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JustTryMe.com 479.715.8158 28th & Moberly Lane Bentonville/Rogers Celebrating 31 Years in NWA! Family owned & operated since 1986 45 PreP rally: Class 2A Thursday, augusT 31, 2017 LAVACA — Lavaca is hoping for a carryover after winning four of five games down the stretch to make the playoffs last season. But that may be difficult with a stacked 4-2A Conference led by Hackett and Danville, which each won 10 games last year. Danville is a slight favorite to repeat as conference champions after reaching the state quarterfinals last sea- son. "This conference doesn't get the props sometimes it deserves," said Bri- an Schlinker, who begins his third year as head coach at Lavaca. "Danville is the odds-on favorite, and Lonnie (Hester) does a great job over there at Hackett. Then you throw in coach (Tom) Harrell at Mountainburg, which is always tough, and don't forget Magazine, which is only a few years removed from a state cham- pionship. This is tough conference with a lot of parity, but we certainly expect to contend." Lavaca finished 6-5 in its first year after dropping down from Class 3A. But the Golden Arrows expect to be im- proved after going 4-1 down the stretch and battling Murfreesboro before losing 38-30 in the first round of the playoffs. "We overcame some adversity with injuries and still made the playoffs, so we expect to build on that," Schlinker said. "We should be better than 6-5 this year." Lavaca will rely heavily on senior Ryan Dockery, who moves to quarter- back after rushing for nearly 700 yards last season. Dockery is a standout athlete who averaged over 20 points per game last season in basketball for the Golden Arrows. Tyler Armistead returns at run- ning back while Tripp Lile and junior Trevon Moore are the leaders up front for the Golden Arrows. "I'm very excited about our skill kids Golden Arrows aiming high SHINe ON … RYAN DOCKERY SCHOOL Lavaca POSITION Quarterback/safety CLASS senior HEIGHT 6-2 WEIGHT 160 TWITTER HANDLE @ryan_doc_4 THE DIGITS scored 31 points in basketball game against shiloh Christian CRUSHING ON rihanna I LISTEN TO Frank sinatra, Frankie Valli and the Four seasons I DRIVE 2016 Charger MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW I will take a leadership role instead of a support role for football this season MY HERO IS Frank sinatra FAVORITE MEAL Fried chicken WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT FOOTBALL Being with my friends IN 10 YEARS I WILL Orthopedic surgeon RICK FIRES NWA DEMoCRAT-GAzETTE Hackett, Danville lead stacked 4-2A Conference going into season ryaN DOckery The Courier/TraVIs sImpsOn Danville quarterback Preston Donnell passes the ball during a recent practice. see 4-2a, page 46