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WESTWOOD G A R D E N S Decorate and Plant for Fall Trees for Fall Color • Pumpkins & Gourds • Giant Mums w w w. w e s t w o o d g a r d e n s. c o m 46 PreP rally: Class 2A Thursday, augusT 31, 2017 2 a C O N F e r e N C e C a P s u l e s MOuNTaINBurG DraGONs 2016 RECORD 7-4 COACH Tom harrell RETURNING STARTERS 5 offense, 2 defense KEY PLAYERS QB robert roxin (sr., 5-10, 185), rB austin Taylor (Jr., 5-11, 155), Ng dylan rakow (sr., 5-11, 340), TE/LB Conner rogers (5-11, 175), Wr/rB/ CB dillon Jones (sr., 5-7, 145). THE SKINNY harrell has 144 career wins at Moun- tainburg and has piloted the dragons to seven consec- utive postseason appearances. … The dragons won five of their final six regular season games. They also recorded a 41-8 victory against Marked Tree in the first round of the playoffs before losing by a touchdown (34-28) at des arc. … roxin played tailback last sea- son, but is moving to quarterback to replace Quency Pixley. … Jones is considered the team's running back, but the team won't use a tailback in most of its spread offense formations. Last season, the dragons had success late in the season with a no-back spread that featured two tight ends. … harrell is hoping to only start three, two-way players but may need more depending how certain players develop. … COACH SPEAK "We're kind of in between quarter- backs right now, but feel like roxin's going to do a really good job for us. … We've only got two returning starters on the offensive line and a tight end, but we've got a really good sophomore group of linemen coming up from last year's junior high team and two of them will probably have to start. … We need to keep improving. I think we will, in time, be a good football team, espe- cially if we don't have a bunch of injuries, that's the key thing for us. If roxin or someone like that gets hurt, we could be in trouble," harrell said. sCHeDule sept. 1 ... at Cedarville Oct 6 ..............JC Westside* sept. 8 .......... hackett* Oct. 13 ..at Western yell Co.* sept. 15 ....... danville* Oct. 20 ................at hackett* sept. 22 ... at decatur* Oct. 27 ............ at Magazine* sept. 29 .........Lavaca* Nov. 3 ............. at huntsville* * — denotes 4-2a Conference game laVaCa GOlDeN arrOWs 2016 RECORD 6-5 COACH Brian schlinker RETURNING STARTERS 5 offense, 5 defense KEY PLAYERS QB ryan dockery (6-2, 160, sr.), C Tripp Lile (5-11, 205, sr.), LB Trevon Moore (Jr., 5-10, 210), rB ray Lazano (6-3, 180, sr.), FB Trey Werner (5-7, 140, Jr.). ThE sKINNy Lavaca expects a carryover after the golden arrows won four of their final five games in regular season to make the playoffs. … Lost 38-30 to Murfreesboro in first round of Class 2a state playoffs. …senior ryan dockery will take over at quarterback after playing running back and receiver last season. … dockery also runs track and aver - aged over 20 points per game in basketball for the golden arrows. … ray Lazano, a transfer from Mustang, Okla., will play running back and defensive back for Lavaca. COACH SPEAK "I'm very excited about our skill kids on both sides of the football. The guys on our offensive and defensive lines will do a good job for us, but we've got to build some depth," schlinker said. sCHeDule sept. 1 ........ at gentry Oct. 6 . Western yell County* sept. 8 .......at danville Oct. 13 ............ at Magazine* sept. 15 ............ dover Oct 20 . Palestine Wheatley* sept. 22 J.C. Westside* Oct. 27 ................. at hackett sept. 29 at Mountainburg* Nov. 2 .................... decatur* *denotes 4-2a Conference game 2016 RECORD 1-8 COACH ryan Woolard RETURNING STARTERS 9 offense, 9 defense KEY PLAYERS rB alex Lee (sr., 5-6, 175), rB Jonathan Brandon (sr., 5-7, 145), Wr Taylor haisman (5-10, 150), OL sebastian Perez (sr., 5-6, 195). THE SKINNY The season looked iffy once again for the Bulldogs with low numbers, but decatur will move forward with the season after getting a small influx of players in the program when school started, bumping the roster from around 12 players to 15 with a few more expected before the season opener. … New coach ry - an Woolard takes over the program from former coach shane holland, who will remain