VIDEO: PREP FOOTBALL REPORT: Double-O steals the show in Alma

ALMA

Double-O steals the show

Olaf Olsson had never played American football until a month ago. A few short weeks later and he's the big man on campus this week at Alma.

Olsson, an exchange student from Sweden, kicked a 38-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in the game to give the Airedales a 29-28 win against Morrilton on Friday. The kick was significant for a number of reasons. It lifted Alma (1-5, 1-2 5A-West) to its first win of the season, and it was Olsson's first field-goal attempt -- ever.

"Olaf got here probably the first or second week of school," Alma coach Doug Loughridge said. "The only thing he'd ever played is soccer. When he came out, we had to teach him how to put a helmet on, how to put pads on and all those things. We tried to explain to him that we're trying to kick this ball from this tee through those uprights. We had to explain what uprights were."

An injury to Alma's regular kicker thrust Olsson onto the field Friday night with the Airedales trailing Morrilton 28-26. Earlier in the game, Olsson had missed an extra-point kick, and Loughridge had another player handle the kicking after that. But with the game on the line, Loughridge had no choice but to tap Olsson on the shoulder.

"We knew we had to go with him because of how strong his leg is," Loughridge said. "It was really just a shot in the dark, and he ended up drilling it."

Loughridge said he turned his back to the field so he would not see Olsson's kick. But the other coaches on the sideline told Loughridge, "yeah, we're watching it."

When the ball sailed end-over-end through the uprights, the Alma sideline exploded, Loughridge said.

"I still don't think he knows what he did," Loughridge said. "(Morrilton) called a time-out to ice him, and he came over to the sideline and said, 'Why won't they let me kick?' He had no clue."

After a brutal nonconference schedule and two tough conference losses, the Airedales are hopeful their clutch play from an unknown commodity might be the kick the team needs to go on a run to the playoffs.

Alma travels to Clarksville this week.

-- Chip Souza • @NWAChip

SHILOH CHRISTIAN

Large senior class spurs Saints to perfect mark

Shiloh Christian has a little over 60 players in its football program, and 24 of those are seniors representing the largest 12th-grade class since 2001, Saints coach Jeff Conaway said.

"This senior class, they are good boys, hard workers," said Conaway. "They play football the way it's supposed to be played."

The Saints (6-0, 3-0 4A-1) have mashed every opponent so far this season. The latest victim was Prairie Grove last Friday in a 56-7 blowout.

Eli Reece, a three-year starter at quarterback, and Truett Tollett, one of the top receivers in the state, have gotten a lot of the notoriety, but Conaway said the team has benefited from a variety of players who waited patiently for their turn under the Friday night lights.

"It's been fun to watch them grow and mature and bond together as brothers," Conaway said. "There are a few of these that we did not know if they would be good high school football players. They stuck with it and trained hard, got their bodies in good, physical shape and built some muscle. We've got guys out there right now playing at a high level that two years ago, we weren't sure they were ever going to be a football player.

"We live in a society where you want it and you want it right now, and sometimes a sophomore has to wait in line. Work hard as a sophomore and junior, and by the time they are seniors they are ready to play. Sometimes kids today don't want to wait that long. They quit."

The Saints are on the road at Gentry on Friday.

-- Chip Souza • @nwachip

MOUNTAINBURG

Dragons back on the right path

Mountainburg's season got off-track early when starting quarterback Ethan Gregory suffered a knee injury, but the Dragons have finally found their groove with a different type of player taking snaps.

Gregory was injured in the first quarter of the zero week game against Lavaca, but one doctor cleared him to play the next week against Cedarville, Mountainburg coach Tom Harrell said.

"It didn't take us long to figure out everything wasn't good," Harrell said. "Early in the Cedarville game, it was apparent something was really wrong."

Malachi West, a 6-foot-3, 236-pound senior, stepped into the position and the bruising runner has rolled up 764 yards and nine touchdowns in just five games.

