SPRINGDALE — The heart of Springdale High’s defense this season will reside in a second-generation Bulldog.
Neal Parsons, whose father played for Springdale and won two state championships in 1968 and 1969, is a force to be reckoned with at inside linebacker.
“It means a lot to wear the jersey,” Parsons said. “A ton of my family has gone through the program. We have a lot of tradition. Coach (Jarrell) Williams made Bulldog defenses known as hard-hitting and not going to quit kind of defenses. It’s been a dream since I was little to play for Springdale.”
Springdale coach Shane Patrick benefits from having a player like Parsons display the pride he has in the program every day.
“He is a great leader,” Patrick said. “Being a three-year starter, he brings a tremendous amount of experience to the defense. He is a playmaker and we could not get by without him.”
Parsons, a 5-foot-9, 202-pound senior, racked up 73 tackles in 2012, and his goal this season is do even more than he did as a junior.
“I want to produce more and help the team win,” Parsons said. “I want to be a better leader and hopefully do what’s right to becoming a better player. I want to get Springdale back to where it was, powerhouse, hard-knock football.”
Since the varsity split with Har-Ber at the beginning of the 2006 season, Parsons thinks that the Red’Dogs have lost respect within the 7A-West community.
“I don’t want to have someone write us off; we want to make the playoffs and make a run,” Parsons said. “We want to get back to winning football games and building tradition.”
But Parsons knows he can’t do it all by himself at linebacker, and that’s why he’s glad he has teammates like senior Christian Tejada (5-7, 171).
“He’s a hard-hitting guy for his size,” Parsons said. “He really gets the game and plays fast and goes all out. I see him as a major playmaker for us. He’s the other senior and displays a lot of leadership.”
The other starter at linebacker in Springdale’s scheme will be junior Caylon Wells (6-3, 180), who recorded 49 tackles along with a sack last season.