Faulkner County Focus Sports

By Mark Rico
Sports Editor

Maumelle – It may possibly be another rebuilding year for Maumelle this season, but if everything goes according to plan, the Lady Hornets should be able to find themselves in a stronger position down the road.

The Lady Hornets lost six starters to graduation from a year ago, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that they can exceed expectations and be successful this season.

“When Covid-19 halted practice it was tough.” Maumelle second year head coach James Pearson said. “Workouts for my players were going great but after March 16 I utilized google meet to interact with the players at least two times a week. I might have given them a reading assignment and ask for a reply or just meet for a few minutes just so I could see their faces and ask if everyone was okay. The main reason was to keep them connected.”

Maumelle returns a junior laden squad that features dual All-State/All-Conference selection outside hitter Taylor Ammons from a competitive team under Pearson.

Along with Ammons, the Lady Hornets will have a slew of experience returning to the court in fellow juniors middle blocker Nicole Barr, defensive specialist Jana Bracken, right side hitter Lillian Hill, libero Jaden Newman, middle blocker Taryn Smith and outside hitter Miriam Strecker.

“Our last season did not go as planned, it was my first year as head coach and the girls took a long time buying into my philosophy.” Pearson said. “We started 1-5 and then I guess the light bulb went off with many of them because they finished 3-1 and earned a berth in the 5A State Tournament. I expect this team to be a lot better this season because they know what I expect and they have really put in the work.”

Although the Lady Hornets will certainly have a tough conference schedule to navigate, there is plenty of talent that could blossom over the season.

Sophomores Alyssa Diaz, Trista Dillard. Shiann Dollarhide. Haylie England, Gabriel Robinson and AiYanna Tombs will all gain another year of battle scars in Pearson’s system and will also be counted on heavily to contribute.

The rest of the team will be underclassmen who will have to gain experience quickly in order for the Lady Eagles to be competitive.

“We have experience returning as there are six juniors who contributed last year and three sophomores who all played at the end of last year.” said Pearson.

While old conference foes White Hall, Pine Bluff and Watson Chapel have exited the league, they have been replaced by three volleyball powerhouses in Little Rock Christian Academy, Benton (2019 5-A state runner-up) and Beebe.

“The conference is a beast because Benton is the state-runne rup and LRCA and Beebe are no slouches.” Pearson said. “It will be a tough year.”

Although they will be young, nearly every one saw plenty of varsity action last season for the Lady Hornets and that experience should pay off.

The 6A Central Conference is loaded with heavy hitters including defending conference champion Sylvan Hills, in addition to Jacksonville, Little Rock Parkview and Little Rock Hall.

“The entire conference will be exciting this season.” said Pearson. “If we play like I know we can we will have a winning record.”

Maumelle (2-0) will open conference play at unbeaten Little Rock Christian Academy on Tuesday night.

STAFF REPORTS

GARZA EARNS AMC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS IN VOLLEYBALL

St. Louis, Mo. – The American Midwest Conference announced their first player of the week awards for volleyball earlier today. Alizea Garza was recognized for her performance this week, earning AMC defensive player of the week honors.

Garza helped the Mustangs go 1-2 on the weekend at the Evangel Classic in Springfield, Mo. At the tournament, Garza was all over the floor, making 39 digs and also notching a pair of service aces. Garza and the Mustangs will be back on the floor at Reddin Fieldhouse this week and on the road this weekend.

MONTOYA, DUBE SWEEP AMC MEN’S SOCCER ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

St. Louis, Mo. – The American Midwest Conference released their first fall athlete of the week awards for men’s soccer today and a pair of Central Baptist College Mustangs were recognized. Andrew Montoya was selected as the defensive player of the week and Nyasha Dube was named offensive player of the week.

Montoya tallied 10 saves in a 1-1 week for the Mustangs. He made five stops in both matches this week, including a pivotal stop in the 81^st minute against Evangel on Saturday that kept the score tied and setup the winning goal. Dube scored both goals in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Evangel. His late goal proved to be the game winner for the Mustangs to give them win number one and give Dube six goals in his career as a Mustang.

