BIG 7 FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

SPRINGDALE HIGH

Fuller readies for first varsity start

Springdale sophomore quarterback Fuller Chandler will make his first varsity start Friday at Batesville.

Chandler beat out fellow sophomore Drake Wymer in a tight competition for the starting job, a decision coach Shane Patrick announced to the team Friday.

“We just feel like he’s the most advanced right now in all aspects of playing quarterback,” Patrick said. “The other guys in the competition, especially Drake Wymer, are really right there close. But we just felt like the knowledge we’ve got and total grasp of what’s going on, Fuller gives us the best chance to win.”

Chandler will be making his varsity debut a year after leading Fayetteville Woodland to a co-Northwest Arkansas Conference championship. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder’s grasp of the offense was one of the keys to him winning the job.

“For being a sophomore, he has a great understanding of the game,” Patrick said. “And he’s really good before the snap. He’s picked it up to the point where he’s checking some of our plays and getting us out of bad plays based on what the defense is giving us. He’s also a natural leader. It’s hard for a sophomore to do that, but he has a natural presence in the huddle. Physically, he does a great job as far as throwing the football. He can run the football. And he’s really good with his footwork.”

Wymer will work as Chandler’s backup, but will also line up at receiver, where his 6-foot-6 frame could come in handy for the Springdale offense once he adapts to the new position.

“He’s thrown everything into being quarterback,” Patrick said. “So he’s got some stuff to learn about just playing receiver. But he’s athletic enough. Lord knows, he’s tall enough and runs well enough. He’s got huge hands. We think as time goes on, he’s going to be a true weapon for us.”

— JIMMY CARTER

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER

Wildcats Face Huge Challenge

So what do the numbers 3, 46, and 91 mean to Springdale Har-Ber?

They mean plenty when facing Webb City, Mo., a three-time defending state champion that has won 46 consecutive games overall and 91 consecutive regular-season games. The Wildcats, who lost 30-15 to Webb City last year, will get another opportunity with the Cardinals in Friday’s season-opener at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.

“Webb City, they execute to a T and they make no mistakes,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. “They’ll run the mid-line, the veer, and some counter option. Defensively, they play fast and physical and they do their jobs.”

Webb City opened its season last week with a 52-29 victory over Carl Junction, Mo. The Cardinals rolled up 317 yards on the ground while junior quarterback Devin Pickett completed 9 of 10 passes for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Kiante Hardin caught touchdown passes of 4 and 57 yards for the Cardinals, who are ranked No. 1 again in Class 4A.

“Hardin is a junior who also plays safety and he’s a tremendous talent,” Wood said. “He stands out, but they’ve got other players who are really good. There’s a reason they’ve won a lot of games.”

Wood said he was not overly concerned by a poor showing in last week’s scrimmage, when Har-Ber fell 35-7 to Tulsa Union in two quarters of play. The Wildcats committed two early turnovers that were turned into touchdown runs of 22 and 65 yards by Union.

Sain Mathew rushed for 57 yards and tight end Camden Scott scored Har-Ber’s only touchdown on a 29-yard pass from Kyle Pianalto.

“When you’re playing that caliber of team, things can snowball on you when you don’t do the little things right,” Wood said. “They got us, but it doesn’t slow anything down. It just reinforces the fact that we have to pay attention to detail and do the little things right.”

— RICK FIRES

BENTONVILLE

Scrimmage Leaves Tigers Pleased

Bentonville’s football team gave coach Barry Lunney plenty of reasons to smile following its 28-7 victory over Owasso, Okla., during last week’s two-quarter scrimmage at the Tulsa Union Gridiron Classic last week.

The Tigers didn’t turn the ball over, and they kept their mistakes to a minimum through the two quarters they played against the Rams. This came with temperatures at or near 100 degrees when they started.

“I was real pleased with, number one, the effort,” Lunney said. “I thought it was very good on a hot day. Our conditioning was good.

“I don’t recollect very many penalties, so that’s pretty clean for the first scrimmage. We came over and competed very hard, particularly in the scrimmage part when we came out and moved the ball. We came out and got a turnover, an interception, right off the bat. That’s very exciting to see our defense get after it.”

Nick Fernandez had the interception, and his 25-yard return set up the first of three rushing touchdowns by Heliki Keliiliki. The Tigers’ defense recorded three quarterback sacks, with Tyler Nichols and Tre Donson recording a solo sack apiece while Ty Huntley and Javier Carbonell combined for a sack.

Bentonville’s defensive reserves also made a goal-line stand after Owasso had first-and-goal at the Tigers 1.

“I really liked our pass rush, mainly our down folks,” Lunney said. “That’s exciting to see because when we can do that, it’s going to add to what we can do on the back end with our secondary.”

