No pressure: Wildcats aren't sweating expectations

SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber Coach Chris Wood has answered one question plenty this preseason.

Do you feel any pressure this season? His answer is simple: There is no pressure on us.

"We're in a football town, and the expectation is to be successful," said Wood, entering his 12th season at Har-Ber. "People expect good football. If you're going to play football in our city, you've got that expectation anyway, and we want to try to honor that and honor the history and tradition of Springdale, Arkansas."

Star senior defensive lineman Alejandro Ramirez (6-3, 280 pounds) agrees with his coach.

"[Someone] said pressure is something you feel when you don't know what you're doing," Ramirez tweeted Aug. 14. "No one at Har-Ber is phased by this 'pressure.' "

Har-Ber enters 2017 as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's No. 1 team in class 7A after an 8-3 season in which it earned at least a share of a second consecutive 7A-West championship.

Earning a three-peat in a league with the classification's perennial powers is a steppingstone toward the team's ultimate goal of not only reaching Little Rock but bringing the school its second state championship.

"The lessons you learn every year, it goes back to trying to improve each and every week and every day, gelling and being able to handle adversity," Wood said. "I think that's the biggest thing that defines this team is how we handle adverse situations -- when we really get in the heat of battle and emotional moments."

The Wildcats' offense is headlined by playmakers Payton Copher -- an Air Force commitment -- and running back Logan Collins. Copher rushed for 12 scores and threw for 10 more as Har-Ber's primary quarterback in 2016 while Collins added 610 yards, including two 180-plus yard efforts, and 5 touchdowns on the ground.

This fall, junior Grant Allen takes over at quarterback, allowing Copher to slide to his more natural running back position. Allen threw for at least 100 yards three times and completed 69 percent of his passes in six games as a sophomore.

Wood watched Allen grow up playing youth basketball and baseball, and he knows he has a competitor running his offense.

"He wants to do well," Wood said. "He really absorbs information and I like his demeanor. He wants so bad to do well for the guys around him, and when you've got that servant leadership you've always got a chance at that position."

Defensively, Har-Ber is expected to be fast and physical. Despite losing all-state linebacker Oliver Nasilai this summer, four all-state performers return, beginning up front with Ramirez. Blaze Brothers, Brock Pounders and Tevin Eckwood, who combined for 18 pass breakups and seven interceptions last fall, anchor the secondary with speed and strong ball skills.

Wood is appreciative of the preseason accolades and says they are a representation of his players and assistant coaches and the work they put in, but he knows there is work to be done.

"We're humbled by it, but we also know you want to have that number by your name at the end of the year," he said. "To do that, we've got to focus on the day-to-day task of being a better football team."

Har-Ber opens its season on the road Friday at Fort Smith Southside, the first of three out-of-league games. Jefferson City, Mo., and Oklahoma power Jenks await in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively, before the Wildcats begin 7A-West play.

Sports on 08/27/2017