BENTONVILLE -- If somebody ventured to Tiger Stadium during Bentonville's preseason football practices, that person may have noticed not one, but two, footballs resting upon the Tiger Athletic Complex roof.
The culprit was senior kicker Bennett Moehring -- who did it while kicking extra points -- and he says he's not the one to get them down from there.
Profile
Bennett Moehring
School: Bentonville
Class: Senior
Height: 5-9
Weight: 175
Notable: Hit 51 of 52 extra points and 13 of 18 field-goal attempts last year, including two in the final minute of a 13-10 win over Rogers Heritage and one against the wind to end the first half of the Class 7A State Championship. … Put 34 of 71 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks and averaged 40.9 yards per punt, with 13 of 39 going inside the opponents’ 20. … Ranked the No. 1 senior kicker nationwide by Chris Sailer Kicking after participating in the “Top 12” camp this summer. … Has drawn interest from Florida, California, Northwestern, Penn State and Virginia.
The Skinny
Bentonville Tigers
COACH: Barry Lunney, 10th year
LAST SEASON: 11-2, 7-0 7A/6A-West Conference
OFFENSE: Pistol
DEFENSE: 3-4
RETURNING STARTERS Offense 5, Defense 3
POINTS SCORED PER GAME: 31.4
POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME: 14.5
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH: Kasey Ford (Jr., QB, 6-5, 230), Dylan Smith (Sr., RB, 6-0, 200), Cody Scroggins (Sr., WR, 6-0, 165 ), Ean Pfeifer (Sr., OL, 6-5, 290), Mitch Williams (Sr., OL, 6-3, 285)
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH: Xavier Domineack (Sr., DL, 6-1, 220), Harrison Rooney (Sr., ILB, 6-1, 197), Hekili Keliiliki (Sr., OLB, 6-2, 224), Tyrone Mahone (Jr., CB, 6-0, 170)
KEEP AN EYE ON: Domineack, who now assumes the role as the leader on the Tigers’ defensive line. He will be the one the younger players will turn to for leadership, and he has an opportunity to play a big role in the trenches.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK: The Tigers have a strong-armed quarterback in Ford, a one-two punch on the ground with Smith and Keliiliki, and an experienced offensive line led by Pfeifer, who has orally committed to Vanderbilt. The questions remain in who will be the receiver that can take some of the attention off of Scroggins, and who can take over at tight end while Austin Bugos recovers from injury.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK: Bentonville took a hit when returning senior Javier Carbonell — who already made an oral commitment to Arkansas State — suffered an injury and is projected to be out for the season, leaving more questions on the defensive line. Rooney, an oral commit to Air Force, was the Tigers’ leading tackler for most of the season and knows how to produce turnovers, while Mahone gives them a lockdown cornerback.
SEASON OUTLOOK: Bentonville can expect to get everybody’s best shot after winning the Class 7A state title for the third time in six years, and rightfully so since the Tigers are gaining attention at the state and national levels. The loss of Carbonell will sting some, and Bentonville needs to develop some depth in those places where players may have to go on both sides of the football during the early stages.
KEY GAME: Always keep an eye out on the Fayetteville game, which will be played Nov. 7 at Tiger Stadium this year. The conference title has been on the line the last two years this game has been played, and this one might not be any different.
— Henry Apple • @NWAHenry
SCHEDULE
DATE^OPPONENT^TIME
Sept. 5^Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst^7:30 p.m.
Sept. 12^at Broken Arrow, Okla.^7 p.m.
Sept. 19^Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic^7:30 p.m.
Sept. 26^at Fort Smith Southside*^7:30 p.m.
Oct. 3^Fort Smith Northside*^7:30 p.m.
Oct. 10^at Springdale Har-Ber*^7:30 p.m.
Oct. 17^at Springdale High*^7:30 p.m.
Oct. 24^Rogers High*^7:30 p.m.
Oct. 31^at Rogers Heritage*^7:30 p.m.
Nov. 7^Fayetteville*^7:30 p.m.
COACH SPEAK: Barry Lunney
Q: What makes your team a bigger target: being the defending Class 7A state champion or its 33-game winning streak in conference play?
A: Probably being the defending state champion, I would think. I think people probably look at that and who you play and talk about your program. That would probably be it.
Q: Who has the biggest shoes to fill on the team?