STAFF REPORTS

Conway – The University of Central Arkansas men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2020 campaign at Beaverfork Lake Park for the 2020 UCA XC Challenge on Saturday.

The men were led by Alex Hanson with a second-place finish, while Casey Gore placed fifth to lead the women.

The men won the race with a team score of 27, followed by Arkansas State (42), Little Rock (63), and Philander Smith (105).

On the women’s side, Arkansas State won with a group effort of 19, followed by UCA (37), Little Rock (80), and Philander Smith (120).

Hanson recorded a career-best time of 15:30.5 and placed second. Max Nores produced a personal-best effort of 15:33.3 and came in third. With the best time of his career, Simon Schneider finished sixth with a 15:57.0. Parker Jackson came in ninth with a career-best run of 16:12.4. Hunter Henderson finished just outside the top-10 in 11th with a personal-best mark of 16:15.0. TJ Robinson collected a career-best effort of 16:16.0 and finished in 12th. Thomas Cain produced a run of 16:18.5 and came in 13th. Jared Touart (16:30.9) and Jared Hamilton (16:34.9) came in 15th and 16th, respectively with the best marks in their careers. Brayden Ortiz placed 18th with a career-best run of 16:39.1. Tate Whaley finished right behind in 19th with a personal-best time of 16:39.7. Dagen Ward and Braeden Hindley placed 20th and 21st, respectively, as they both posted career-best marks of 16:40.2. With the best time of his career, Lenin Blanco came in 26th with a run of 17:13.9. Sam Fischer finished 28th with a personal-best effort of 17:26.6. James Kees added another career-best time for the Bears with his 30th-place mark of 17:27.9. Connor Mayfield placed 33rd with a personal-best effort of 18:36.4.

Gore led the women with a fifth-place finish with a career-best time of 19:03.1. Kennedy Timmerman produced a personal-best mark of 19:17.0 and came in eighth. Marie Møller Schmidt clocked a career-best time of 19:33.8 and came in 10th. Anna Jeffcoat posted an 11th-place run of 19:39.6 and set a career best in the process. Bekah Bostian notched a 13th-place mark of 19:46.4. Anna Bommes finished right behind in 14th with a personal-best effort of 19:49.2. With a run of 20:03.5, Emily Newberry placed 15th. Sarah Grace Meek produced a 22nd-place effort of 20:36.9. Sara Holman recorded a career-best mark of 21:04.8 and came in 26th.

Central Arkansas returns to competition for the OSU Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Saturday, October 3.

Maumelle – It had all the trappings of a late season game atmosphere.

There was plenty of trash talking and highlight reel hits on defense on both sides.

Fans screamed instructions at players as if their lives hung in the balance and coaches were in mid-season form arguing after every play at officials.

An opportunistic Maumelle defense forced Vilonia senior quarterback Austin Meyers into four turnovers – three inceptions and a fumble – but it took Maurice Mosby’s late interception return for a touchdown with 14 seconds left to play for the Hornets to finally tuck away a game that they had dominated defensively for much of the night.

Maumelle’s eventual 21-8 win over the Eagles may have silenced their opponents from further lip service but their offensive performance certainly did little to satisfy their head coach.

“It matters to me that our defense stepped up big in some opportune moments but we have to execute better on offense in key situations.” Maumelle head coach Kirk Horton said. “Collectively we played very hard but still made too many mistakes – especially on offense – so we have a few things to clean up before we start conference play in a few weeks.”

The Hornets were turned away early in the contest after being penalized three times in their first possession, but finally broke through when Jonathan Reyes found Houston Motes for a 6-yard TD toss late in the opening quarter.

