Cowboys hope to keep pace in league

Woodland Junior High tight end Brooks Ellis (5) fends off George Junior High safety Jesus Conteno during the first quarter of play Sept. 10 at Harmon Field.
Woodland Junior High tight end Brooks Ellis (5) fends off George Junior High safety Jesus Conteno during the first quarter of play Sept. 10 at Harmon Field.

— Miscues are part of football. It's how one responds to failure that is the difference between champions and those who lag behind in the chase.

The Woodland Cowboys were briefly knocked off their saddle last week by defending Northwest Arkansas Conference champion Bentonville Gold, 21-14. Bobby Crockett's Cowboys will attempt to regain their swaggering canter this week against struggling Springdale Southwest.

In a 10-game slate withno postseason to make up for early hiccups, there's no such concept as peaking at the right time in junior high football. Every week must be a mountain, and two valleys could be the difference between a championship and second place.

With one loss already on the docket, the Cowboys (2-1, 1-1) can ill afford a letdown today.

"Not to put any pressure on our kids but if you lose a second conference game, it really puts you behind the eight ball," Crockett said. "With one loss you still have a chance to win or share a conference title but two losses would make it much more difficult. It's so importantto get a win every week because our league is so good."

Crockett said the difference in the ballgame last week was big plays. And Gold logged most of those defining moments. The Cowboys threw an interception for a touchdown late in the first quarter and still had a chance to tie the game but heaved another pick in the end zone with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation.

"We make an interception on a bad read, where one of our safeties lets a tight end by him and they run it back," Crockettsaid. "That's something we've practiced and we didn't execute. Football's a physical, athletic sport but you have to think quickly out there, too. We kept plugging and playing hard and got to the 10-yard line late in the football game and I didn't make a good call on that interception in the end zone. As short as a junior high football game is, if you get behind, it's tough to come back."

Southwest (1-2, 0-2) is behind early in the conference race after consecutive losses to Bentonville Black, 14-0, and Fayetteville Ramay, 14-6, last week. A 14-7 win over cellar dweller Springdale George in the season opener exists as the Cougars' lone victory.

"They're going to be hungry and their coaches do a great job of preparingthem in all areas," Crockett said. "One of the first things we have to do is stop Dallas Clinkscales, whether he's at quarterback or receiver. They also have two big defensive tackles inside that we have to contain."

Crockett also listed the running game as an area for needed improvement after the Cowboys were ineffective on the ground against Gold.

"That had a lot to do with Gold's defense," Crockett said. "But we've got to do a better job running the football this week."

Crockett said he would also like to see better execution on defense. That begins with fundamental alignments.

"I've been really disappointed in how our defense gets aligned to formations," Crockettsaid. "That put us in a bind against Gold and we didn't see anything against them that we had not worked on in practice and we just didn't get lined up correctly. With all of Southwest's formations, that's going to be critical this week. Our kids play hard and I don't ever complain about how hard they play. But getting lined up correctly is key and we've got to do a better job of that this week."

Sports, Pages 7, 8 on 09/24/2009

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