Alma's Conner Stacy played with a purpose on Friday night.
Stacy set a pair of school records in the Airedales' 28-27 win over Rogers Heritage with 16 receptions for 220 yards.
"That game was for my dad," Stacy said. "Everything I did was for him."
Stacy's dad, Curtis, had emergency surgery the night before Alma's game and watched the livestream from the hospital.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, he had a magnetic resonance imaging scheduled due to headaches he had been experiencing. The MRI showed a brain tumor, which led to the quickened surgery.
"He had major surgery the night before, and it's the first game that I haven't seen him in the stands," Stacy said. "He's my biggest supporter. I dedicated that game to him."
Stacy missed practice on Thursday, only at the insistence of Alma coach Rusty Bush, but was ready to go for the game on Friday.
"Coach Bush wouldn't let me come to practice," Stacy said.
Also, prior to the game at the pre-game meal, the Alma Police Department gave dark blue ribbon decals to the team -- a universal symbol of colon and colorectal cancer awareness -- to wear on their helmets. The training staff made blue ribbons for the coaches, and students painted blue ribbons on their faces. Curtis Stacy was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in April, 2018, and underwent surgery at that time.
"That's why they found the brain tumor," Conner Stacy said. "That's what the brain tumor was from."
Stacy honored his dad in grand fashion on Friday. He caught eight passes for 107 yards in the first half, and eight more in the second half for 113 yards. He caught the decisive touchdown 10 seconds into the fourth quarter and Devin Ramos added the important extra point to set the final score.
"It was a one-step slant," Stacy said. "They like to come out in man on second down, and it was a man-beater. My guy was off of me, my inside guy ran his guy off, and I was supposed to keep running across the field, but I saw the linebacker coming so I shut it down. When I turned, I knew my acceleration would beat the linebacker. Then, I saw holes everywhere. It was shear emotion running into the end zone."
Stacy also ran for a touchdown in the third quarter, and intercepted a pass while on defense at safety with 4:08 left.
"Conner can do a lot of things," Bush said. "He's extremely athletic. He's a very smart kid, and he's been in our system so it allows him to play in a quite a few places without a lot of teaching on our part because he picks up on stuff so well."
Stacy only realized the significance of his performance after the win.
"It was amazing afterwards," Stacy said. "In the moment, you're so caught up in it that you don't really realize it. Afterward, in the end, it was a rush of emotions."
Of his 16 receptions, 10 were for first downs.
"A 17-year-old kid to have the pressure of an everyday football, then the pressure of being a leader and our go-to guy, and then the pressure that his dad is in the hospital," Bush said. "He and his dad are close. He told us on Wednesday after his dad was admitted that he was about to go for over 200 yards. We kind of giggled, and then lo and behold he does."
Stacy's dad was released from the hospital earlier than expected and is recovering at home.
"He's probably the most stubborn man I know," Stacy said. "During times like that, it's probably good to be stubborn. He won't let something like that keep him down."
Alma opens 5A-West on Friday at Pea Ridge.
GREENWOOD OPENS EARLY
The Bulldogs open 6A-West play a day earlier than everybody else on Thursday in the Fearless Friday game of the week at War Memorial Stadium against Little Rock Parkview.
Parkview was undefeated in nonconference play with wins over Little Rock Southwest, White Hall and Pine Bluff.
"They are as athletic of a high school football team that I can remember seeing," Greenwood coach Chris Young said. "Parkview has six Division I kids that have been offered. They're loaded with talent."
Greenwood's junior quarterback, Hunter Houston, continues to recover from a leg injury suffered late in the game against Northside.
"He keeps getting better and continues to improve," Young said. "We had a bye week, and he's up and around so it's day by day to see how things go."
Slade Dean shared snaps with Houston during the summer and has worked as the backup. The sophomore would get the start on Thursday if Houston has not recovered.
"We're a little banged up as a football team," Young said. "The bye week gave us a chance to heal some guys up and get some others some playing time."
Sophomore Cole Kindle quarterbacked the junior varsity team on Monday and threw five touchdown passes in a 42-14 win over Southside.
"We feel good about our guys," Young said. "Hunter's our guy, but we feel good about everybody else that we have."
SHOOTING ARROWS
Lavaca will head into 3A-1 Conference play with confidence after posting its second-straight win on Friday.
The Golden Arrows racked up 321 yards in a 40-12 win over Johnson County Westside.
At 2-1, Lavaca is off to its best start since starting the 2015 season with wins over Union Christian Academy, Elkins and Waldron before losing to Lamar.
Friday, Dakota Hartsfield went over the century mark for the second straight game with 122 yards and scoring runs of 85 and 11 yards both in the second quarter that staked Lavaca to a 28-0 halftime lead.
Cazen Winters caught touchdown passes of 15 and 14 yards from Maddox Noel in the third quarter for a 40-0 lead.
Noel also had a touchdown toss to Cory Arredondo.
"We've been working the last couple of years on getting mentally tougher," Lavaca coach Mark Headley said. "The last couple of years, we've had some tough years. Every time something bad happens, I think we go back to that place. I think our guys are starting to figure it out and battle through it."
Lavaca will be tested immediately in conference play, hosting Cedarville in the opener.
CONTRASTS COLLIDE
Clarksville's deceptive running game got untracked on Friday in its 32-10 win over Pottsville to close out nonconference season.
Arthur Alvarez ran for 145 yards and a 57-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. Quarterback Bryce Buckner added scoring runs of 2, 1 and 3 yards for the Panthers' first win of the season.
Friday, Clarksville takes its running game on the road to play high-flying Vilonia. The Eagles are soaring behind the top quarterback in the conference in Austin Myers, a 6-4 senior. Myers completed 26 of 38 passes for 429 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-28 at Russellville on Friday.
The Panthers, though, have thrown the ball some this season. Friday, Buckner threw for 134 yards and a 27-yard touchdown pass to Noah Vergara for Clarksville's final touchdown.
POINTING
Van Buren opens conference play at home against Siloam Springs on Friday.
The game will feature two of the top quarterbacks in the 6A-West.
Van Buren's Bryce Perkins has played admirably in his three games as a Pointer despite just being a sophomore.
Siloam Springs, however, has the most experienced quarterback in the conference in senior Hunter Talley.
Talley's is off to a torrid start, passing for 779 yards and six touchdowns and rushing for 450 yards and 11 scores.
Van Buren was idle last week while Siloam Springs racked up 591 yards of offense in a 53-14 win over Pea Ridge. Talley ran 11 times for 246 yards and five touchdowns, and threw for 181 yards and two tallies. He was the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Week.
ON THE SOUTH SIDE
The Mavericks host Rogers on Friday to open 7A-West action.
Southside suffered losses to Northside, Greenwood and Russellville in nonconference play while Rogers is 2-0 after wins against Siloam Springs and Muskogee, Okla. Rogers had a game against Stilwell, Okla., cancelled.
The game will feature two of the top offensive players in the conference.
Southside quarterback David Sorg has already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark passing with 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Rogers leans on running back Josh Shepherd, who ran for 404 yards and six touchdowns in the opener against Siloam Springs. Noah Goodshield, a converted receiver, has been solid at quarterback. Two weeks ago against Muskogee, Goodshield threw five touchdown passes.
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