Maumelle (2-1) would find the end zone again in the second quarter as the Hornets cashed in Timothy Scarbrough’s interception as Reyes connected with Dashaire Ford-Burton on a 25-yard pass play and then backup quarterback Nico Davillier went the final ten yards on two carries to give his team a 14-0 advantage with a minute left in the first half.

Seth Kirk paced the Eagles with a game-high 153 yards on 25 carries and would score Vilonia’s only touchdown midway through the third stanza – scoring from a yard out to complete an impressive 12-play drive.

Vilonia (1-1) came up empty on their final two drives with Remone Stratton stuffing Meyers on a 4th and 5 from the Eagles with 2:35 remaining and then Mosby securing his second pick of the night to finally close out the Tigers.

“We are a team that is still trying to find itself offensively but give credit to them because they have some athletes over there.” Vilonia head coach Todd Langrell said. “But our guys plugged along and give themselves a chance at the end.”

Maumelle will have a week off before opening conference play against Little Rock Christian Academy on Sept. 25 while Vilonia will host Russellville on Friday night.

By Jennifer Golston

North Little Rock – After having had the unenviable task of succeeding a high school coaching legend at Guy-Perkins, former athletic director Damon Teas begins his second school year at a new campus with a much more important title.

Teas was named as the campus director of Premier High School two summers ago at the independently operated, publicly funded open-enrollment charter school located in North Little Rock.

The move came exactly a year after he took the reins from former head coaching legend John Hutchcraft at Guy-Perkins upon being a fixture at the school for ten years.

Hutchcraft retired following a 42-year Arkansas Hall of Fame career which included 11 state championships.

Premier High School will be one of the 38 Premier schools operated by Responsive Education Solutions of Texas. There are currently 36 campuses in Texas and two in Arkansas.

The schools are designed for students who prefer a smaller high school experience or need flexibility in scheduling to help accommodate work or family demands and wish to obtain a high school diploma.

“We are already half full and we have only had a week to show off the school.” Teas said. “It will be a way that a lot of these kids can get back on track.”

There are already enrollees from a few of the schools from around the Little Rock area and Teas is hoping the new campus can become a resource for students at traditional schools who have fallen behind their classmates and want to gain credits towards graduation.

During his years at Guy-Perkins, Teas took on numerous roles – head junior boys basketball coach, track – where his squad finished second in state one season – then assumed the role of head junior girls coach, boys senior head coach, athletic director, assistant principal and principal.

On the administrative side, Teas has taught eighth grade science and Arkansas history along with physical education and math at all levels.

Teas currently holds bachelor and master’s degrees from UCA and is a graduate of Mayflower High. He is also worked in both the McRae and Two Rivers school districts as well as the private Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock.

The lure of returning to an administration role was a big selling point for Teas, who admitted that it was tough to watch his Thunderbirds struggle through an uncharacteristically poor season in which his squad finished 9-23 after graduating nine seniors from its back-to-back championship teams.

“No matter what I did, Guy-Perkins will always be John Hutchraft’s program and that’s the way it should be.” said Teas. “I had a very good group of junior high kids that were successful so they have a bright future.”

Keane Guiden, who has been with the Guy school district for three years, is now serving dual roles as head coach of both the boys and girls program.

Guiden is a Guy-Perkins graduate, played under Hutchcraft and returned to his alma mater after a short head coaching stint at DeWitt High School.

Teas admitted that coaching at Guy-Perkins and winning a state title was his dream job at one point in his life, but is instead focused on making sure all of his students have successful lives long after the ball stops bouncing.

“Coach Hutchcraft was a mentor and taught me so many lessons.” Teas said. “And most of it had nothing to do with basketball. Of course, I wanted to leave after winning a third state title (at Guy) more than anything, but the relationships that I will form and the impact that I have with these kids are far more important to me.”

