Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1506239
15 PREP RALLY: CLASS 7A | 8.20.2023 CLASS 7A BENTONVILLE WEST WOLVERINES 2022 RECORD 8-4 overall, 5-2 7A-West COACH Bryan Pratt RETURNING STARTERS 6 offense, 7 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Dalton Rice (Sr., 6-2, 207), RB Cole Edmondson (Sr., 5-8, 185), WR Jaxson Brust (Sr., 5-9, 175), OL Lane Jeffcoat (Sr., 6-9, 305), OL Kaleb Chandler (Jr., 5-11, 275), TE/DE Collier DeCleark (Sr., 6-2, 205), WR/LB Harris Vinson (6-1, 205), DB Laynce Stroud (Sr., 5-11, 180). NOTABLE Rice, who earlier scored a 34 on his ACT, assumes the starting quarterback role after senior Jake Casey was advised not to play following an offseason accident. Rice completed 53 of 89 passes for 751 yards and 9 TDs in mainly a backup role, but threw for 382 yards and 4 TDs in his only start against Springdale Har-Ber. … Brust was an all-conference performer at receiver as he caught 66 passes for 729 yards and 8 TDs, 3 of them coming in a win over Fort Smith Southside. … Edmondson will move from receiver to running back, where he saw limited duty last season and 257 yards rushing and 3 TDs. … Jeffcoat, who is starting for his fourth year at left tackle, was an all-conference player last year after being an all-state selection as a sophomore. … Chandler started at right tackle for half the season as a freshman and started all 11 games last year. … DeClerk began his career as a quarterback but now splits his time between tight end and defensive end. QUOTABLE "When a team finishes a season, we always say that team is dead and a new one starts. As you go through spring and summer, you start to adapt to certain situations you have and be able to find out what your identity is. I think we're still playing with that right now. I think us, as a coaching staff, wants us to be more physical and something we're focusing on as we go through the offseason. Our identity is we want guys that want to be out there and want to play hard and give everything they can for the team. As of all the teams we've had, this one is a team that has bought into it." — Pratt. SCHEDULE Aug. 25 .......... at Tulsa B.T. Washington Oct. 6 ................................at Rogers* Sept. 1 ........... at Cabot Oct. 13 ............... Springdale Har-Ber* Sept. 8 ........... LR Central Oct. 20 ....................Rogers Heritage* Sept. 22 ......... Fayetteville* Oct. 27 .................... at FS Southside* Sept. 29 ......... at Springdale* Oct. 6 ..............................Bentonville* * — Denotes 7A-West Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted FAYETTEVILLE BULLDOGS 2022 RECORD 7-4, 5-2 7A-West COACH Casey Dick RETURNING STARTERS 7 offense, 7 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Drake Lindsey (Sr., 6-5, 220); RB Christian Setzer (Sr., 5-9, 175). WR Jaison DeLamar (Jr., 5-11, 190), WR Lach McKinney (Sr., 5-10, 185), OL Desmond Peterson (Sr., 6-5, 300), OL Crew Kvern (Sr., 5-11, 250), DL Trey Lisle (Sr., 6-6, 230), DL Isaiah Perez (Sr., 6-0, 305), LB Landon Jones (Sr., 6-0, 205), LB Noah Janski (Sr., 6-0, 175). NOTABLE Lindsey, who has made a verbal commitment with Minnesota, compiled 3,751 yards and 37 TDs by completing 278 of 427 passes with only three interceptions. … Setzer, who shared time in the backfield, ran for 348 yards and 7 TDs and added 176 yards and two scores on 17 pass receptions. … DeLamar caught 54 passes for 770 yards and 5 TDs last fall and threw a TD pass in the season opener against Cabot. … McKinney caught 59 passes for 802 yards and 14 TDs as an inside receiver and earned all-conference honors. … Peterson, an all-conference left tackle last year, has grown 2 inches and added 25 pounds to his frame. … Lisle, who had 10 tackles in a playoff game against Conway and finished with 41, gained 15 pounds in the offseason. … Jones also had 10 tackles against Conway and finished the season with 47 to go with 6 quarterback sacks. … Janski, the son of athletic director Steve Janski, recorded double- digit tackles in three games and had 73, as well as 4.5 sacks. … Isaiah Taylor returns for a third season at safety after starting as a freshman. QUOTABLE "There are a lot of guys we have that got a lot of quality playing time last year from underclassmen who are now seniors, which is good. I think we have 42 seniors on the rosters, and about 18 guys who started last year are back. You look at the roster and look at the experience, and a lot of those guys have taken a lot of significant snaps and grown a lot. They've also taken that next step during the offseason of buying into their body and taking on that leadership role and setting an example during fall camp right now." — Dick. SCHEDULE Aug. 25 ...... Cabot Oct. 6 ............ at FS Southside* Sept. 1 ....... at North Little Rock Oct. 13 ................. Bentonville* Sept. 8 ....... FS Northside Oct. 20 .............. at Springdale* Sept. 22 ..... at Bentonville West* Oct. 27 ..... at Rogers Heritage* Sept. 29 ..... Rogers* Nov. 3 ......Springdale Har-Ber* * — Denotes 7A-West Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE GRIZZLIES 2022 RECORD 4-7 overall, 3-4 7A-Central COACH Felix Curry RETURNING STARTERS 5 offense, 3 defense KEY PLAYERS WR Ezra Phillips (Sr., 5-10, 180), QB McLane Moody (Jr., 6-6, 185), WR Cam Massey (Jr., 6-0, 170), OL Mason Medlock (Sr., 6-3, 285); OL Damian Lopez (Sr., 5-10, 270); DB Isaiah Ulmer (Sr., 5-11, 165), DL Eric Brewer (Sr., 6-1, 220), LB Lucas Caldarera (Jr., 5-11, 195), DL Taylor Webster (Jr., 6-2, 280). NOTABLE Moody, a baseball commit to Arkansas, assumes the starting quarterback role after he started three of the Grizzlies' last five games. In his first start, he completed 17 of 28 passes for 256 yards and 3 TDs and ran for another in a win over Jonesboro. … Phillips is the teams' most experienced receiver as he had four receptions in games against Jonesboro, where one of his catches went for a score, and against Little Rock Central. … Massey gives Northside a legitimate deep threat and caught four passes in a game against Greenwood while hauling in TD passes against Fayetteville and LR Central. … Medlock, who sports a 4.2 GPA and a 31 ACT score, will be a three-year starter at the right tackle position and has caught the eye of several Ivy League schools during the spring. … Lopez is a returning starter at guard and earned praise from Curry for his improvement during the offseason. … Brewer makes the move from linebacker to defensive end and should benefit from his speed at that spot. Senior Matthew Interiano will do the same thing … Ulmer, a safety last season, will make the switch to a corner spot as Northside takes advantage of his pass coverage capability. QUOTABLE "I think this year is more of a buy-in situation. Last year, during transition, we had a good athletic senior class but didn't get the buy-in part. Right now, there's more of a team concept and they're buying in to what we're trying to accomplish, coaching-wise." — Curry. FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE MAVERICKS 2022 RECORD 4-7 overall, 3-4 7A-West COACH Kim Dameron RETURNING STARTERS 8 offense, 8 defense KEY PLAYERS RB Isaac Gregory (Sr., 5-9, 180), QB Carter Zimmerman (Sr., 6-1, 175), WR/K Greyson York (Sr., 5-9, 160), OL Kobe Branham (Sr., 6-6, 320), OL Cooper Anderson (Sr., 6-6, 310), DL John Parkinson (Sr., 6-3, 230), DB Joseph Kincannon (Jr., 5-9, 150), LB Sam Horn (Sr., 5-10, 200), DL Andrew Reeder (Sr., 5-11, 250). NOTABLE Gregory was moved to tailback right before the season opener and finished with 1,507 yards and 21 TDs on the ground, including four games where he surpassed 200 yards rushing. He missed the last two games with an injury. … Amari Tucker, the player Gregory replaced at tailback, returns after his season-ending injury last year. … Zimmerman played receiver and running back before he took over at quarterback and threw for 435 yards and a TD last year. He had run for 808 yards and 11 TDs and caught 13 passes for 177 yards. … York was the Mavericks' leading receiver last year as he hauled in 52 passes for 747 yards and 6 TDs. He also handles the punting duties with a 36-yard average and kicks. … Branham, who has made a verbal commitment to Arkansas, earned all-state honors despite missing Southside's nonconference games with an ankle injury. … Anderson manned the left tackle position in every game and has been recruited by a number of NCAA Division II schools during the offseason. … Parkinson compiled 53 tackles, including 21 tackles for loss and 12 quarterback sacks last season. He also had a trio of fumble recoveries. … Evan Shelby played every linebacker spot last season and had 69 tackles. … Horn joined the team after the season started and finished with 46 tackles. … Kincannon stareted every game at safety last fall and compiled 48 tackles, 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. QUOTABLE "The fact that we have 22 seniors that have all played quite a bit a football for us, I think we will be a much more mature team. These kids like to have fun as far as playing. They have played together since ninth grade. They played against each a few times with the Chaffin vs. Ramsey rivalry. I'm just looking forward to this group because it's one that is very close and they will play really hard for each other. It means something to them that we make an improvement and put a mark on our legacy at Southside." Dameron. SCHEDULE Aug. 25 ...... at FS Southside Oct. 6 ................ at Jonesboro* Sept. 1 ....... Greenwood Oct. 13 ...................... Conway* Sept. 8 ....... at Fayetteville Oct. 20 ...... at North Little Rock Sept. 22 ..... Bryant* Oct. 27 ..........................Cabot* Sept. 29 ..... LR Central Oct. 6 ...........at LR Southwest* * — Denotes 7A-Central Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted SCHEDULE Aug. 25 ...... FS Northside Oct. 6 ................... Fayetteville* Sept. 1 ....... at Van Buren Oct. 13 ..... at Rogers Heritage* Sept. 8 ....... at Wynne Oct. 20 .......................Har-Ber* Sept. 22 ..... Rogers* Oct. 27 .........Bentonville West* Sept. 29 ..... at Bentonville* Nov. 3 ............... at Springdale* * — Denotes 7A-West Conference game All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted William Anderson Collier Declerk Lach McKinney Trey Lisle Ezra Phillips Mason Medlock