Football: Southwest Elite Notebook

SPRINGDALE HIGH

DBs Step Up For Bulldogs

Playing 7-on-7 without both starting cornerbacks isn't typically a recipe for success.

But that's what Springdale High was tasked with doing this weekend at the Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase hosted by Shiloh Christian. Seniors Chris Owens and TreShawn Gause were in St. Louis playing with the Arkansas Wings AAU organization in a basketball tournament, leaving the Bulldogs scrambling for replacements.

Their absences were evident at times, most notably in a 38-13 loss to Wynne on Friday in pool play and the 34-24 loss to Bixby, Okla., on Saturday that knocked the Bulldogs out of the tournament in the second round. But Springdale was able to finish the weekend 5-4, which included a narrow 26-25 loss to Bentonville in pool play and a 24-12 first-round win over Coweta, Okla.

"With some of our other kids not here, it's going to help our depth," Springdale coach Shane Patrick said. "Because we got some kids who got a lot of experience in this tournament. And that can be a valuable learning tool."

The Bulldogs got a sneak peak at their week-three opponent in the Bixby game. The Spartans hit several big plays over the top of the Springdale defense, then held off a Bulldog rally.

"You always like to put a little note in there that they could draw on this down the road," Patrick said. "But I think in a positive way we learned some things. Make a play here or there and we score with them. I think we got a lot of good out of it."

Springdale junior quarterback Fuller Chandler looked comfortable during the weekend, routinely finding seniors Zach Burton and Salvador Sandoval for big gains, including a 40-yard touchdown pass on third down to Burton to seal the Coweta win.

"Burton's good," Patrick said. "And then Salvador is going to be really good for us. We're going to have three really, really good receivers (including Owens)."

-- JIMMY CARTER • @NWAJimmy

ROGERS HERITAGE

War Eagles Cite Positives

A 5-4 finish in the Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase might not look great on the surface, but Rogers Heritage football coach Perry Escalante saw lots of positives from the two-day event.

"We had a different point of view coming into this thing than we've had in the past with our kids because we've been set at quarterback and running back," Escalante said. "There were several players we got a good look at. We got a lot out of this and we're very pleased with what we saw."

The War Eagles rotated four different quarterbacks in seven pool games on Friday, but rising sophomore Luke Heiligenthal played both games in bracket play on Saturday. He threw three TDs in Heritage's 28-19 win over Huntley, Ill., before the War Eagles were eliminated by Fayetteville.

Heiligenthal finished with the best numbers for the weekend of the QB candidates, completing 39-of-63 for 11 TDs and two picks. He also enjoyed engineered Heritage's 25-13 pool play win over Heritage Hall of Oklahoma City, which finished as the tournament runner-up.

But Escalante said all four QBs were inconsistent.

"They would have a good series, then we'd have one or two bad series," Escalante said. "In 7-on-7 you can't really get away with that. But we saw some good things from all of them.

But he was pleased with the defense, which came up with key stops. The War Eagles picked off 10 passes in the tournament, five of those by move-in Jerrell Hobbs.

Speedster Joey Saucier made big play, after big play, but Escalante acknowledged that was no shock. That's what he expects from the 5-11, 205-pound rising senior, who is receiving some Division I interest.

"Joey's just a phenomenal talent," Escalante said. "Any time he gets the ball in his hands, he can go score. He showed that several times this weekend."

-- PAUL BOYD • @NWAPAULB

FAYETTEVILLE

Loss Fails To Dampen Spirit

A surprising, 32-27 overtime loss to Harrison in the quarterfinal round at the Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase wasn't how Fayetteville expected to see things come to an end Saturday. But despite the defeat, the Bulldogs still finished off summer 7-on-7 tournament play with an impressive resume.

The loss to Harrison was Fayetteville's only setback at the tournament. The Bulldogs were the only team in the field to go 7-0 in pool play. They defeated Van Buren and Rogers Heritage in bracket play Saturday morning before finally bowing out.

"Give Harrison credit," Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. "Their kids came out and played hard and we came out dragging a little bit and it came back to bite us a little bit. You can't dig a hole like we did a win a lot of those games, but I'm proud of how we hung in there and forced overtime."

Fayetteville finished 26-4 overall in tournament play over three 7-on-7 weekends, finishing runnerup at Harrison and Pulaski Academy. The Bulldogs rotated quarterbacks Jack Lindsey and Taylor Powell every other series throughout the process, as Patton and the staff continue to evaluate that particular position battle heading into the new season.

"Quarterback-wise, we didn't play as well (Saturday) as we had," Patton said. "They're both young quarterbacks and they're going to make some mistakes. But we did a lot of good things this summer and we can build on it, and we'll get better."

-- VERNON TARVER • @NWAVERNON

BENTONVILLE

Younger Tigers Get Their Chance

The Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase became an opportunity for the younger players on Bentonville's football team, particularly on offense, a chance to show their skills.

The Tigers played both days without starting quarterback Kasey Ford and top receiver Cody Scroggins, both of whom were playing baseball. Another position where opportunity awaited a younger player was at tight end after projected starter Austin Bugos was injured during Friday's pool play game against Springdale High.

"We learned about our team that a bunch of younger players stepped up when they had to do it," offensive coordinator Aaron Danenhauer said. "Clay Barganier went out there and made a lot of plays, and I believe Chase Hunter and Canaan Ross did get better out there. Those two young quarterbacks played a big role, and I was pleased with what they did."

Defensively, it was the returning starters that stood out for Bentonville, which was eliminated in the second round of Saturday's tournament play by eventual runnerup Heritage Hall.

"We saw a lot of good things out of guys like Harrison Rooney, Tyrone Mahone and Hekili Keliiliki," Danenhauer said. "Those guys did a great job of helping out and holding the ropes for us."

-- HENRY APPLE • @NWAHENRY

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER

Smith Shines In Tourney

Sophomore Trey Smith flashed some of his skills for Springdale Har-Ber during 7-on-7 action at Shiloh Christian. Smith was a frequent target at receiver for the Wildcats, who went 3-6 in the two-day tournament.

Smith (5-foot-9, 160 pounds) could fill the role vacated by Matt Garrison, who was a starting wide receiver and special teams standout last season. The elusive Smith could also see time as quarterback for Har-Ber in the Wildcat package.

"Trey really had a good week," Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said of Smith, who rushed for about 1,800 yards last year in junior high. "Matt Garrison is not easy to replace, but we think Trey is really going to be a good one for us."

Har-Ber finished with a losing record after going 8-2 and placing second in a 7-on-7 tournament at Derby, Kan. The Wildcats were scorched, 32-13, by 7A-West rival Fayetteville on Friday.

"I was anticipating some more growth after our showing at Derby, but we regressed instead," Wood said. "We were too passive on defense and we dropped a lot of balls on offense."

Wood said the Wildcats showed improvement Saturday in second-round games, which included a 21-14 victory over Stillwater, Okla.

"We got some stops and forced some turnovers and that was good to see," Wood said. "I never have to worry about our effort. I love coaching this group of kids."

-- RICK FIRES • @NWARICK

Sports on 07/14/2014

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