Returning players hit the field for the first time to begin fall practice at Fayetteville on Wednesday and the first three days of drills this week have been busy as the Bulldogs look to lock up some final spots on the depth chart.
“We had a great summer and put a lot of work in and kids came back and look bigger and faster,” Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. “Now it’s a matter of repping stuff, fine-tuning stuff and making sure we’re ready for the first game.
“Lawton Eisenhower, our first opponent, will be here fast. So we don’t have to go through a lot of contact and beating our kids up to find out who will hit. We’ve been through that in spring. Now it’s a matter of identifying a two-deep and finding out who is going to step up and do the job.”
Fayetteville returns more experience than possibly any team it’s ever fielded on offense in Patton’s 13 seasons. Defensively, there are some holes that need to be filled. “We know our offensive line, our receivers, our running backs and quarterbacks. We know those guys,” Patton said. “Defensively, we know about our defensive line and secondary. The linebacker is still the spot where we’re trying to identify some players.
“And we’ve got a pretty good kicking battle going on as well. So we need to find out who’s going to be the guy there.”
Fayetteville visits Greenwood for its preseason scrimmage on Aug. 24. Patton said preparations for Greenwood will begin around Aug. 17th.
“We’ve already looked at film of our first three opponents,” Patton said. “But we’ll start the game plan for Greenwood around the 17th and then after that game then we’ll focus in our first opponent of the season (Lawton Eisenhower).”
ROGERS HERITAGE
Later start paying dividends for War Eagles
Rogers Heritage coach Perry Escalante was pleased with his team’s work even though the War Eagles decided not to start fall workouts until Wednesday.
“They’ve been here the whole month of July,” Escalante said. “We really didn’t need this whole week. That’s why we shortened this week down, to let them recover. Most of them are in the swing of things already.”
Escalante said he had 70 players earn elite Eagle status, which meant they had five absences or less during the summer. He said several upperclassmen have set a high standard in workouts thus far, specifically seniors Andy Mendoza and Collin Christian.
Mendoza (6-0, 240), a returning starter on the defensive line, missed most of last season with a knee injury and was recently fully medically cleared. But he stood out Friday in particular, Escalante said. Junior defensive lineman Conner Thomas, who also missed much of last season with an injury, has also shown steady improvement.
“He looked really good, like his old self,” Escalante said. “Collin Christian has had three really good days. Even Conner Thomas, he was better today. I think he’s a little unsure, but it’s more of a mental thing. He got better and better each day.”
The War Eagles will practice from 4:30-6:30 Monday through Thursday and then scrimmage a little bit from 9-10:30 a.m. Friday morning.
Escalante is anxious to see the team mix it up in pads.
“We’ll see how physical we are,” Escalante said. “We think our defensive line will be a little ahead. Andy showed that in pass rush. But we want to get some physical practices in.”
ROGERS HIGH
Mounties to scrimmage today
Rogers High will put on full pads for the first time today as the Mounties will run around 20 plays at the end of practice this morning. The Mounties are scheduled to practice between 10 a.m. and noon.
As many as three quarterbacks could see action with the varsity today and Rogers coach Shawn Flannigan said the Mounties could platoon quarterbacks this season.
Senior Joseph Sultemeier is the Mounties most experienced quarterback but junior Max Horton is also in the mix. Rogers operates out of the run-oriented triple option but the Mounties will look to pass the football more this season.
“Each of them have strong suits,” Flannigan said. “Joseph, because of his experience, is a little bit ahead in the the run game. Max has a really good arm, but Joseph has also made strides throwing the football. Andrew McGlynn is pushing them, so we have three suitable quarterbacks.
“I can see situations were all three of them could gets reps in a game.”
Rogers started fall drills with a midnight practice Monday and ball security is a major point of emphasis as the Mounties prepare for the Sept. 4 season opener at Siloam Springs.
“Big emphasis after we were minus 19 in turnover margin last season,” Flannigan said. “We are working with all of our skill players and we have some nice, friendly reminders at the end of practice if a ball is on the ground. It’s a big deal for us to make sure we have more success hanging on to the football this year.”