A: As far as position, not as people, it would probably be the overall secondary. We lost three starters out of the secondary, and that area is one that will be tested early with the people we play. You start with Green at Kansas City Rockhurst, who is a three-year starter. There’s a highly ranked quarterback at Broken Arrow, and obviously this young man who has — I don’t know how many — offers at Bergen Catholic.
Q: How much does the unexpected loss of Javier Carbonell to a preseason injury affect this year’s team?
A: “First and foremost, from our staff’s standpoint, is how much this injury affect Javier. That’s the real tragedy in all of it because you have a player going into his senior year and, before it even gets started, he potentially loses the whole year. That’s tough; that’s extremely tough. It’s very hard on him. My heart breaks for him.
“I’ve coached a lot of great men over the years and, not just football-wise but people-wise, he’s right on the top of the list because of his passion for the game, his love for the game and he loves his teammates. He even enjoys practicing, coming over here with a smile on his face. You have an all-state player, a Division 1 prospect who was going to be a two-way player for us. He meant so much to us with his leadership and character, his stability as a three-year starter, and we’ll have guys that need to step in there and do it.”
Q: With Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside rejoining what is now a pure 7A-West Conference, what are your feelings on the state’s strongest conference getting even tougher?
A: “We’ve been used to it. There’s no doubt, with those two teams coming back in — and hopefully no disrespect to Siloam Springs or Van Buren — in a league where they should have been all along, that it makes for a real formidable conference from week 4 to week 10.
“Southside has been so good and so strong for a number of years, and Northside had been a little bit down the past few years but is back. Northside was in our team camp in June, and I could pick out four or five guys that are Division I-type players.”
"I'm going to wring his neck," Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said jokingly. "And they're still there. We told him to take it easy, but it's hard to tell a guy not to kick like he normally kicks.
"Bennett is a very talented young man. What a weapon and a luxury to have, and he's an integral part of what we're trying to do."
Moehring (5-foot-9, 175) hit 13 of 18 field-goal attempts and 51 of 52 extra points, and almost one-half of his 71 kickoffs went into the end zone for touchbacks last season. He also averaged almost 41 yards per punt, with one-third of his 39 attempts put inside the opponents' 20.
He should be even more effective this season when the Tigers give him the opportunity. He spent the summer at a number of kicking camps and greatly improved his stock, including a No. 1 ranking among senior kickers nationwide by Chris Sailer Kicking -- whose "Top 12 Camp" alumni include current Kansas City Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop and Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey.
"I've competed with some of the best kickers with the country this summer," Moehring said. "That brings out the best in my game, I feel like. I've learned multiple little tweaks in my kicking technique that really helped me in the process.
"It's just three steps back and two to the side. If you can repeat that every time, takes your steps right and get a good hit on the ball, there's no reason you shouldn't make the kick."
Lunney showed faith in his kicker from the outset last year, allowing Moehring to try a 53-yard field-goal attempt during the Tulsa (Okla.) Gridiron Classic. Moehring proved his worth to the team when he nailed two field goals during the final minute of a 13-10 win over Rogers Heritage despite rainy conditions, then hit two clutch field goals in the Class 7A State Championship against Cabot despite kicking through the more narrow collegiate uprights.
Moehring has grown in size during the offseason, adding 25 pounds to his frame and hitting the weight room in order to strengthen an already-strong leg. What has grown just as much during the offseason was his confidence in that leg.
"Last year, when coach Lunney called me out for that 53-yard attempt, I was so nervous," Moehring said. "I was shaking in my shoes and I was thinking there was little chance of me hitting that field goal.
"Now I've been in the fire and know what it feels like. I trust my technique a lot more, and my confidence has been built up more than ever. If I'm put in that situation, it's not hitting the post."
His only significant change came in his punting technique, where he worked on a quicker release of the ball. He is strictly a two-step punter now after he watched a number of punters do it, and it allows him to get rid of the ball about one-half second quicker.
Moehring said under neutral conditions, he's confident he can hit one inside 60 yards and has hit a 65-yarder in practice. The only question is if Bentonville's offense stalls between an opponents' 30 and 35 and the Tigers need to kick the ball, will Lunney send out Moehring to kick or to punt.
"That's a good question," Lunney said. "Certainly you will look at the wind because he can make 50-yarders without any wind. That's a long way, and if you get everything in the right situation, you might try it. All of that depends on the flow of the game and what you think you have to do offensively."
Sports on 08/31/2014