Mountainburg coach Tom Harrell said the offense, the spin series from the single-wing, had to be fine-tuned to fit West, who is far different from the fleet-footed Gregory.

"Our offense is pretty complicated with all the shifting and everything," Harrell said. "And everything had to be revamped to fit Malachi at quarterback instead of Ethan."

The verdict came down the next week that he was out for the season. Despite the fact the Dragons (4-2, 2-0 2A-4) lost 47-14 to Greenland, Harrell was encouraged about his team's performance.

"We moved the ball against them, and they are a good team," Harrell said. "It was more us stopping ourselves, and that gave us confidence. It was 21-14 at one time, and we were right there for three quarters.

"It took us a week or two to get it going, but I think we're back on track now."

Mountainburg has won back-to-back 2A-4 Conference games and rolled up a combined 86 points in the process.

Senior Dylan Coughran has rushed for 353 yards on just 37 carries and has learned how to follow his blocks, Harrell said.

"You can be fast, but he seems to know how to use blocks and when to cut," Harrell said. "The last two weeks he's really come on."

Mountainburg hosts Hackett on Oct. 25 in its next game.

-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB

MAGAZINE

O-line key to Rattlers' success

Magazine is off to a 4-1 start, which includes a 48-19 win over preseason conference favorite Hector last week.

But that's no real surprise to Rattlers coach Doug Powell.

"We're kinda sitting close to where I hoped we would be," Powell said. "We have a lot of good players back, a lot more speed and a lot more skill than last year. But we've got more lineman and in better shape. That's the biggest difference right now.

"We lost some good kids, but we've added hundreds of pounds on the line. Those other guys gave all they had, but they're 165. Now we've got guys who are 250. And we're reaping the benefits of that line play."

All-conference fullback Caleb Hyatt leads a group of quality backs. Junior Tatum Scott brings speed and athleticism to the quarterback position.

"Caleb is good about getting those extra yards," Powell said. "He fights and gets those consistently. Friday at Hector, they weren't going to let him do much, and he still had 60-something yards on 15 carries. But that opened everybody else up."

Senior Bryce McDowell (6-0, 280), a three-year starter, anchors the offensive line. He moved from center to tackle this season. Junior William King (6-0, 225) is the only other returning starter on the line, and he moved from tackle to guard this year.

Magazine's lone loss to this point was 33-32 to Cutter Morning Star, but the Rattlers turned the ball over late in their territory.

Powell, who is in his 15th season at Magazine, has battled low numbers like many other schools around the state. He decided this year to not play a junior high schedule and move up seven freshmen to the high school team, which gives him 33 on the roster.

"We're playing some JV and getting them some work that way," Powell said. "They're also getting work on special teams. I think those things are helping us right now and hopefully set us up for next year for some of those guys to contribute."

-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB

BENTONVILLE WEST

Wolverines have morning practices

West coach Bryan Pratt admits he is a "morning guy," so he has taken advantage of school not being in session by having his team practice in the mornings the last two days.

"I've always done this," Pratt said. "It gives the kids the evenings off, and they don't get very many of those during the summer. It's also for my coaches. It gives them a little time in the afternoon to spend with their families and do some things they normally can't do because of football practice always being in the afternoon.

"It's good for us to come in here and practice and get it over with, and the kids are excited about having the whole afternoon off to enjoy."

While the practice times might have been different, Pratt said the Wolverines' approach has remained the same as they prepare for Friday's key 7A-West Conference showdown against Springdale Har-Ber. The outcome of Friday's game could leave West (4-2, 3-0) anywhere between sole possession of first place in the league standings to a four-way tie for the top spot with three games remaining.

"It was no different Tuesday than what a normal day of practice was," Pratt said. "Our kids are focused and know the task at hand.

"I think the farther the season goes on, they know the importance of conference play, and we've told them that every game gets bigger if you keep winning. We still control our destiny."

West returns to an afternoon practice today as school resumes following its fall break, then the Wolverines play at home Friday against Har-Ber.

