SPRINGDALE — Don’t let the toned-down talk fool you.
Don’t let Bentonville and Springdale Har-Ber lull you into believing tonight’s game is just another game, and that the opponent adds little to the fact the 7A-West Conference championship is on the line.
It’s only fitting the Tigers and Wildcats meet in the regularseason finale with the conference title is at stake. The two programs have been far and away the most consistent winners in the conference over the past three years, and both teams feel like they have some unfinished business with the other.
Since the start of the 2007 season - coach Barry Lunney’s third at Bentonville - the Tigers have won 29 games, including the state championship last year.
Over that same stretch, Har-Ber has won the same number entering tonight’s game.
To compare that to the other conference members, the next highest number of wins over the same stretch by any team is 19. That number is shared by Fayetteville and Fort Smith Southside, while Fort Smith Northside has 18, Springdale High 12 and Rogers High 11.
The one thing missing from Har-Ber’s resume over that stretch is what Bentonville currently holds - the state title. The Wildcats played for a championship in 2007, their second of varsity play under coach Chris Wood, but lost to Fayetteville in the title game.
Har-Ber thought a return to War Memorial Stadium was on the agenda last season. It defeated Bentonville 20-6 to end the regular season, and it had a 7-0 lead over Southside in the closing minutes of the state semifinals.
Then the impossible happened.
The Wildcats gave up a late touchdown in the closing minutes, followed by a Southside two-point conversion that gave the Rebels an 8-7 win. The expected rematch with the Tigers in the championship game never happened, and Bentonville went on to defeat Southside 32-20 to win the title.
“You can tell from those kids that the way that season ended was not the way it was supposed to, not the way we wanted it to,” Har-Ber defensive coordinator Travis Moreland said last month.
It was an ending that carried over into the last offseason and this year for Har-Ber, which enterstonight undefeated.
“In the long run, it’s helped this whole football team,” Moreland said. “That was adversity that a lot of us hadn’t experienced in a long time. I’ve been through some tough defeats, as well as other coaches. But the way that that one ended was just not the way it was supposed to be.
“We took a lot of hurt into the o◊season, hurt that thissenior class and even this junior class now has realized has paid o◊this season.”
While the Wildcats never got the game they wanted with Bentonville to end last season, they carried the confidence of that seasonending win over the Tigers into the offseason. On the flip side of that, Bentonville has waited a year to avenge its only loss last season, not to mention that it lost to Har-Ber two years ago as well.
The top two teams in the state this year will meet with three years of history behind them.
Just don’t be surprised if the two teams meet again in a few weeks in War Memorial Stadium.
KURT VOIGT IS THE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR FOR NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS.
Sports, Pages 9 on 11/06/2009
Comments
To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Please read our comment policy.
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Registration is required to make comments. Click here to LOGIN.
You can register for FREE to post comments and receive alerts.