NWADG Prep Rally Football Preview

43 PREP RALLY: CLASS 4A | 8.21.2022 ELKINS ELKS 2021 RECORD 8-3, 5-2 4A-1 Conference COACH Zach Watson RETURNING STARTERS 7 offense, 6 defense KEY PLAYERS RB Da'Shawn Chairs (Jr., 5-8, 175), QB Dizzy Dean (Jr., 6-2, 180), QB Landon Neal (So., 6-3, 190), WR/DB Aden Williams (Sr., 5-9, 170), WR Steven Holland (Sr., 6-3, 150), WR Jusiah Bettencourt (Sr., 5-9, 150), WR/LB Stone Dean (Jr., 6-2, 180), OL Koby Leslie (Sr., 5-10, 245), OL Kellen Combs (Jr. 6-4, 255), OL Dalton Schuman (Jr., 5-11, 240), OL Mathew Ferguson (Jr., 5-10, 230), OL Andrew Gorder (Sr., 6-2, 275), DL Zanuel Martin (Sr., 6-2, 245), DL/OL Ethan Nesser (Sr., 5-11, 285), LB Landon Haney (Sr., 5-10, 180), DB Kaiden Hughey (Sr., 5-7, 155), DB Sean Boddie (Sr., 5-9, 170). THE SKINNY Elkins, picked to finish second in the conference in the coaches' poll, heads into year two for Watson with the program now putting together back-to-back 8-win seasons. … Elks won a tight 29-23 first-round playoff matchup against Dardanelle then gained valuable experience in a road loss to Stuttgart in the second round. … RB Da'Shawn Chairs (all-state) had a breakout season last fall, finishing with 1,518 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. … Chairs, who gained 30 pounds in the offseason, exploded for a 299-yard, 5-touchdown performance against Gravette. … Dizzy Dean, a transfer from Greenwood, and Landon Neal battled in the offseason for the quarterback position. … The Elks are excited to have even more playmakers around Chairs this year to keep defenses honest. … Wide receivers Aden Williams and Steven Holland look to stretch defenses and make big plays again this year. … Jusiah Bettencourt is a gamechanger on special teams with three kickoff returns and two punt returns for touchdowns last year. … DL Zanuel Martin (all-conference) leads the defense up front and had 70 tackles last fall. … Opposing coaches raved to Watson about Martin's play-making ability. THAT'S WHAT HE SAID "We have a great group of kids supported by a great community. The parents expect the kids to work hard. There was a lot of buy-in when I first got here. That helped with the translation from year one to year two. We had to keep it simple because I got my defensive coordinator so late last year. I'm so excited about this year. We are able to make more adjustments now. We are looking forward to a good new year." — Zach Watson SCHEDULE Aug. 26 ......at Pottsville Oct. 7 .............. Berryville* Sept. 2 .......Charleston Oct. 14 ... at Green Forest* Sept. 9 .......Clarksville Oct. 21 .................. Ozark* Sept. 23 .....Gravette* Oct. 28 .............at Gentry* Sept. 30 .....at Huntsville* Nov. 4 .................. Lincoln * — Denotes 4A-1 Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted HUNTSVILLE EAGLES 2021 RECORD 4-7, 3-4 4A-1 Conference COACH Matt Williams RETURNING STARTERS 5 offense, 5 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Amos Mayes (Sr., 6-1, 195), RB Jacob Lodwick (Sr., 5-8, 170), LB/FB Dugger Tipton (Sr., 5-10, 170), WR/DB Phillip Litterell (Sr., 6-1, 140), WR/DB Kouper Shepherd (Jr., 5-8, 135), OL/LB William Vanderpool (Sr., 5-11, 175), OL Logan Wallace (Jr., 5-9, 215), OL Cade Crumley (Jr., 6-1, 245), OL/DL Aedan McClane (Jr., 5-7, 175), OL/DL Alex Kilpatrick (Jr., 5-8, 190), DL Brett White (Jr., 6-0, 245), DB Brandon Rushano (Sr., 5-10, 175), DB Kolby Phillips (So., 6-0, 160). THE SKINNY The Eagles are heading in the right direction with nine total wins in the past two seasons compared to five total wins in the previous three seasons before that. … Team now wants to make a strong push to move up the playoff rankings with the ultimate goal of hosting a playoff game. … Huntsville had its season end to Ozark in a first-round playoff matchup last year and will see them again now as a conference opponent. … QB Amos Mayes returns after earning all-conference honors last season. … One of Mayes' best games of the year came against Berryville, throwing for 360 yards and 5 touchdowns in the win. … Williams loves the leadership and competitiveness from Mayes, who has taken big steps to take his game to another level over the summer. … Dugger Tipton (all-conference) had more than 80 tackles last fall, leading the team, and will help guide the defense again. … Tipton, a great leader who is hard to block, received praise from plenty of opposing coaches talking with coach Matt Williams last season. THAT'S WHAT HE SAID "We have been lucky to have some pretty good players the last few years. We are trying to work on our culture. We talk a lot about this being a family and this is more than just football. We want to build relationships and hope that carries over to the field. It's a process and it doesn't happen overnight. The senior leadership has been very strong the past couple of seasons. We want to take our success to the next level now and move up in the playoff rankings this year." — Matt Williams SCHEDULE Aug. 26 ......Lamar Oct. 7 ............ at Gravette* Sept. 2 .......at Prairie Grove Oct. 14 ............at Lincoln* Sept. 9 .......Pea Ridge Oct. 21 ............ Berryville* Sept. 23 .....at Gentry* Oct. 28 ... at Green Forest* Sept. 30 .....Elkins* Nov. 4 ................... Ozark* * — Denotes 4A-1 Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted GREEN FOREST TIGERS 2021 RECORD 2-7, 1-6 4A-1 Conference COACH Greg Tibbitt RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 2 defense KEY PLAYERS QB/DB Isaiah Fraga (Sr., 5-10, 165), RB Jason Lopez (Sr., 5-6, 195), WR Joel Salgado (Sr., 5-9, 185), WR Izaak Merida (Sr., 5-7, 150), OL/K Jesus Romero-Castillo (Sr., 5-8, 235), OL Lyndon Surface (Sr., 6-2, 250), OL Bradley Davis (Jr., 6-2, 305), DL Jaaz Pope (Sr., 6-1, 300), LB/RB Ryan Bruegel (Sr., 5-10, 200), WR Andre Tobar (Sr., 5-10, 170). THE SKINNY QB Isaiah Fraga returns his dual-threat abilities with the hopes of making the playoffs after Green Forest missed the postseason last year. … Fraga, who enters his second year as a starter, put together 100-yard rushing and 100-yard passing games for the Tigers to keep defenses honest. … LB Ryan Bruegel, a three-year starter who makes all the on field adjustments, leads the defense and is the "heart and soul" of that side of the ball. … Bruegel will play even more on the offensive side of the ball this season. … Talented sophomore class adding plenty of depth on both sides of the ball. … WR Joel Salgado returns to lead the receiver core with his experience of being a three-year starter. … RB Jason Lopez leads the way at running back, but the ground game will be by committee. … OL Jesus Romero-Castillo brings plenty to the table as a three-year starter that also kicks. THAT'S WHAT HE SAID "We think we are heading in the right direction. We cut down a lot last year on mistakes. We didn't get to where we wanted to with wins and losses. Now it's time to compete and learn how to win. We've taken the small steps, but we want to take the big ones now. Our expectation is to be a playoff contender." — Greg Tibbitt SCHEDULE Aug. 26 ......West Fork Oct. 7 ...............at Gentry* Sept. 2 .......at Greenland Oct. 14 ..................Elkins* Sept. 16 .....Cedarville Oct. 21 .......... at Gravette* Sept. 23 .....at Lincoln* Oct. 28 ........... Huntsville* Sept. 30 .....Ozark* Nov. 4 ......... at Berryville* * — Denotes 4A-1 Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted Isaiah Fraga Jaaz Pope Jesus Romero GRAVETTE LIONS 2021 RECORD 1-9, 1-6 4A-1 Conference COACH Kelby Bohannon RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 5 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Rhett Hilger (Sr., 6-1, 162), RB/LB Kyler Austin (Jr., 5-11, 195), WR/CB Mason Meeker (Sr., 5-9, 152), WR Ethan Ellis (Sr., 5-10, 153), OL Christian Thraikill (Sr., 5-10, 174), OL Fisher Muller (Sr., 5-11, 262), LB Shad Nelson (Sr., 5-10, 180), DB Ian Leonard (Jr., 5-9, 135), WR Will Betz (Sr., 5-10, 160). THE SKINNY QB Rhett Hilger returns as a senior after gaining valuable experience playing the position for the first time as a dual-threat talent. … Hilger passed for more than 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns and looks to build off that success. … RB Kyler Austin rushed for 7 touchdowns before having his season end short. … Coach Kelby Bohannon said the team is much improved with a healthy Austin heading into this fall. … Lions have about 20 sophomores from last year's 7-2 JV team ready to help build depth for the program. … Plenty of young Lions gained experience last year, as the team had five freshmen playing in Week 10. … Gravette was competitive in a lot of games and had three losses last year by a combined nine points being the difference. … A bounce back year wouldn't surprise fellow 4A-1 coaches, as the Lions are picked to finish fourth in the conference in the coaches' poll coming off a one win season. THAT'S WHAT HE SAID "Going into last year, we knew we would have some growing pains. That is just part of the process of getting better and turning this around. We had a ton of sophomores and even freshmen get experience. We got a lot of guys back with just four graduating seniors from last year's team. We had a lot of close games last year. We want to start to make that turn this year." — Kelby Bohannon SCHEDULE Aug. 26 ......at Pea Ridge Oct. 7 ............. Huntsville* Sept. 2 .......at Inola,Okla. Oct. 14 ........ at Berryville* Sept. 9 .......Prairie Grove Oct. 21 ....... Green Forest* Sept. 23 .....at Elkins* Oct. 28 .............. at Ozark* Sept. 30 .....Lincoln* Nov. 4 ................. Gentry* * — Denotes 4A-1 Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted Christian Thrailkill Ethan Ellis Kyler Austin Lucas Law Firm 417 W Centerton Blvd, Centerton, AR • 479-372-1777 Personal Injury • Criminal Defense

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