-- Henry Apple • @NWAHenry

BENTONVILLE HIGH

Tigers make their way to Harmon Field

Bentonville coach Jody Grant brought up an interesting fact Wednesday when he was asked about his team's game Friday night at Fayetteville -- nobody on the Tigers' roster has played a varsity game at Harmon Field.

The two teams played at Tiger Stadium two years ago, and Ryley Martin recovered a Darius Bowers fumble with 12 seconds to preserve Bentonville's 32-27 victory to open league play. The 7A-West Conference had its scheduling format changed before last year's game, and the two teams played again in Bentonville in a game the Tigers won 24-20 after Harrison Campbell's 56-yard touchdown reception with 47 seconds remaining.

"This group of seniors hadn't played there," Grant said. "Now we're going down to their place, so it will be interesting."

Bentonville (6-0, 3-0) has won the last 13 regular-season meetings against Fayetteville, although the Tigers' last three wins have been for a combined 12 points. The Tigers will need to keep that streak alive if they want to retain at least a share of the league lead, which also depends on the outcome of the Bentonville West-Springdale Har-Ber game.

Of the four teams in the upper half of the conference standings, Bentonville will play the other three teams on the road this season.

"It worked in our favor last year when we had all three of them at home," Grant said. "So it's good on the even years and not so good on the odd years.

"It's important to our kids to win the conference. We always know if that if we're going to win the conference, we have to beat Fayetteville to do it. So this is a big matchup this week against a quality opponent, so we're looking forward to it."

-- Henry Apple • @NWAHenry

MANSFIELD

Howard's heroics saves Mansfield

Layton Howard made the biggest play of the year for Mansfield when he returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown to secure a 28-24 victory for Mansfield over Charleston.

Charleston attempted a throwback pass to quarterback Brayden Ross with under a minute to play, but Howard was not fooled and made the interception that changed the game.

"(Howard) knew something was haywire on that play," Mansfield coach Tim Cothran said. "He sniffed it out, hit the sideline and just flew."

Howard also had a 75-yard kickoff return for the Tigers, who improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in 3A-1 Conference play. Howard's heroics avoided a second consecutive defeat for Mansfield, which lost 21-18 the previous week to Greenland.

"If we lose this game, we're 1-2 in conference with four tough games ahead," Cothran said. "We caught a break and came away with a huge win."

Mansfield now turns its attention to Friday's home game with Booneville, the defending state champions in Class 3A. The Bearcats (4-2, 3-0) rolled up 425 yards in total offense last week in a 41-6 victory over Greenland.

"We have to play our best football at a high level," Cothran said. "Bottom line, our players have to believe in themselves and what they're capable of doing."

-- Rick Fires • @NWARick

FAYETTEVILLE

Bulldogs gain momentum

Fayetteville will carry a modest two-game winning streak into Friday's 7A-West Conference showdown with undefeated Bentonville at Harmon Field.

The Bulldogs followed a 47-7 victory over Rogers with a 46-6 win at Van Buren, where Casey Dick coached last season before taking the Fayetteville job. Senior quarterback Hank Gibbs fired six touchdown passes for Fayetteville (3-3, 2-1), which scored on seven consecutive possessions in the first half. The Bulldogs' defense did its part by holding Van Buren to two field goals in the game.

"(Gibbs) was more consistent, and that's something we've been preaching to him," Dick said. "He was relaxed and poised. Defensively, we forced some turnovers and played our most complete game."

Fayetteville will have to play at a high level again against Bentonville (6-0, 3-0), which overwhelmed Rogers Heritage 56-7 last week. The Tigers are ranked No. 3 in the state with a team that excels on offense, defense and special teams.

Bentonville beat Fayetteville 24-20 last year while winning its third consecutive 7A-West Conference championship.

"Any time you play Bentonville, you know you're going to have to play a complete game in all three phases," Dick said. "We're looking forward to a great game."

-- Rick Fires • @NWARick

Sports on 10/17/2019