FAYETTEVILLE — Barry Lunney couldn't be more happy for his good friend and former coach Jim Rowland and the honor that will be bestowed upon him Friday night at Fort Smith Southside.
The 4,000-seat Southside Stadium will officially be dedicated as Jim Rowland Stadium in a pregame ceremony before the Rebels host Bentonville in a 7A-West Conference football game.
The Fort Smith School District voted unanimously in August to bestow the honor on Rowland,who's in his 47th year as an employee in the district.
Rowland started at Southside in 1963 as a track and football coach at Darby Junior High before moving to Fort Smith Northside as offensive coordinator/quarterback coach in 1966.
Rowland was the head football coach at Southside from 1970-1982 and then went into school administration.
Rowland moved to his current position as athletic director in 1991.
Rowland coached Lunney at Northside and served as Lunney's boss at head coach at Southsidefrom 1980-82. Rowland was instrumental in hiring Lunney as head football coach at Southside, where he coached from 1989-2004 and won four state championships.
Lunney and Rowland remain close friends to this day and the fifth-year Bentonville coach is excited he'll be on hand Friday for Rowland's special night.
"He's been a special person in my life, a mentor, somebody that's been a great, great role model professionally and just the way he carries himself," Lunney said. "He's a great Christian man. He lives his life with integrity. He's the one that came and broke the news to me that my father had passed away. He's been there for me everywhere along my whole life.
"I love him dearly. It's a great, great night for him, his wife and family. I'm just happy they're doing it while he's still working and full of life and going. Usually you wait until somebody retires or dies to do something like this. It's just a great, great honor to do it for him now while he's still the A.D."
Lunney said somebody asked him Monday if he was worried about the dedication taking place on the night when his former team plays his current team.
"Doesn't bother me a bit," he said. "I'm tickled to death that we're going to be there and that I get to see a little bit, maybe, if the schedule permits."
A reception for Rowland is scheduled at the Southside fieldhouse before the pre-game ceremonies.
"Maybe they'll let me in to come over and be a part of that," Lunney joked.
On the field, the Tigers (4-0, 1-0) and the Rebels (3-1, 1-0) will be playing for the third time in less than a calendar year.
Bentonville beat then No. 1 Southside 14-7 at Tiger Stadium on Oct. 3, 2008. The two teams met again in the Class 7A State Championship game in December at War Memorial Stadium in LittleRock, which the Tigers won 32-20.
Bentonville opened 7A-West Conference play last week with a 45-10 win at Fayetteville while Southside won at Rogers 38-21.
Bentonville senior running back Courtney Haskell rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 119 yards, including a 95-yard touchdown pass in the Tigers' win. Bentonville amassed a season-high 553 yards of offense.
Southside scored 18 unanswered points to beat the Mounties. Rebels running back David Adair topped the century mark for the third consecutive game, carrying 27 times for 188 yards.
Lunney said the Rebels will present his team's toughest game so far this season.
"This (Southside) group is very big up front offensively," Lunney said. "Defensively they've got several starters returning from last year up front. I expect this to be our most difficult challenge thus far, without any question."
NOTES: Lunney is 1-1 in two games as a visiting coach at Southside and 4-1 overall against his former team.
Sports, Pages 5, 6 on 09/29/2009