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GENTRY — Third-year Gentry coach Justin Bigham understands the excite- ment generated by Gentry's 7-4 season a year ago. The Pioneers won their first six games of the season, lost the next three games but closed out the regular season with a big win over Benton County rival Gravette. The Pioneers' season ended with a 21- 20 loss at Lamar in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs. It was an exciting season for Gentry, but Bigham wants the Pioneers to expect more and dream bigger. "We're super excited about the sea - son," Bigham said. "People keep saying, 'Oh, it's a great year,' and it was good, but my response was, 'If Shiloh and Prairie Grove win seven games, it's a down year.' Elevating that expectation of we're sup- posed to be a good football team. We ex- pect to be a good football team. We don't expect to win seven games. We expect to win every game. We're not focusing on our opponent, but focusing on how good we can be as a team." And so it goes for the Pioneers heading into the 2022 campaign, a bit down on numbers with 37 kids, but still plenty of talent to work with. "We're down a little bit," Bigham said. "A few decided this spring it's not for them. Football's a tough sport. There's a lot of commitment to it. It's a lot of time. We've got 37, but we feel good about all 37 guys." After graduating 12 seniors last year, Bigham said the Pioneers have a simi - lar-sized 12th-grade class this year. "This group was my first group of high school kids when I took the job at Gentry, and a bunch of them, this will be their third year starting because we only had four seniors (in 2020)," Bigham said. "They had to play out of necessity quite a bit. At the time you don't like that, but now, looking back, it's a great experience you can't duplicate." On offense, the Pioneers have five players seeing time at quarterback. Senior Chris Bell returns as the starter, but given that the Pioneers will use their quarterback to carry the football quite a bit, it only makes sense to have other players ready in case of injury, Bigham said. "We have roughly five guys that are going to rotate in at quarterback, and they all know where they rank at," Bigham said. "We don't hide it. Quar - terback is football. We're going to run it. We understand that comes with the risk of getting hurt, so we try to make sure we have guys that can fill that spot if something happens." Junior Addison Taylor played some quarterback last year when Bell got hurt. "Addy came in and did a really good job for us," Bigham said. Taylor will back up Bell at quarterback and also play some slot receiver. Seniors Bennett Roberts and Ty Hays also will see some snaps at quarterback, and sophomore Drew Cable will get some reps as well. Hayes will be counted on as a running back for the Pioneers, along with Taylor, senior Jonathon Corter, sophomore Caydon Koons and junior Demetrius Simmons. "Between Addy, Chris and Ty, you could have three quarterbacks on the field at one time," Bigham said. "For them to understand how you fit in the whole concept is huge." The Pioneers are expecting senior Dillon Jarnagan to lead their receiving corps, along with Taylor, senior Braedon Warren, Corter, junior Dillon Owens and senior Tommy Xiong. Jarnagan, who was a big contributor on defense last season, has impressed Bigham during the offseason. "Dillon, as a sophomore, was our leading wide receiver," Bigham said. "Last year he kind of took a little bit of a step back. It wasn't anything athletical - ly. Sometimes you have to go back and re-evaluate some of our commitments to the team, that kind of stuff. He helped us a lot last year on defense. He came to me at the end of the season, after the end of that Lamar game, and said, 'Coach I really appreciate you holding us accountable. I'm going to be here every day and I just want to be on the field. He's done just that. He's a dude for us out at receiver. He's got great speed, really good hands, knows how to work a route, knows how to get in open space." Taylor's familiarity with the quarter - back position also helps him out at wide receiver, Bigham said. "Addy out there is very quarterback friendly because he knows how he wants the route to be run," Bigham said. Warren is a three-year starter at wide receiver and has "gotten a lot bigger and gotten better every year." Corter will give the Pioneers an op - tion at an H-Back-type position after playing running back as a sophomore and wide receiver a year ago. Friday night football and pizza!!! Go Pioneers! 479-736-8142 www.eatpioneerpizza.com 244 E. MAIN ST. • GENTRY Hours: Mon-Thurs 11am-9pm • Fri & Sat 11am-10pm 695 E. 3rd St (HWY 12 East) • M-F 8:30am to 6:00pm • Sat. 9:00am to 1:00pm www.smithdrug.net Free Delivery in Gentry Drive Thru Accept most insurance plans Pioneer Football takes Pride on the Field every Friday night! 479-736-2241 "Your Hometown Drug Store" 2022 Football Preview C12 n Wednesday, August 24, 2022 Herald-Leader/Westside Eagle Observer Addison Taylor Jonathan Corter Logan Heath Justin Bingham Pioneers ramping up expectations for 2022 Gentry Pioneers Date Opponent Time Aug. 26 Westville, Okla. 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at Quitman 7 p.m. Sept. 16 Pea Ridge 7 p.m. Sept. 23 Huntsville* 7 p.m. Sept. 30 at Berryville* 7 p.m. Oct. 7 Green Forest* 7 p.m. Oct. 14 at Ozark* 7 p.m. Oct. 21 Lincoln* 7 p.m. Oct. 28 Elkins* 7 p.m. Nov. 4 at Gravette* 7 p.m. * Conference 4A-1 By Graham Thomas Staff Writer n gthomas@nwaonline.com See PIONEERS on Page C13