COACH OF THE YEAR
SCOTT HYATT
SCHOOL Booneville
THE SCOOP Won his second state championship as a coach at Booneville, leading the Bearcats to a 15-0 record and the Class 3A state title in a 35-0 win against Osceola. ... Also won a state championship in 2013. ... Won the state title this season despite losing his starting quarterback, Brandon Ulmer, in the opening game of the season. ... In the championship game, the Bearcats rolled up 391 yards and not a single yard in the air. ... Booneville was the only undefeated team in the state this season. ... Only twice in 15 games were the Bearcats really tested, a 28-26 win against Pottsville in Week 3, and a 34-31 win against Prescott in the semifinals. They posted five shutouts and allowed fewer than 10 points in three other games. ... In the championship game, the Bearcats had scoring drives of 98 and 91 yards.
DID YOU KNOW? Hyatt was an assistant coach at Booneville twice, sandwiched around a two-year head coaching stint at McGehee. Hyatt coached under Ken Rippy and was named the head coach when Rippy retired following the 2006 season. Hyatt was the offensive coordinator when he left for McGehee and came back to Booneville as the defensive coordinator. He is 115-33 as the head coach at Booneville in 12 seasons.
QUOTABLE "It's extremely difficult to go through a season without a loss. I've been coaching for 30 years, and it's only happened twice. A lot of guys never get that opportunity. I feel very blessed. I've had good coaches and good kids. I'm a figurehead now; I let those younger coaches coach.
"I don't know what college coach said it, but some coach said a good head coach hires good assistants and leaves them alone."
-- Chip Souza • @NWAChip
Sports on 12/30/2018