“It’s about competing, and it’s great to see kids go out. It could have been easy to say they were on the 1 and let them score, but they fought hard and competed.”

Bentonville opens the season Friday night when the Tigers travel to Kansas City, Mo., and take on Rockhurst, whose quarterback — T.J. Green — is the son of former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green.

— HENRY APPLE

ROGERS HERITAGE

War Eagles Ready For Tough Opponent

Rogers Heritage football coach Perry Escalante was pleased when Fort Smith Southside coach Jeff Williams called a couple of years ago about playing in nonconference when the Rebels were shipped to the 7A-6A Central.

“Jeff called there when everybody was scrambling trying to find games and I said ‘Yes, we’ll play,’” Escalante said. “We benefit a lot more from playing a good quality opponent early. You don’t want to go down there and get your brains beat out, but if you play well against a good team that’s well-coached, win or lose you get something out of it.”

The War Eagles won a 20-19 nail-biter a year ago in David Gates Stadium. The scene shifts to Jim Rowland Stadium in Fort Smith for Friday’s 7 p.m. kickoff, but Escalante expects a similar game. Heritage quarterback Josh Qualls threw for a touchdown and ran for another last year, but sat out the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury.

“If we execute, it’ll come down to big plays and the kicking game,” Escalante said. “They’re big, got one or two good looking ones on the offensive line. They have a good running back and they’ll probably give it to him a lot. We’ll just have to see what they do. If we take care of the ball and don’t put it on the ground, we’ll be OK.”

The game turned on a few mistakes, including two bad snaps by the Rebels on extra point attempts. Heritage also failed to recover a squib kick late, which gave Southside a late chance at a tie. Escalante said his team will be hard-pressed to overcome mistakes like that against a team like Southside.

Both teams had starters injured in the preseason, but both are expected to play Friday.

Southside’s starting quarterback Isaac Jackson, who combined for more than 200 yards of total offense, threw for two touchdowns, has been sidelined in the preseason with shoulder tendinitis. Heritage starting middle linebacker Brandon White missed the War Eagles’ scrimmage at Russellville because of some concussion-like symptoms, but Escalante said he practiced this week and will be ready for Friday night, too.

— PAUL BOYD

ROGERS HIGH

Harrell Gets QB Nod For Mounties

ROGERS — It appears Rogers High senior Max Harrell will take the first snap at quarterback when the Mounties host Mountain Home in the season opener Friday at Whitey Smith Stadium.

Harrell and junior Cole Evans have been battling for the starting position at quarterback since the end of last season, and Mounties coach Shawn Flannigan said both quarterbacks will see playing time against the Bombers.

“It looks like, probably, it’s Max as that is the consensus right now,” Flannigan said. “They are both going to play. They each bring different things to the table. Cole is a little better runner, and he has some speed. It could be a situational thing.”

Harrell has started and played backup quarterback over the past two years after injuries to the Rogers’ starter and that was a big factor in getting the starting spot.

“Going into the first game with a big crowd, Max has that experience,” Flannigan said. “Once we get into the flow of the game, we can bring Cole in and get him into a comfortable situation.”

Flannigan said that either Preston Young or Bryan Grigsby will start at fullback. Young is also practicing at inside and outside linebacker and the senior is expected to see time on both sides of the football.

Linebacker Jacob Bray is expected to be back in school today after being injured in a hunting accident in Missouri last weekend. Bray was shot in the eye and had surgery Monday in Little Rock. Bray is expected to return to Little Rock for a second surgery next Thursday.

“He had the initial surgery that saved the eye,” Flannigan said. “That is a huge plus. It looks like the pellet missed the vital parts of the eye . They are optimistic about the potential of his vision returning.”

— PAUL NIELSEN

FAYETTEVILLE

Bulldogs Ground and Pound Warren

Fayetteville resembled a Bret Bielema-coached Arkansas team in its season opener Monday, using a steady running game to wear down Warren in the fourth quarter. The Purple’Dogs ran 58 offensive plays — 40 of which were running plays — and turned to the ground attack over and over again late in the contest to pull away in a 35-21 victory.

“I was really proud with how we were able to be a physical football team,” Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. “We haven’t looked like that too much around here in the past, running the ball like that and mixing in the pass. But that was good to see.”

The Bulldogs (1-0) are now faced with a long layoff before hosting Jefferson City, Mo. on Sept. 13. Patton said the team would begin Jefferson City prep work on Wednesday and today before a light workout on Friday.

“It feels like a college bye week,” Patton said.

Fayetteville used two placekickers in the season opener, as junior Cal Conway and sophomore Jon Fagg rotated on kicking extra points. With both kickers appearing the handle the role fairly well, Patton indicated the back-and-forth dual role could continue into next week’s game.

— VERNON TARVER