Class 7A/6A report

NLR gets added jolt from Day

Last Friday's 62-6 victory at Mountain Home was a relief not only for North Little Rock's players, but for Coach Jamie Mitchell himself.

The Charging Wildcats started the season 0-4, losing to Little Rock Catholic, Fayetteville, Pine Bluff and Cabot -- the latter three in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Overall Top 10. But they took care of business early last Friday, jumping out to a 41-6 halftime lead over the Bombers.

"Winning helps everybody and everything," Mitchell said. "They're a lot more resilient than adults. We had a really good game."

Junior running back Alex Day rushed for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns on 11 carries to lead North Little Rock to its first victory since a Class 7A state quarterfinal victory last November against Fort Smith Northside.

Day has rushed for 578 yards and 6 touchdowns, averaging 8.8 yards on 66 carries.

"Alex has been a workhorse for us," Mitchell said. "He continues to get better."

Mitchell is in his first year at North Little Rock, taking over for Brad Bolding, who was fired in April after allegedly violating district purchasing procedures and recruiting rules. But he's not blaming his late start in the program nor the team's injuries, as an excuse for the Charging Wildcats' season so far.

"No question, we've had our issues, without a doubt," Mitchell said. "We don't run from those.

"We're close to turning a corner and doing positive things."

North Little Rock (1-4, 1-1 7A/6A-East) hosts Jonesboro (4-1, 2-0) today.

EL DORADO

Love on the run

El Dorado is glad to have a healthy Kawon Love these days.

The senior running back has returned from a knee injury late last season and helped the Wildcats (4-1) start 2-0 in the 6A-South.

Love, 6-foot, 215 pounds, rushed 25 times for 331 yards and 4 touchdowns in El Dorado's 48-15 victory at Sheridan last Friday. He scored on runs of 3, 45 and 18 yards in the first half as the Wildcats led 27-8 at halftime. He added a 39-yard scoring run in the third quarter.

This season, Love has rushed for 688 yards and 8 touchdowns on 76 carries.

"Getting him going is important," El Dorado Coach Scott Reed said. "He's very strong. He's not a 4.4 guy, but he sees things very well. He's patient."

The Wildcats host Texarkana (0-5, 0-2) today. Reed noted that Texarkana has had to play three Texas schools -- Texarkana, Texas, Liberty-Eylau and Marshall -- in its nonconference schedule as well as facing defending Class 6A state champion Pine Bluff in its 6A-South opener, so he isn't expecting the Wildcats to overlook a winless Razorbacks team in part because of its early schedule.

"They'll be the fastest team we've played," Reed said. "We've played Camden [Fairview] and Magnolia and they're both fast. They scare you. If they get into space, we're not going to catch them.

"They came over and got us two years ago. They have our attention."

SEARCY

Rebounding Lions

Searcy started 3-0 in nonconference play, but lost its 7A/6A-East Conference opener, 24-16, at Little Rock Central on Sept. 25.

The Lions were on the verge of starting 0-2 in the 7A/6A-East, but senior quarterback Andrew Neaville engineered a game-winning drive that resulted in his 1-yard touchdown run to help beat West Memphis 28-27 last Friday. Neaville finished 20 of 38 for 254 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

Coach Mark Kelley said the West Memphis victory got his team back on track as it prepares to travel to Marion today.

"We were confident going into Central, but they pushed us around," Kelley said. "[The West Memphis game] showed we can overcome a loss. It's essential to building a program. Beating the teams we have, then coming back after a loss and beating a good West Memphis program, it shows we can beat anybody."

Marion is the first Class 6A team Searcy has played in conference play. The Class 6A playoffs will take the top three 6A representatives from the 7A/6A-East, so today's game is important for playoff seeding, Kelley said.

"It's by far the biggest game we've played so far," Kelley said. "It's the only one that can lead to us getting home field in the playoffs so far. It's very essential for us. We've been stressing that to our players this week."

EXTRA POINTS

Fayetteville Coach Daryl Patton will be the head coach for the U.S. Under 18 Select football team in the International Bowl on Feb. 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Bryant Coach Paul Calley will be an assistant on the team. ... Conway will play Springdale, Jonesboro and Bentonville in nonconference play in 2016 and 2017, Coach Clint Ashcraft said. ... Searcy Coach Mark Kelley said the Lions will play Valley View, Batesville and Morrilton in 2016 and 2017 in nonconference play. ... Cabot highlights El Dorado's nonconference schedule for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. El Dorado Coach Scott Reed said the Wildcats also will play Camden Fairview and Magnolia. ... Pine Bluff started 6A-South play with two consecutive shutouts. The Zebras beat Texarkana 40-0 and Little Rock Parkview 42-0. They've allowed 37 points this season, for an average of 7.4 points per game.

Sports on 10/09/2015

Upcoming Events