As Quick As A Cat

HAR-BER TRACK STAR PROVES ELUSIVE ON FOOTBALL FIELD

Big 7 Football Player of the Year Sain Mathew from Springdale Har-Ber.
Big 7 Football Player of the Year Sain Mathew from Springdale Har-Ber.

SPRINGDALE - Sain Mathew showed this fall he is more than just a track star.

Just ask Rogers Heritage.

Mathew ran over, through, and around the Heritage defense for 307 yards and two touchdowns during Springdale Har-Ber’s 42-21 victory. Mathew broke away for a 64-yard touchdown run in the first half against the War Eagles, then leaped over a defender while scoring on a 36-yard run in the second half.

Those plays were only two of the many highlights for Mathew, who set a school rushing record with 1,926 yards and 18 touchdowns. For his eff ort, Mathew is the NWA Media Player of the Year for large schools.

“We told our players before the game, we can’t let that guy out in space,” Rogers Heritage coach Perry Escalante said. “He can go and he proved that with two huge runs.”

Mathew proved he was fastlast spring when he won the 400-meter run in both the Class 7A state meet and the Meet of Champions and won the 200 in the state meet and finished second in the 200 in the Meet of Champs. But he was unproven on the football field after rushing for 60 yards on just 12 carries as a backup his junior year.

Still, much was expected of the speedster, who posted an 11.19 in the 100, and he answered by averaging nearly 7 yards per carry. He rushed for more than 100 yards in every conference game except Van Buren, when he played only in the first half of a 43-6 rout over the Pointers.

“In our opinion, he’s always been a football guy,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. “He has a different gear on the football field and, when he gets to the second level, he’s hard to deal with. He’s a great kid who goes the extra mile to balance two sports.”

Mathew (6-foot, 170 pounds) finally wore down from all the activity and suffered shin splints while competing last spring in the decathlon. He got a late start for football, but the downtime proved benefi cial.

“I played football pretty much injury free,” said Mathew, who missed one game because of a sore shoulder. “So, it was a fun season and I had a good time.”

Mathew has already begun training for the indoor and outdoor track seasons. He plans to concentrate more on the 100 after winning the 200 and 400 runs at the state meet.

“I’m going to try and take the 100,” said Mathew, who finished sixth with a time of 11.36 seconds in the conference meet at Van Buren last spring. “I didn’t really train for the 100 last year, so I think I can definitely do better and improve my time.”

Mathew will likely have to prove himself all over again if he wants to continue as a two-sport athlete in college. He’s receiving plenty of interest for track but surprisingly little interest on the football field after setting a school rushing record in Arkansas’ largest classifi cation.

That’s all right for Mathew, who enjoys a challenge.

“If I get my times down to where they need to be, then more opportunities will come,” Mathew said.

Sports, Pages 7 on 12/29/2013

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