as the track coach. The Bulldogs earned a runner-up last spring in the Class 1a boys state track meet. Woolard previously coached at Mcdonald County, Mo. … There are two additional new coaches on staff in sheldon McKenzie and Cody reid. … rB Jonathan Brandon was a key member of the track team and will provide decatur a speed threat out of the backfield. … senior rB alex Lee will provide steady leadership, and Taylor hais- man, who led the track team to its great finish, will be a threat at wide receiver. … OL sebastian Perez is a three-year starter on the offensive line. … The Bulldogs have a daunting schedule to open the season. hosting Class 4a Berryville in the opener, then going to Benton County rival gentry, another 4a school, in week two. COACH SPEAK "honestly, wins and losses aren't important to us this season. Our goal is just getting better every game. Our big thing with the kids is to be better today than you were yesterday. Be better in life, be better in school and be better on the field," Woolard said. sCHeDule sept. 1 ............. Berryville Oct. 6 ............... at hackett* sept. 8 ............. at gentry Oct. 13 ......... JC Westside* sept. 11 .grove, Okla. JV Oct. 20 at Western yell Co. sept. 22 ...Mountainburg* Oct. 27 .................danville* sept. 29 ...... at Magazine Nov. 2 (Thur.) at Lavaca* * — denotes 4-2a Conference game JC WesTsIDe reBels 2016 RECORD 4-6 COACH Jeff stewart RETURNING STARTERS 4 offense, 6 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Lane houston (sr., 5-6, 160), rB Kyler stumbaugh (Jr., 5-7, 150), TE gunner Williams (sr., 6-0, 185), rB Joseph smith (sr., 5-10, 150), OL Josh Moser (sr., 6-0, 250), dE Taylor sagy (Jr., 6-0, 205). THE SKINNY The rebels are looking for a return trip to the postseason with a solid returning cast on defense. … houston moves over into the quarterback position from running back. houston scored a 30 on the aCT and adds a running dimension to the posi - tion after rushing for 105 yards last season … Williams moves from QB to TE, where the rebels can utilize his size in the passing game. … Westside's strength will be on defense where dB stumbaugh leads the way. stumbaugh led the team in tackles last season, along with houston, who also plays in the secondary. … Jaron Estep is a force at linebacker and had 4.0 tackles for loss last season, and dawson rainey will play a key role on the defensive front. dE Taylor sagy is another key member of the defensive front who could have a breakout season. COACH SPEAK "The kids have worked extremely hard since we shut down last year. This senior class is a class where we've lost a lot of kids for whatever reason. In the ninth grade they finished third in the conference. The great thing is, we have great kids who work hard. so it could be real good as long as we stay healthy. In the dead-T, we have to be able to establish the run to set up the pass," stewart said. sCHeDule sept. 1 .............Woodlawn Oct. 6....at Mountainburg* sept. 8 at Western yell Co. Oct. 13 ........... at decatur* sept. 15 ...................Open Oct. 20 ........... Magazine* sept. 22 ...........at Lavaca* Oct. 27 .Western yell Co.* sept. 29 ..............danville* Nov. 2 ................. hackett* * — denotes 4-2a Conference game HaCKeTT HOrNeTs 2016 RECORD 10-2 COACH Lonnie hester RETURNING STARTERS 7 offense, 6 defense KEY PLAYERS QB Brady hester (5-10, 145, Jr.), rB/ OLB Cooper shipman (6-0, 155, Jr.), C/dL Jon dunn (5-9, 240, sr.), OL Tyler Edwards (6-0, 220, sr.), dL Trevon Blanton (6-0, 230, sr.), LB Matthew Carter (5- 10, 195, Jr.) THE SKINNY The hornets enjoyed their second con - secutive 10-win season despite an abundance of youth last year, and it will be those younger players — now a year older and more experienced — that will help hackett try to build on their recent success and push for a 4-2a Conference title. … hester said his team has some spots to fill, but he's confident other players will assume those roles. … Brady hester, the coach's son, moves from his receiver spot last year to assume the quarterback's role, a position he did start during a game last year. … shipman returns at tailback after he ran for 1,014 yards and 7 Tds, and he is joined by