JUNIOR HIGH NOTEBOOK: Woodland, Rogers High Set For Clash

— Both Rogers High and Fayetteville Woodland are on a roll as the two teams prepare for tonight’s Northwest Arkansas Conference junior high basketball game at Woodland.

Woodland (9-1, 5-1) has won five straight conference games while the Mounties (8-4, 4-2) have won their last four NWAC contests. A Rogers victory could create a four-way tie for first place in the conference standings. Bentonville Black and Springdale Central are both 4-2 in the league standings going into tonight’s games.

Rogers started league play with back-to-back losses, including a 32-12 setback to Central. The Mounties were looking at starting 0-3 when they trailed by 17 points in the second half against Springdale Southwest.

But Rogers rallied for a 43-42 win and they then defeated Bentonville Gold (40-34), Siloam Springs (38-35) and Rogers Heritage (33-17) to setup tonight’s showdown with the Cowboys.

Rogers coach Gerald Walsh said a fundamentally sound defense has been the key to the Mounties winning streak.

“We are athletic and when we play with high intensity, we can be tough on that end of the court,” Walsh said. “Joseph Sultemeier and Branden Mabry have been very good defenders.”

Woodland has won five league games since starting league play with a 35-28 loss to Central.

Woodland coach Jeff Boogaart said depth and experience have been a big key for the Cowboys. Rashad Brown, Spencer Brown and Job Woodruff all played and practiced with the freshmen team as eighth graders a year ago.

“We are playing about 10 guys in our games,” Boogaart said. “Three of our players were up with the ninth grade team last year and their experience has really carried over to this year’s team.”

Blake Young is averaging 7.5 rebounds a game and he is part of a Woodland rotation in the post spots that also includes Hayes Harrison, DeMaunte Youngblood, Max Hendrycy and Fuller Chandler.

Miliecio Freeland has been an offensive spark for Rogers after scoring in double figures in three out of the last four games. Jay Young has been solid at point guard while Hunter Bayless has been the Mounties most consistent shooter.

“These kids have great attitudes are really fun to be around,” Walsh said. “We are certainly looking forward to competing at a high level the rest of the way.”

The Springdale Central boys will look to keep pace in the league standings with a win against Rogers Heritage tonight. Kyler Mahar is averaging 10 points and five rebounds a game while Mason Collins and Chase Anderson are averaging eight points and seven points, respectively.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

Girls

Team -- Conf. Record

Springdale George 5-1

Fayetteville Ramay 5-1

Fayetteville Woodland 4-2

Bentonville Gold 4-2

Rogers High 3-2

Springdale Central 3-3

Siloam Springs 2-3

Springdale Southwest 2-4

Bentonville Black 1-5

Rogers Heritage 0-6

Tonight's Games

Gold at George

Woodland at Rogers

Black at Southwest

Siloam Springs at Ramay

Central at Heritage

Boys

Team -- Conf. Record

Fayetteville Woodland 5-1

Rogers High 4-2

Bentonville Black 4-2

Springdale Central 4-2

Fayetteville Ramay 3-3

Springdale George 3-3

Rogers Heritage 3-3

Siloam Springs 2-4

Springdale Southwest 2-4

Bentonville Gold 0-6

Tonight's Games

George at Gold

Rogers at Woodland

Southwest at Black

Ramay at Siloam Springs

Heritage at Central

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