FRIDAY’S SCORES
Arkadelphia 35, Greenbrier 28
Ashdown 41, Hope 21
Atkins 42, Conway Christian 0
Benton 44, Little Rock Southwest 6
Bentonville 21, Rockhurst, Mo. 17
Bentonville West 35, Little Rock Central 13
Bigelow 40, Perryville 8
Cabot 41, El Dorado 23
Camden Fairview 42, Hamburg 6
Cedarville 52, Green Forest 20
Centerpoint 34, Harmony Grove 14
Central Arkansas Christian 32, Carlisle 16
Charleston 21, Pottsville 14
Choctaw, Okla. 28, Van Buren 10
Clarendon 54, McCrory 46
Conway 49, Jonesboro 28
Corning 40, Yellville-Summit 0
DeSoto 66, West Memphis Christian 8
DeWitt 46, Drew Central 6
Delta Streets, Miss. 50, Lee Academy 28
Des Arc 52, Barton 18
Dierks 42, Cutter-Morning Star 0
Elkins 62, Mansfield 6
Farmington 14, Springdale 7
Fordyce 62, Camden Harmony Grove 13
Fort Smith Southside 21, Russellville 17
Fountain Lake 35, Mayflower 7
Genoa Central 45, Lafayette County 12
Glen Rose 35, Magnet Cove 6
Greene County Tech 42, Harrisburg 7
Greenland 27, Danville 8
Greenwood 33, Har-Ber 0
Gurdon 33, Bearden 0
Hackett 12, Panama, Okla. 7
Harding Academy 45, Heber Springs 6
Hazen 42, Earle 8
Hermitage 42, Rose Bud 0
Highland 36, Piggott 34
Hot Springs 20, Mena 13, OT
Hoxie 54, Jonesboro Westside 29
Huntsville 35, Lincoln 14
Jessieville 27, Mount Ida 22
Junction City 30, Foreman 12
Lake Hamilton 37, Malvern 16
Little Rock Episcopal 64, Mountain Pine 52
Little Rock Parkview 41, White Hall 13
Lonoke 47, Beebe 21
Magnolia 52, Little Rock Christian 49
Manila 20, Marked Tree 18
Marvell Academy 40, Columbus Christian, Miss. 0
Maumelle 21, Vilonia 8
McGehee 42, Dumas 6
Melbourne 48, Cave City 12
Mountain Home 41, Nettleton 7
Mountain View 46, Hector 27
Murfreesboro 22, Horatio 0
Nashville 48, De Queen 6
Newport 41, Bauxite 22
North Little Rock 35, Fayetteville 17
Ozark 32, Clarksville 12
Paris 20, West Fork 7
Pocahontas 35, Paragould 8
Poteau, Okla. 47, Alma 10
Poyen 49, Bismarck 14
Prairie Grove 35, Pea Ridge 33
Prescott 51, Parkers Chapel 0
Pryor, Okla. 54, Gravette 26
Pulaski Academy 37, Ravenwood, Tenn. 29
Pulaski Mills 22, Little Rock Hall 14
Pulaski Robinson 39, Marion 7
Rector 34, Midland 6
Rison 49, England 6
Rivercrest 41, Valley View 24
Salem 46, Dover 0
Searcy 41, Batesville 25
Siloam Springs 34, Harrison 14
Stilwell, Okla. 32, Gentry 8
Strong 16, Lake Village Lakeside 14
Stuttgart 36, Warren 0
Sylvan Hills 48, Jacksonville 16
Trumann 27, Southside Batesville 0
Watson Chapel 38, Hot Springs Lakeside 21
Westside-Johnson County 50, Two Rivers 8
Wynne 20, Morrilton 19

by Jason Ybarra

Conway – It was certainly a great start to the 2020 I-40 Highway Governor’s Cup Series.

Central Arkansas scored at the 58:51 mark of the second half as Emma Hawkins took advantage of a generous bounce off the sidebar and booted the rebound past Little Rock’s freshman goalie Saskia Wagner for only goal of the match as the Bears blanked Little Rock on Thursday night at Bill Stephens Soccer Complex.

