PRAIRIE GROVE -- It's not often Prairie Grove has a Division I prospect on its roster.
The Tigers typically win games with medium-sized players who outwork and out-execute the opposition. But junior tight end Dylan Soehner (6-foot-7, 265) is a big target who's already received scholarship offers from Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech.
Prairie Grove Tigers
Date^Opponent^Time
Sept. 5^Farmington^7 p.m.
Sept. 12^TBD^7 p.m.
Sept. 19^West Fork^7 p.m.
Sept. 26^Huntsville*^7 p.m.
Oct. 3^at Gravette*^7 p.m.
Oct. 10^at Shiloh Christian*^7 p.m.
Oct. 17^Pea Ridge*^7 p.m.
Oct. 24^at Gentry*^7 p.m.
Oct. 31^Berryville*^7 p.m.
Nov. 7^at Lincoln*^7 p.m.
- — Denotes 4A-1 Conference game
Prairie Grove just has to figure out a way to get him the ball.
"We don't have as many weapons because we lost a lot of guys from last year," said Soehner, who was a quarterback in junior high. "But we hold ourselves to a high standard here and our coaches are as high on this team as they've always been. Since seventh grade, I've always been on a winning team."
Prairie Grove has won consecutive championships in the 4A-1 Conference, but the Tigers' hold onto the title could be tough this year with the return of Shiloh Christian from Class 5A. Shiloh Christian was predicted first and Prairie Grove second in a preseason poll of the league coaches.
Prairie Grove must replace nearly half of its offensive and defensive starters from a team that finished 10-2 last season. Bobby Catt takes over as the primary running back after rushing for nearly 1,000 yards last season at wingback. The Tigers are also expected to throw more with Sam Dodd following the graduation of Jacob Storlie, who was mostly a running threat as an option quarterback.
Soehner showed he may be a frequent target when he caught a 34-yard pass from Dodd in an intrasquad game last week.
"Dylan makes really good grades and he loves the game, particularly the offensive side," Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier said. "He's big and strong and he has great hands. He's only 16 years old and he already has two legitimate offers from D-I schools. We know he's going to get better."
Soehner is a two-sport athlete who first began to emerge on the basketball court last year. He became a consistent inside scorer in the second half of the season for the Tigers, who won the district tournament and played in the state tournament.
"We made it to state in basketball and that doesn't happen around here," said Soehner, who may decide to bypass basketball this year to concentrate on football. "We won a lot of games and won the district tournament at Farmington, so it was a successful year."
Soehner said his worth ethic will not be affected by having two Division 1 scholarship offers for football at the start of his junior year. He'll get a chance to show as much beginning on Sept. 5, when Prairie Grove opens the season against Farmington at Tiger Stadium.
"I'm working harder now than ever," Soehner said. "When you get offers, it pushes you to do things to get even more offers."
Sports on 08/28/2014