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Jody Gregory Plumbing We support High School Athletics! 479-806-7449 "Our skill positions are really solid with most starting since they were soph- omores, and we go two-deep at those po- sitions," Hester said. "The line, on both sides of the ball, that's kind of where we struggle. If we lose someone, we're going to have to have some guys step up." Magazine is picked to finish fifth but could surpass that projection with a lit- tle luck, something that hasn't typically been in the Rattlers' favor over the past few seasons. The Rattlers, who won the conference title in 2011, finished 5-6 last season after a 41-0 loss at Rison in the opening round of the playoffs. "We've got a lot of guys who have played a lot of football together, and that always helps," Powell said. "These guys have been through a lot and have matured a lot since junior high. But, like every season, things have got to fall your way. We survived a few injuries this off- season, and we've had our failures in the past. "But you learn from failure. If you sur- vive it, you come out on the other side stronger, and I think that's what's hap- pened with us as a team." PREP RALLY: Class 2A THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018 50 JC WESTSIDE REBELS 2017 RECORD 3-6, 1-7 2A-4 Conference COACH Nick Brill (first season) RETURNING STARTERS 5 offense, 5 defense KEY PLAYERS WR/SS Kyler Stumbaugh (Sr., 5-7, 150), WR/OLB Taylor Sagey (Sr., 6-0, 210), QB/FS Tanner Bryant (Jr., 6-0, 155), OT/DT Jerod Elms (Jr., 6-3, 320). THE SKINNY Brill takes over the program after serving as an assis- tant coach at Russellville. … The Rebels posted just one win last season in 2A-4 Conference play, a 50-6 win against Decatur, who has since dropped into eight-man football. … Tanner Bryant moves from running back to quarterback this season as the Rebels will operate out of the spread-op- tion. … Junior OL Jerod Elms is a lineman the Rebels can get behind. The 320-pounder benched more than 300 pounds in the spring. COACH SPEAK "Changing the culture is a daily task at Westside," Rebels coach Nick Brill said. "Our players are learning to commit to the program, the school and each other. They are learning to compete every day. Everything we do at Westside has a purpose, from the way our lock- ers are kept, to the way practice is scripted, to how our players dress and act on and off the field. Our guys are really buying into the process and laying a great foundation for our program." — Chip Souza • @nwachip SCHEDULE Aug. 24 ....................... at Cedarville Sept. 7 .......................... Two Rivers Sept. 14 ............................at Lamar Sept. 21 .............................Lavaca* Sept. 28 ......................... at Hector* Oct. 5 ..................... Mountainburg* Oct. 12 ....................................Open Oct. 19 .......................at Magazine* Oct. 26 .....at Western Yell County* Nov. 2 ............................... Hackett* * — Denotes 2A-4 Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted LAVACA GOLDEN ARROWS 2017 RECORD 4-7, 4-3 2A-4 Conference COACH Brian Schlinker RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 6 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Tyler Armistead (Sr., 6-2, 185), LB Jimmy Hall (Sr., 6-1, 205), OL Creek Harp (Sr, 6-1, 240), OL Trevon Moore (Sr., 5-11, 205), RB Andrew Wright (Jr., 5-9, 160), OL/DL Jonathon Hollon (Sr., 5-11, 180), CB/WR Mason Walter (Sr., 6-0, 160), FB Trey Werner (Sr., 5-10, 170), RB Trey Castor (Jr., 5-9 170). THE SKINNY The Golden Arrows have bolstered their numbers sig- nificantly beginning practice with 34, after finishing with only 18 or 19 healthy bodies in their first-round playoff loss at East Poinsett County. … One area that's thin is the offensive line. … Moore and Harp are the lone holdovers but have some size and strength. … Hall and Armistead are both vying for the starting quarterback spot, but no matter who wins the spot, the other will play at another position, Schlinker said. … Hall missed all of last season because of a knee injury. … Armistead threw for 718 yards and rushed for 356 and combined for 12 TDs. … Castor started as a sophomore at linebacker until suffering a broken arm in the middle of the season. … Schlinker hopes to get off to a better start this season and a nonconference schedule with teams more their size could help, but avoiding injuries like a year ago will also be key. COACH SPEAK "The numbers have finally come up, which is great. It makes it tough to practice because it limits how physical you can be. But the thing I love about with the added numbers is the competition for positions. We've had a good summer and we're excited." — Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB SCHEDULE Aug. 31 ..............Subiaco Academy Sept. 7 ............................ Mansfield Sept. 14 .................... at Two Rivers Sept. 21 ........... at Johnson County Westside* Sept. 28 ................. Mountainburg* Oct. 5 .......at Western Yell County* Oct. 12 ...........................Magazine* Oct. 19 ........................... at Hector* Oct. 26 .............................. Hackett* Nov. 2 .......................... at Decatur* * — Denotes 2A-4 Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted MAGAZINE RATTLERS 2017 RECORD 5-6, 3-4 2A-4 Conference COACH Doug Powell RETURNING STARTERS 7 offense, 7 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Xeng Yang (Jr., 5-6, 145), QB Tatum Scott (Soph., 5-11, 165), RB Caleb Hyatt (Jr., 5-11, 200), OL/DL Josh Cox (Sr., 5-10, 140), LB Luke Short (Sr., 5-11, 165), OL Zack Scott (Sr., 6-1, 170). OL Jay Thao (Sr., 5-6, 165), OL Andy Yang (Sr., 5-6, 155). THE SKINNY The Rattlers started practice with only 21 players, so depth could be an issue. … Sophomore Tatum Scott's father played on Magazine's first football team in 1997, and he will be vying for playing time at quarterback. … Xeng Yang got some experience at quarterback after the senior starter was injured late last season. … Andy Yang and Jay Thao will be three-year starters at the guard spots and will anchor the offensive line. …Hyatt led the team with 77 tackles from his linebacker spot, while Short also started every game at linebacker. … Powell doesn't think the new hybrid schedule will affect his team, even though the school will be out for two weeks in early October right in the middle of football season. … The five wins last year are the most for Magazine since going 8-3 in 2013. … The Rattlers combined for only nine wins from 2014-16. COACH SPEAK "We just can't seem to put two or three groups together, so we usually end up with lean numbers. Some of our really athletic kids aren't playing. We got educations last year. I had four seniors, so there were some games that we should've been in better. We got to the playoffs and got another lesson given to us. We just haven't had the numbers, haven't had the commitment." — Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB SCHEDULE Aug. 24 .......................... at Bigelow Aug. 31 .......................... Mount Ida Sept. 14 ..... at Cutter-Morning Star Sept. 21 ............................ Hackett* Sept. 28 ....................... at Decatur* Oct. 5 ................................. Hector* Oct. 12 ...........................at Lavaca* Oct. 19 ..... Johnson Co. Westside* Oct. 26 ...............at Mountainburg* Nov. 2 ..........Western Yell County* * — Denotes 2A-4 Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted MOUNTAINBURG DRAGONS 2017 RECORD 9-2, 6-1 2A-4 Conference COACH Tom Harrell RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 4 defense KEY PLAYERS FB Malachi West (Jr., 6-1, 235), DT Colton Robbins (5-10., 214), RG Dalen Cagle (Sr., 6-5, 340), QB Ethan Gregory (Soph., 5-10, 150), QB Austin Wakefield (Sr., 6-3, 170), WR/LB James Vanourny (Sr., 5-9, 165). THE SKINNY Mountainburg was one of the better teams in all 2A last season, losing only one regular season game before seeing its season end in the second round of the playoffs. With the loss of several key seniors, the team is looking for some leadership to pair with star running back Austin Taylor. … The Dragons run a variant of the spread that includes sprinkles of the wing-T and single-wing offense. … Though the team is a run-first offense, two dual-threat quarterbacks in Ethan Gregory and Austin Wakefield will be asked to throw the ball when defenses stack the box. … With an offensive line that has shown glimpses of being one of the better units in years, the Dragons have their eyes set on another playoff run. COACH SPEAK "We've had the same coaches for quite a while. That's been a good consistency for the program. I think our offense is totally unique in that if you went to every other school across the state, you wouldn't see one like ours." — Andrew Epperson SCHEDULE Aug. 31 ............................Cedarville Sept. 7 ............................Greenland Sept. 14 ..................................Open Sept. 21 ........................ at Marshall Sept. 28 .........................at Lavaca* Oct. 5 ........ at John. Cnty. Westside* Oct. 12 ........Western Yell Country* Oct. 19 ..........................at Hackett* Oct. 26 ...........................Magaizne* Nov. 2 ............................ at Hector* * — Denotes 2A-4 Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. T. Bryant J. Elms T. Sagy K. Stumbaugh T. Armistead J. Hall J. Cox C. Hyatt C. Robbins J. Vanourny A. Wakefield M. West This will be a historical season for Decatur and several other similar sized schools in Ar- kansas as they try to bring eight-man football back to the state for the first time in more than 50 years. Last spring Decatur and Augusta led the push for eight-man football. Fielding enough players for conventional 11-man teams was an annu- al struggle with low numbers. The move has spurred more players to come out at Decatur with new coach James Ortiz estimating he'll have between 25-27 players for this year's team. Ortiz, who was hired in late July, is looking to seniors Cayden Bingham (5-11, 140) and Austin Hamilton (5-9, 150) to lead the team. "Both of them have shown that classic hall- mark leadership that we need," Ortiz. "They have a tremendous work ethic." The eight-man game is built for speed the Decatur has plenty of that after winning a state track championship last spring. Ortiz was an assistant coach at Pea Ridge for 11 years before taking the Decatur job this summer. Although he has coached for 20-plus seasons, Ortiz does not have any eight-man coaching experience. He has reached out to coaches in neighboring Oklahoma who have experience in eight-man coaching for advice. "Football is football," Ortiz said. "We're still going to have offense and defense and special teams. It's still a game of hitting, blocking, catch the ball, throw the ball. You're going to see stuff out there that is just like 11-man football." — Chip Souza • @NWAChip Bulldogs ready to make history 2A v Continued from Page 49