Rogers has almost 90 players suited up and Flannigan has been pleased with the Mounties progress.
“The kids are working really hard,” Flannigan said. “We have a lot of new guys, a lot of new faces and we are trying our best to see where we can utilize them.”
BENTONVILLE
Tigers progress through first week
Bentonville coach Jody Grant said his team has made “significant progress” through the first five days of preseason workouts.
“We’ve had some times where we’ve had some concerns in certain areas,” Grant said following Friday’s practice. “Our offensive line showed up, and we left practice very impressed.
“The offensive line is getting movement up front and doing some things, and we’ve got some guys making plays. From day one to day five, I say we have made significant improvement in multiple areas.”
Grant said the back end of the Tigers’ defensive unit — the secondary and linebackers — has played well through the first week, while the front end continues to work through some things, such as depth. Offensively, quarterbacks Kasey Ford and Kanaan Ross have provided good play, while the coaching staff is still looking for somebody to emerge in places such as receiver.
One player that has caught Grant’s eye is senior tight end Dax Hale, who saw significant playing time last season.
“He’s going to be a very nice weapon for us,” Grant said. “He does so many good things.
“We’re also getting some guys back, so we’re excited about getting healthy again and seeing what we’ve got.”
Bentonville will hold a special teams practice this morning, then will wait until Monday before hitting the full pad workouts. The Tigers will also move their practices up to 6 a.m. each week, which will include a Friday scrimmage.”
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER
Patrick still recovering
Har-Ber will be without one of its defenders to begin the season.
Brady Patrick is still recovering from the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered while playing baseball for Har-Ber. Patrick started the football season at wide receiver before moving to the secondary. He finished with 68 tackles and led the Wildcats with three interceptions.
“We moved him to defense halfway through the year and he became an all-conference safety,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said of Patrick, who is expected back in October.
Outside linebacker Chase Anderson should be ready for the season-opener after he underwent off-season shoulder surgery.
Har-Ber spent parts of Friday’s practice working on special teams after beginning full workouts on Thursday. Wood said the Wildcats came back refreshed from a couple days off after traveling to Alabama twice for 7-on-7 competition.
“It’s good to get back and put a helmet on,” Wood said. “We’ve slowed things down to work on mechanics and the kids are out here having fun and showing a lot of energy.”
SPRINGDALE HIGH
RB carries up for grabs
Springdale High’s fastest player and leading returning rusher won’t be in the backfield this fall.
Senior Malcolm Neal, with his 4.41 speed in the 40-yard dash, is projected to start at cornerback a year after running for a team-high 571 yards.
The Bulldogs’ leading returning rusher who will actually play running back this year is junior Lucky Bannavong (5-foot-7, 143 pounds), who ran for 32 yards in largely mop-up playing time last season. Now, he’s part of a threeman rotation at the position with fellow junior Eric Mendez (5-8, 166) and sophomore Jasey Medina (5-11, 185).
“I don’t know that he’s a 20, 25-touch a night back, because he’s not very big,” Clark said. “But right now he’s our toughest guy, best in past protection. He’s probably the starter, leading the race after a week.”
Medina has a chance to carve out a role thanks to his versatility after starting on the Bulldogs’ junior varsity team a year ago.
“He might be the most well-rounded of the three,” Clark said.
But Medina is the most gifted of the bunch. He nearly broke Southwest Junior High’s single-season rushing record last year and possesses a great combination of size and speed that could make him a key piece of the offense even as he adapts to high school football and learns how to hit the designated hole on a consistent basis.
“He’s our most talented,” Clark said. “He can really run. He’s young, he’s new, so we’ll try to bring him along slowly. He really catches the ball well out of the backfield. He’s probably got some of the best hands on the team. So we’re excited about him.”
With carries up for grabs, each back will get as much work as they can handle early in fall camp as they try to separate themselves from the pack and earn playing time leading up to the Sept. 4 season opener at Greenwood.
“We’re going to give those backs as many reps as possible,” Clark said. “We’re in full pads for the next week, so we’ll have an inside drill. Now, those guys can’t get enough carries.”