Record Season Leaves Wallace, Tigers Smiling

— The smile Tearris Wallace provided each day at practice was something Bentonville football coach Barry Lunney became accustomed to seeing the past three years.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Tearris Wallace

SCHOOL: Bentonville

CLASS: Senior

HEIGHT: 5-10

WEIGHT: 211

POSITION: Tailback

NOTABLE: Finished the season with 297 carries for 1,777 yards and 26 touchdowns and earned all-state honors. ... Set the conference career rushing record with 4,689 yards, and tied the career rushing touchdown record among the state’s larger schools with 66. ... Also caught 17 passes for 133 yards and served as the Tigers’ punter. ... Verbally committed to Memphis earlier this week.

“It’s a contagious smile,” Lunney said. “He’s just a very enjoyable person to be around.

“He very rarely had a bad day. He always seemed to be very positive, enjoying practice every day as he walked across the street. That’s just the good person he is.”

The Tigers’ senior tailback gave Lunney plenty of reasons to smile during football games. Wallace flourished as Bentonville’s main offensive threat this season and helped the Tigers earn a sixth consecutive conference title and a third straight trip to the Class 7A state championship game.

That kind of performance made him an easy choice as the NWA Media All-Big 7 Offensive Player of the Year.

Wallace (5-foot-10, 211 pounds) finished the season with 1,777 yards and 26 touchdowns on 297 carries. He was expected to have that kind of performance, especially since Bentonville opted to be more run-oriented this season.

“I have incredible teammates and an incredible coaching staff,” Wallace said. “They gave each and every player the opportunity to do their best.

“It was a very memorable season. You bond with your teammates because they look up to you as a senior leader. That’s what I’ve been working on since my sophomore year, and it was an incredible opportunity to do that.”

The Tigers’ dependence on Wallace — the lone returning skill player on offense — was evident from the outset, and he made the most of it. He carried the ball at least 25 times in each of Bentonville’s first four games, and he had a career-high 41 carries in his last home game, a playoff victory over Fort Smith Southside.

He even produced when the workload proved to be light. He scored four touchdowns on only 11 carries in a game against Siloam Springs, and three touchdowns on only nine carries in a win over Rogers Heritage.

“He did what you expected and what you hoped a senior football player would do, especially when you have played as many games as he had,” Lunney said. “With his quiet leadership and his work ethic, we hoped our run game would be strong.

“There was a lot of security knowing he was back there. Very rarely did he lose yardage when he got hit in the backfield. He had a marvelous year, no doubt about that. It was everything you hoped it could be.”

Wallace admitted he isn’t much on individual accomplishments, but he did etch his name on a pair of career rushing records. He broke the conference’s career rushing record in the Sept. 28 game against Siloam Springs and added 1,000 yards to the previous mark, finishing with 4,689 rushing yards.

He added another mark with his 2-yard touchdown run in the title game against Fayetteville. It was his 66th career rushing touchdown, tying him with D’Arrius Howard of West Memphis and Dedrick Poole of Little Rock Central for the most among the state’s largest classifications.

“It’s pretty amazing to know I can listed with some of those names,” Wallace said. “They were very good players, from what I hear. Some were disappointed that I didn’t break it, but it’s still good to do that well.”

Wallace, who made his official visit to Memphis earlier this month and verbally committed to the Tigers last week, was dependable and durable from the outset. He only fumbled the ball once this season, and that came from a perfectly placed helmet that popped the ball loose.

He also never left the game because of an injury. Lunney had high praise for Wallace’s running style and said his senior always provided more punishment than he received from opposing players.

“As I heard a guy say one time, ‘he may be a small piece of leather, but he’s well put together,’” Lunney said.

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