A-Central Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE MAVERICKS 2017 RECORD 3-8, 2-5 7A-Central COACH Jeff Williams RETURNING STARTERS 8 offense, 8 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Taye Gatewood (Sr., 5-11, 210), WR Tyrese Sol- omon (Sr., 5-11, 170), LB Darin Davenport (Sr., 6-2, 225), WR Jordyn Jackson (Sr., 5-11, 170), DB DeDe Smith (Sr., 6-3, 150), RB Ricardo Savoy (Sr., 5-10, 160). THE SKINNY The Mavericks were an uncharacteristic 3-8 last season, but return almost all their starters including stellar QB Taye Gatewood and WR Tyrese Solomon. … Southside's slide last season could be traced back to a pair of narrow back-to-back losses to Conway (54-47 OT) and 43-41 to Cabot. … Injuries were a big factor as LB Darin Davenport missed the entire season. Despite playing just a handful of snaps the past two seasons, Davenport is still drawing Division I attention. … Gatewood is also drawing a lot of college interest after completing 174 of 292 passes for 2,984 yards and 26 TDs. … Solomon was Gatewood's primary tar- get with 65 catches for 1,211 yards. … Coach Jeff Williams believes the team's biggest improvement will be on defense in 2018. … Williams is eight wins away from his 100th win at Southside. COACH SPEAK "This league we're in is really, really tough, but we feel good with the nucleus we have,. We have our quarterback back and our bell cow on defense, Darin Davenport is healthy. We scored a lot of points last year, we were in a lot of close games … a lot of games we had an opportunity to win. I think the problem was we were inexperienced and not used to being in those types of situations. This year we are a senior-based team with a pretty good sophomore class." — Chip Souza • @nwachip SCHEDULE Aug. 31 ............at Bentonville West Sept. 7 ..........................Greenwood Sept. 14 ............at Rogers Heritage Sept. 21 ........................... Conway* Sept. 28 ...............................Cabot* Oct. 5 ............ at North Little Rock* Oct. 12 ................................Bryant* Oct. 19 ................... at LR Catholic* Oct. 26 .........................LR Central* Nov. 2 ..................at FS Northside* * — Denotes 7A-Central Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. H. Wood M. Herndon Y. Raya N. Fusher B. Wittschen T. Howard W. Sims R.J. Long C. Bailey B. Zarate M. Ross G. Brown D. Moore Z. Brown T. Graser T. Travis H. Holland T. Solomon J. Jackson T. Gatewood D. Smith R. Savoy D. Davenport