Football A Family Affair For Colemans

Bentonville cornerback Dallas Coleman, left, stands for a portrait with his father, Rob, on Thursday.
Bentonville cornerback Dallas Coleman, left, stands for a portrait with his father, Rob, on Thursday.

Today’s Ticket

Bentonville at Springdale High

KICKOFF: 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium, Springdale

ON THE AIR: KURM-FM 100.3 (Bentonville); KAMO-FM 94.3 (Springdale)

RECORDS: Bentonville Tigers, 8-0, 5-0 7A-West Conference; Springdale High Bulldogs, 5-3, 3-2.

HOOTEN’S RANKING: Bentonville is No. 1 in Class 7A; Springdale High is No. 9.

HOOTEN’S LINE: Bentonville by 7

Because he is Bentonville’s outside linebackers coach, Rob Coleman tries his best to stay out of the secondary’s business.

But if Dallas Coleman makes a mistake, the Tigers senior cornerback knows who he will hear it from first.

“It’s Dad, for sure,” he said. “He still helps me out on some things, and if I mess up he’s going to jump on me.”

It’s expected to happen when it comes to father and son also being coach and player on the same team. The elder Coleman, however, is proud of the job his son is doing in his first full season of being a cornerback after splitting time last season between cornerback and safety.

“He has become better as the year has gone,” Rob Coleman said. “He had to learn the position on the fly, but he’s become more accustomed to playing there by getting more reps.

“With more reps comes more confidence, but you can’t get too confident in this league (7A-West Conference). With all the big-time quarterbacks and quality receivers we see, as a dad, I get nervous for him.”

Dallas Coleman (5-foot-9, 151 pounds), however, has held his own so far, recording 38 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception through eight games this season against a bevy of good quarterbacks and receivers in the 7A-West.

He’s recorded eight tackles in Bentonville’s wins over Fort Zumwalt West (Mo.) and Rogers Heritage and is coming off a seven-tackle outing last week against Fort Smith Northside.

And the more action he sees heading his way, the more Coleman likes it.

“The game against Southside was probably my best because they were doing stuff that was coming my way,” he said. “They threw a lot to my side of the field. In the Rogers game, I hardly did anything because nothing was coming to my side of the field.”

He’s also received some good help from his teammates and friends in Bentonville’s secondary.

“I feel like playing corner is better for me,” he said. “I played safety some with Trevin Chavez last year, and we know each other pretty well. We don’t have to look at each other to know what the other is doing.

“And (cornerback) Dakota Baggett is my best friend, and we’re hanging out with each other every day. If something comes up, I can ask him what he would do in that situation, and he tells me about it.”

Football is just a way of life for the Colemans. Marion Coleman — Rob’s wife and Dallas’ mother — is no exception to it.

“We like our football,” Rob Coleman said. “We’re a football family and we talk Bentonville football at home, and we watch college and the NFL at home. And (Marion) follows it, too.”

Interestingly enough, Dallas Coleman was a linebacker during his days in youth football through junior high, although a back injury cut his ninth-grade season short. Rob Coleman was right there to teach his son how to play the position.

Dallas’ move to the secondary didn’t begin until his sophomore season, when he began playing safety before eventually moving to cornerback. Rob Coleman didn’t mind the change at all.

“It’s probably better for the both of us,” he said. “Dallas is a smart player and a good athlete. He’s steady, and you know what you’re going to get from him.

“I was a coach when he was born, and it’s always a coach’s dream to one day coach his son. I got to do that, so I’m happy.”

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