Sparks Winds Up Cyclones’ Offense

ROAD TRIP AWAITS RED BULLDOGS

By Nathan Allen

Posted: November 11, 2009 at 5:32 a.m.

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SPRINGDALE — Russellville coach Jeff Holt loves to have an offense that throws the ball more than half the time.

But with the kind of players the Cyclones have this season, especially with senior running back Jacob Sparks, Holt said running the ball will be the team’s focus in the playo◊s.

With a big and physical offensive line and an experienced quarterback in Barrett Hughes, Holt said it would be easy to throw on nearly every down. However, Sparks has provided a huge boost for the Cyclones, who won seven games this season and finished as the No. 3 seed from the 7A-Central Conference.

“I’m really proud of the way he’s played,” Holt said. “He’s been a huge force for us this year, and frankly, we need to use him more and more. He’s really led our o◊ense during several games, and I expect him to keep doing the same in the playoffs.”

Holt said in studying Springdale High this week that the Bulldogs have a lot more talent on both sides of the field than the credit they receive.

For starters, Holt said Springdale has a talented junior quarterback in Joseph Calcagni and several weapons at receiver. Holt also credited Springdale’s defense for mixing up what they do on a regular basis and keeping offenses off balance.

“I think we’ve got to get a routine going on offense, it’s going to take a consistent drive to get things going for us,” Holt said. “Sure, I’d like to be able to march down the fi eld and score first, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen.”

Springdale interim coach Dennis DeBusk said one of the biggest advantages for the Cyclones is kicker Zach Hocker. Hocker’s strong leg and accuracy have made him a huge threat, and he’s made a single-season state record 17 fi eld goals this season.

“Defensively, we’re going to have to come up with some big stops, there’s no doubt about it,” DeBusk said. “Any time they’re inside the 40, they’ve always got a chance to score three points with (Hocker), so we’re going to have to be mindful that fieldposition is going to play a huge part in this game.”

Holt said even though the Red’Dogs have seemingly had some trouble on defense this season, he’s expecting Springdale to play a tough game based off the way it finished its season.

“This is the playoffs; we know what that means,” Holt said. “It’s not an easy situation because you can be done with one bad game. Springdale is going to play very well, I canpromise you that, so that means we’re going to have to not have any mistakes andjust play our game. If we do that, I think we can have a chance to move on.”

Sports, Pages 6 on 11/11/2009

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