Woodland Claims Share Of NWAC Title

COWBOYS RIDE TO TOP SPOT IN CONFERENCE

Bobby Crockett has had his share off successful seasons as coach of the Fayetteville Woodland football program.

During his tenure the Cowboys have posted similar records to this season’s mark of 9-1. However, aside from a title during his second year, the heavy hardware has seemed to elude Crockett and the Cowboys - until now.

After near misses throughout the “Allen Era,” Woodland finally broke through this season to claim the fi rst Northwest Arkansas Conference title for a Fayetteville program since 2004.

“These kids are a tightknit group that, for the most part, has grown up playing together, and you can tell by the way they all accept their roles on the fi eld,” Crockett said. “It is without a doubt one of the most talented teams Ihave coached at Woodland - very unselfish and hard working group of guys.”

The Cowboys were cochampions last year as eighth graders, going 9-1 to tie Springdale Central in the final standings. Woodland had a particularly tough schedule this season, withgames against Central and Bentonville Black during the first month of the season.

Woodland fell to Black 15-9 in Week 2. It was the lowest scoring game for Woodland all season. The Cowboys bounced back to knock-off Central the following week and began a 8-0 run to fi nishthe year and share the title with Black.

“We joke all the time about how this team was a great second-half team and that probably had a lot to do with my bad play-calling in the first halves of games,” Crockett said. “These kids just figured out ways to winevery week and it never came down to everyone having to lean on one guy.

“Also, I want to give a great deal of credit to my defensive coordinator Beau Patrick. He got most out of every kid that played on that side of the ball. Our defense played as a solid unit all season.”

Woodland boasted one of the most high-powered offenses in the league, led by a stellar offensive line that was anchored by Jonathan McMillon, Kelson Aisen and Nick Chickillo, Crockett said.

Woodland used a twoquarterback system all season long, with Mason Petrino and Fuller Chandler each seeing time under center. Petrino also filled in at wide receiver, safety, punter and kicker.

Three different running backs rotated in the backfi eld, with Rashad Brown and Luke Rapert receiving the bulk of the carries. Rapert exploded with three touchdowns in the season finale against Springdale George.

The most explosive player in the Woodland huddle may have been Joey Savin, who led the team in receiving and all-purpose yardage, while spearheading the defense at safety.

“Joey was a big time playmaker for us all year, and along with Spencer Brown helped keep the offense balanced with the passing game,” Crockett said.

Sports, Pages 10 on 11/08/2012

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