Har-Ber establishes itself quickly
Posted on Sunday, November 23, 2008
It’s common in football for members of the winning team to linger on the field after a game and meet with their friends and family. I didn’t see any of that in the bitter cold Friday after Fort Smith Southside defeated Little Rock Catholic 28-17 at Southside Stadium to advance to the Class 7 A semifinals. The Rebels bolted past us all and into the warmth of their indoor facility. The only injury I received was brain freeze, which I will attempt to alleviate today by propping my head up against the pot-bellied stove at my grandmother’s house. In the meantime, here are some thoughts following the second round of the high school playoffs.
HAIL HAR-BER Regardless of the team you support, you have to be impressed with what Springdale Har-Ber has accomplished in three years of varsity football. Har-Ber won 21-17 at Cabot on Friday to move within one victory of advancing to the state championship game for a second consecutive year. Not many teams win at Cabot, and the Wildcats did it with a late score and a defensive stand. Har-Ber (10-2 ) will face Fort Smith Southside (9-2 ) this week with a trip to War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on the line. I remember standing in the mud at Cabot in 2000 when an overtime loss by Springdale in the semifinals ended the 36-year coaching career of Jarrell Williams. He retired with four state championships, and the Bulldogs added a fifth state title under Gus Malzahn in 2005. Har-Ber’s coaches will be the first to tell you much of their success stems from the foundation that Williams laid when he arrived at Springdale in the 1960 s.
QUICK EXITS Coaches like to say everyone starts 0-0 again in postseason but, predictably, teams with losing records didn’t last long in this year’s playoffs. Only one of the 17 teams that began the playoffs with a losing record is still alive. Watson Chapel has won two games after finishing 4-5-1 during the regular season. Losing teams went 4-13 in the first round, but Marvell pulled off one of the biggest surprises with a 20-13 victory over Union Christian in Fort Smith. The defeat left Union Christian with a 6-5 record, and Marvell lost its second-round game Friday night to finish 3-8 on the season. The fact that 17 teams with losing records qualified for postseason play shows how bloated the playoff system in Arkansas has become.
TOUGH LEAGUE No one should be surprised that three of the four teams left in the Class 7 A playoffs are from the 7 A-West, and Russellville is a former league member. But take a look at Class 3 A, where half of the remaining eight teams are from the 1-3 A Conference. Charleston is the league heavyweight, and the Tigers improved to 11-0 with a 42-19 victory over Magnet Cove on Friday. Surprising Mansfield beat Atkins 42-32, Lavaca outscored Earle 49-32 and Cedarville topped Perryville 15-9 to advance to third-round play. Cedarville and Lavaca will play Friday in a rematch from Oct. 3, when the Golden Arrows beat the Pirates 21-12. I have a friend who rarely fails to use the word “rugged” when discussing teams from the 7 A-West. Maybe he should do the same with teams from the 1-3 A Conference.
VARSITY BLUES Seven schools started varsity football programs in 2008, including Rogers Heritage, which split with Rogers High. Riverview made the playoffs with a 5-5 record and Conway Christian made it with a 4-6 record before losing in the first round. Rogers Heritage started 3-0, then lost seven consecutive games in 7 A-West play with a team comprised of juniors and sophomores. The other first-year teams and their records were Manila (1-9 ), Quitman (1-9 ), Cedar Ridge (0-9 ) and Drew Central (2-8 ).
E-mail Rick Fires at: rfires@arkansasonline. com
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