Black Basks In Glow Of First Title Win

The battle for prep football supremacy in Northwest Arkansas in recent years has been a two-school race between Fayetteville and Bentonville.

The junior highs seem to be following suit, at least this season.

Fayetteville Woodland and Bentonville Black shared the Northwest Arkansas Conference championship this season, each sporting just one league loss.

The league champion hascome out of Bentonville four years in a row, however this is the fi rst title for Black and coach Chris Hutchens, who finished with a conference record of 8-1. Black lost to rival Bentonville Gold in a nonconference match-up in Week 1, but exacted revenge in Week 9 to knock Gold out of contention.

“This is a group that didn’t have a lot of success as eighth graders, but they came into the summer with a great attitude, ready to learn and improve,” Hutchens said. “As the season wore on these kids got more and more confi dent.This is one of the most physical and disciplined teams I have had the privilege of coaching.”

Black sported one of the strongest defenses in the league, allowing fewer than nine points per game. The Tigers showed their muscle during a 15-9 victory over Woodland in Week 2.

The Tigers didn’t have the most explosive offense, but they were one of the most physical on both sides of the ball, Hutchens said.

Tyrone Mahone and fellow running back Austin-Roath spearheaded one ofthe league’s most consistent ground attacks. Mahone finished the year with a team-high 956 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, while Roath compiled 621 yards on the ground and 225 through the air to go along with six touchdowns. Quarterback Kasey Ford accounted for nine touchdowns.

“This team was not afraid to hit anything that walked in front of them, and that attitude helped make the diff erence in some close ball games,” Hutchens said.

The only blemish on Black’s conference recordwas a 6-0 loss to Springdale Central on the road.

“We learned from our mistakes in that game,” Hutchens said. “It was ourfirst conference loss and it woke us up. It was a big motivator heading into the next week when we had our second crack at Gold.”

Sports, Pages 12 on 11/08/2012

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