wingback Pacey McBride, who totaled 664 yards and had a kick - off return for a Td against Mountainburg. … dunn, who sports a 3.9 gPa, moves from center to left tackle and replaces a four-year starter at that spot, while Edwards switches from left guard to right guard. … Carter returns at middle linebacker after leading the hornets with 64 tackles and 5 sacks. COACH SPEAK "We feel like, position for position, we match up well with anybody in our conference and anybody in the state in 2a football. The problem right now is our numbers are a little down. We've been hav - ing close to 36-37 players, and for a 2a school that's great numbers for this area. Our sophomore class has only four football players, so our numbers are down. having more than one platoon really helps in 2a foot - ball, so depth is a problem," hester said. sCHeDule sept. 1 .. Pocola, Okla. Oct. 6 .......................decatur sept. 8 at Mountainburg Oct. 13 ............... at danville* sept. 15 ....Open date Oct. 20 ..........Mountainburg* sept. 22 .... Magazine* Oct. 27 .................... Lavaca* sept. 29 at Western yell Co.* Nov. 2 .Johnson Co. Westside* * — denotes 4-2a Conference game DeCaTur BullDOGs Northwest arkansas' Newspaper on both sides of the football," Schlinker said. "Ryan is a great athlete, great basketball play- er and trackster. He knows the game of football, and he'll do a good job of running our offense. Tripp Lile is an ex- plosive player who can lead our offensive line then flip over and play linebacker for us. Trevon Moore started ev- ery game for us last year as a sophomore, and he's going to be a big key for us again this year." Hackett expects to make a deep playoff run after posting 10 wins for the second consec- utive season. The Hornets lost only two games, including a 40-20 defeat to England in the Class 2A playoffs. "We feel like, position for position, we match up well with anybody in our confer- ence and anybody in the state in 2A football," Hackett coach Lonnie Hester said. "The prob- lem right now is our numbers are a little down. Our sopho- more class has only four foot- ball players." Hackett returns seven play- ers on offense, including Brady Hester (the coach's son), who moves from quarterback to receiver this season. Cooper Shipman returns at running back after rushing for 1,000 yards as a junior. The conference champion- ship could be decided when Hackett plays at Danville on Oct. 13. Both teams were 6-0 in league play last season when Danville beat Hackett 32-22. Danville is the favorite to win its third consecutive con- ference title. But the Little Johns must rebuild after los- ing 11 seniors from a team that finished 10-1. Junior Quentin Tolbert is back after scoring three touchdowns in the win over Hackett. Mountainburg could chal- lenge the leaders with veteran coach Tom Harrell (144-130-3), who is the second-winningest active high school coach in the state. Five players return on offense for the Dragons, who beat Marked Tree 41-8 in the playoffs before losing 34-28 at Des Arc in the second round. M a ga z i n e a n d Jo h n s o n County Westside will fight for playoff spots after both teams went 4-6 last year. Western Yell County and Decatur bring up the rear after winning only one game apiece in 2016. Ryan Woolard takes over at Decatur, which often struggles to field teams and has won more than three games only once in the last eight years. The Bulldogs have 15 players out so far, and the season is a go, Woolard said. Rick Fires can be reached at rfires@nwadg.com or on Twitter @ NWARick. 4-2a v Continued from Page 45 2016 Conference standings TEAM .................... CONF. . OVERALL danville ..................... 7-0 .............. 10-1 hackett ..................... 6-1 .............. 10-2 Mountainburg ........... 5-2 .................7-4 Lavaca ...................... 4-3 ................ 6-5 JC Westside ............. 3-4 ................ 5-7 Magazine .................. 2-5 ................ 2-6 decatur ..................... 1-6 .................1-8 Western yell County . 0-7 .................1-9 Hooten's Coaches Poll 4-2A 1. danville 2. hackett 3. Lavaca 4. Mountainburg 5. Magazine 6. Johnson County Westside 7. Western yell County 8. decatur