High hopes abound for teams

Alma picked to win; Harrison one to watch in 5A-West

Alma football coach Doug Loughridge said he was a little amazed that league coaches picked his Airedales to win the 5A-West in the annual Hooten’s Arkansas Football Preview magazine.

After all, they lost 27 seniors, including a 2,400-plus yard passer, a 1,000-plus yard rusher and five linemen with a combined 24 starts over two years, off last season’s team that finished tied for first in the final conference standings. They’ve been to the state quarterfinals two years in a row and reached the semifinals in 2013. But they haven’t played for a state championship since winning three in a row under former coach Frank Villines in the late 1990s.

“I think expectations are always high when you see the name Alma,” Loughridge said. “A lot of teams have a lot more coming back than we have, but because of the tradition of Alma football, there are a lot of expectations that goes along with it.”

Conversely, Harrison is a team that was picked to finished fourth in the same poll despite the number of key Goblins returning, including three allstaters. Third-year Harrison coach Joel Wells doubled his win total from four in Year 1 to eight wins in Year 2.

Morrilton and Greenbrier are the teams picked to finish second and third, respectively, in the same coaches’ poll. Morrilton lost to Wynne in the first round of the playoffs despite forfeiting four early wins due to using an ineligible player. Greenbrier tied Alma for the conference title with identical 6-1 league records, but Alma got the top seed by virtue of its 49-28 home win against the Panthers in Week 9.

“With the athletic ability Morrilton has, they’re always going to be around the top,” Loughridge said. “Greenbrier, with what they do, they’re always going to be up there, too. We saw them in 7-on-7 this summer, and they’re pretty good.

“But Harrison is a team that really worries me. We have to go there (to play on Oct. 20), and they have a lot of experience and a lot of talent in the junior and senior class.”

Wells believes that’s the case, too, and hopes the talent (14 returning starters) and a favorable schedule will help the Goblins race higher than last season’s third-place finish. In addition to hosting Alma, Harrison will play Morrilton and Greenbrier in FS Garrison Stadium this season, meaning the Goblins face all three teams picked to finish ahead of them on their home turf.

Because of the way scheduling and reclassification shook out, Harrison had to play both Alma and Greenbrier on the road for two consecutive seasons.

“We feel like we have a good football team but also know we play in a tough league,” Wells said. “We’re looking to be more competitive against those teams that are traditionally at the top of the league, and for the first time since I’ve been here, we feel like we can compete well with those teams physically and on both sides of the ball.

“And it will help that we finally get to play those teams at home.”

Another factor in Harrison’s favor is it’s the only team picked to finish in the top half of the league that returns a starting quarterback. Senior Noah Ditmanson (6-foot-4, 210 pounds), who also starred at linebacker a year ago, is coming off an all-state performance after racking up a combined 1,160 yards and 16 touchdowns passing and rushing.

“The teams picked ahead of us don’t return a QB, so that will definitely be a plus for us,” Wells said. “He’s really worked hard on improving his passing in the offseason and had a really good spring and summer throwing the ball. He brings a lot of leadership and confidence to our team, so he brings a lot to the table.

“We’re hoping we don’t have to play him as much on defense, but we’ll see how that goes.”

Ditmanson helped Harrison finish runner-up during a 7-on-7 passing tournament at Springfield (Mo.) Parkview this summer. The Goblins’ other two returning all-staters also were two-way players in linebacker/running back Mason Martin (5-11, 195) and receiver/cornerback Daniel McCormick (5-10, 155).

“We’re trying to be able to platoon more on offense and defense,” Wells said. “Defensively, we have a lot fewer two-way players than a year ago. That’s what got us in the end. When you have an injury to a two-way player, you have to replace two positions, so we’re hoping not to have as many as we’ve had to rely on in the past.”

Wells and Loughridge both believe Farmington will be better. The Cardinals are hoping eight returning starters on offense, including four linemen, can help them make the playoffs by cracking into the upper half of the conference standings by season’s end. Tailback Caleb Williams (5-9, 190) added muscle in the offseason and should be a force running behind a line that includes a couple of 300-pounders. The Cardinals also are one of the few 5A-West teams that return a true starter at quarterback with senior Trey Waggle (6-0, 170) back under center after throwing for 1,250 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior.

Other 5A-West teams coaches say should be improved are Maumelle and Clarksville, which Loughridge said would be better under second-year coach Khris Buckner.

Something that may have factored into coach’s picking Alma to win the league is Airedales senior quarterback Garrison Jensen (6-1, 215), who was an All-State linebacker a year ago. Though not a true returning starter at quarterback, Jensen saw plenty of spot work a year ago and even helped win a key game as a sophomore. He even gets the Airedales’ top target back in All-State receiver Brayden Johnson (6-4, 205), who hauled in 81 passes for 1,153 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2016.

“Garrison’s never been a guy who got all the snaps, but we feel like we’ve got a veteran there with all of the experience he has,” Loughridge said. “He was a package deal where we used him in short-yardage situations, and he actually led us in rushing touchdowns. And he took us down the field to beat Conway when he was a sophomore.

“Breaking in a QB is kind of an unknown for teams (in the 5A-West), but after a few games, it really won’t matter because they’ll be good and broke in by the time we play them anyway.”

Mike Capshaw can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWACappy.

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