Rogers Heritage finished off the first week of practice with some work under the lights in Gates Stadium, just not in the evening.
Instead, the War Eagles got started Thursday and Friday before the sun came up in order to beat the heat.
Heritage coach Tony Travis acknowledged there's a different energy when the lights are on. But his team also made progress throughout the week.
"There's a little different excitement when you turn the lights on," Travis said. "Monday we were rusty. That's the best way to put it, but Tuesday was a lot better. A lot better execution. Then we got the shoulder pads on Wednesday and even though the temperature got up there between 8 and 10 a.m., I thought we handled it well.
Travis said junior Jacob Jones, who was fighting for playing time on the offensive line, will have surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
"Jacob tore his ACL this summer, but the good news is he's a junior will have a shot as a senior," Travis said.
Travis noted both offense and defense did good things at times.
"Tae Dixon is a very good cover corner," Travis said. "Our defense has been pretty aggressive, flying around to the football. Offensively, Jerry Pollock and Chrstian Combs, a couple offensive linemen, had moments. Now we need to start stringing those momemts together. More consistency will be key for us."
-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER
Wildcats show good energy following break
Springdale Har-Bar took the practice field Thursday morning for the first time last week, but coach Chris Wood says the energy level was where it should have been after being away for six days.
"They've been excited. Anytime you can give them a break before they start is a good thing," Wood said. "There's good energy, they're ready for the season and ready to open it up toward the end of the month."
The Wildcats worked on onside kicks in Thursday's session. It's something Wood says he likes to have in his back pocket, espeically in the 7A-West when a game can be decided by the kicking game.
But in a larger sense, the team is paying close attention to the small things early on.
"I think the big thing is to work down to the details of every play -- alignments, responsibilities -- and continue to try to get kids work and create depth within the team itself," Wood said. "But the biggest thing is really the small things and working on the smallest details."
Wood says he feels confident in his offensive line and play in the secondary defensively. He also has five "uniquely different" guys vying for the quarterback spot, including senior Aaron Henington, who saw time in seven games last season.
"It's all about skillsets, so you look at it as who can best orchestrate our offense and use their skillset to better help the team," Wood said. "We'll have (a starter) ready to go week 1, no doubt. The kids have worked hard for us."
-- Scottie Bordelon • @NWAScottie
SILOAM SPRINGS
Siloam Springs' defensive line wreaked havoc on opposing offenses the first two weeks of the 2015 season.
The Panthers recorded 16 sacks -- including 12 by defensive linemen -- in nonconference wins against Rogers (18-6) and Harrison (16-0), winning the battle on the line of scrimmage in dominating fashion.
Injuries, though, wrecked the defensive line's momentum as one-by-one key players went down.
Siloam Springs defensive line coach Jeff Bowerman got pretty good over the course of the season at improvising on the defensive line, and he's hoping that experience gained last season by newer players will help the Panthers in 2016.
Case in point is 2016 senior Caleb Miller, who at 6-foot-1, 187 pounds is undersized for a defensive tackle.
"Miller, last year, I saw him as a JV (junior varsity) guy, and that was kind of the plan," Bowerman said."He came in and he was a steady hand for us last year."
Miller is one of eight varsity defensive linemen getting the majority of the reps in preseason practices for the Panthers.
James Boyd, who is 6-foot-4 and 211 pounds, already has been offered a scholarship by Missouri Southern State in Joplin, and Bowerman believes more offers will be coming.
Boyd is still rehabbing his knee from last year's injury. Bowerman said he's "close" to being back at 100 percent.
"He's a dude," Bowerman said. "He can play at the next level."
Miller and Boyd are expected to man the two outside defensive tackle positions in the Panthers' front -- which can be a three-man or four-man look -- with Miller on the right side and Boyd on the left.
Sophomore Corbin Collins (6-2, 241) and junior Isaac Knudsen (6-1, 232) are the primary backups at the defensive tackle spots.
At the inside nose guard positions -- or two-technique -- are junior Kameron Greenlee (5-9, 260), who transferred from Colcord, Okla., last season but was ineligible to play, and senior Zach Ramsey. Sophomore Matthew Avery (5-10, 225) and senior Tristen Sullins (5-11, 224) are also working at the inside positions.
-- Graham Thomas • @NWAGraham
FARMINGTON
QB battle continues
Brice Waggle has graduated out of the Farmington football program, and one week into fall football practice the competition to replace the two-time 5A West All-Conference quarterback continues.
Waggle passed for more than 3,100 yards and 33 touchdowns over the past two seasons. The Cardinals now have two options to replace him. Senior Jake Oskey (5-10, 160), who recorded 45 tackles and two sacks on defense last season, is in a head-to-head battle for the starting position with junior Trey Waggle (6-0, 165).
"They both have attributes," Farmington coach Mike Adams said. "Jake's a better runner and Trey's a better thrower. It will probably come down to the guy who does the best stuff and makes the fewest mistakes."
The Cardinals must also replace all-state running back Justice Hobbs, but that is one area one offense Adams considers a strength this preseason with as many as five players -- including junior tailback Caleb Williams (5-10, 175) and senior fullback Blake Putnam (5-7, 160) -- providing the talent and depth.
"We feel real good about our tailback spot," Adams said. "We've got a lot of guys there we think can contribute."
Tanner Barnes (6-1, 220), a senior tackle, is the lone starter back on the offensive line. The big question mark for the Cardinals offensively -- even more than finding a replacement for Brice Waggle -- is putting together the pieces on the offensive front.
"We lost four starters on the offensive line," Adams said. "So that's the concern."
-- Vernon Tarver • @NWAVernon
Bentonville High
Tigers seek leaders
Bentonville High's main agenda through the first week of preseason practices is the search for a few players to step up and take charge.
"Truthfully, the area we are addressing this week is leadership," Tigers coach Jody Grant said. "We feel that is as important as anything, and to teach these kids to understand the value of a team that has great leadership, especially senior leadership, can go a real long way.
"There are some little things -- just the details of fundamentals -- that you talk about, but once you can get out here with helmets and do some things, you can perfect those."
Bentonville has spent much of the first week of practice in sort of a review mode. The Tigers used the spring workouts to install some new offensive and defensive packages because of their personnel.
Grant has been pleased with the results, as well as the daily progress the players have made.
"What we asked from our kids is to get better every day," he said. "Day one, we thought we had a good day. Day two, we got better, and day three the same thing. Our goal is not to have any setbacks and keep pressing.
"We have some packages that are new, and we're refreshing their memories. It's something we are excited about because we're utilizing some players that have exceptional skills and getting all these players on the field at the same time."
Linebacker Destyn Adkins, who had surgery in the spring and was recently cleared for workouts, has caught Grant's attention. Others that earned praise on defensive include Joe Britton at linebacker and Jadyn Loudermilk at cornerback.
Canaan Ross has emerged as the likely starter at quarterback, and Grant said he is performing well and operating the offense with a lot of confidence."
-- Henry Apple • @NWAHenry
Sports on 08/07/2016