“It was unexpected, the ball fell to me and I just knocked it in,” Hawkins said about the goal.

“We always wanted to start off on a positive note. We wanted to make sure that we just played well.” UCA head coach Jeremy Bishop said.”Our preparation showed tonight and the win to go with it was huge.”

After a scoreless first half in which both teams had their chances to score, Little Rock’s Mari Young sparked the momentum early with the first shot on goal of the game early in the fourth minute.

Central Arkansas nearly broke the ice at the 26th mark when UCA’s when defender Gracie Hair rifled a shot towards the top left corner that was saved by Wagner.

Young picked up another attempt in the second half, as the sophomore dashed up the field and broke away from the UCA defenders but came up empty as she was turned away by UCA’s Reagan McCombs.

Young sent a first-time shot towards the top right corner but McCombs made an acrobatic diving save to push the ball behind for a corner kick and the score remained 1-0.

“We’re disappointed with the result but the most important thing is that we’re back doing what we love,” said Little Rock head coach Mark Foster. “We started the game really well, creating the first two chances in the game. The game evened out as it went on, and we came out in the second half a little flat, but I was delighted with how we reacted after being down. We knew this game would be hard.”

The Bears (1-0) host the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Sunday, while Little Rock travels to Missouri State Friday at 1:00 pm.

THURSDAY’S RESULTS
Varsity
St. Joseph’s defeated Abundant Life 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-13)
Kills: Olivia Williams 6
Aces: Savannah Mooney 4
Blocks: Williams 1
Digs: Amy Lambe, Presley Harmon, Mooney each with 1
Assists: Mooney 4
Records: St. Joseph’s (6-1, 2-0)

Cabot defeated Conway 3-2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-15, 25-20, 17-15)
Kills: Kennedi Wyrick, Madison Holloway both with 8
Aces: Darci Burris 4
Blocks: Madison Holloway 4
Digs: Karis Scott 12
Assists: Abby Masters 20
Records: Conway (3-2, 1-1)

By Jason Ybarra

Russellville – What started out as an assignment to keep them engaged amid the coronavirus pandemic landed a local team on the national women’s basketball radar.

A couple of members from the fifth grade girls River Valley Heat AAU basketball team captured the attention of current WNBA star Kelsey Plum – a former No. 1 pick in the draft in 2018 – when she was one of the WNBA athletes researched by members of the 10-player squad based out of Russellville.

Head Coach Mark Rico – a devout WNBA fan – came up with the idea after he discovered that many of his players weren’t aware of the league or knew very little about its history.

“I love basketball at its purest form and the women’s game has always been more fundamentally sound than the men’s and even a little more enjoyable to watch when it’s at its best.” Rico said with a laugh. ‘So I was really surprised when very few of our girls watched the WNBA or weren’t even familiar with any of the players. It blew my mind.”

So after their spring season was delayed four months only a day before their first scheduled tournament was to take place in March, Rico and his associate head coach Correy Moyer sprung into action.

The coaches decided to do something a little different than the numerous Zoom workouts that they had already executed.

“We decided to give each one of our girls an WNBA player to research based on what position they played.” said Rico. “The concept was for them to create a two-mimute video bio of their player with the top three getting gift cards. Needless to say, we were both very surprised at how professionally done they were.”

In fact, Rico was so impressed that he posted the top three videos on the WNBA twitter page and within a day or two Plum had “liked” the post and commented on it.

After a short conversation, Plum extended an invitation for Rico and his team to attend a Las Vegas Aces game of their choice.

Fifth grader Paisley Standridge’s (of Dover) winning submission – that featured Plum – has amassed nearly 9,200 views while the video bio of Chicago’s Stefanie Dolson created by fifth grader Abby Crandall of Magazine has tallied almost 6,500 to date.

Crandall finished second in the contest.

The third place video was turned in by Kloee Garner of Russellville who was assigned Kayla McBride of the Las Vegas Aces.

River Valley Heat – an organization created in 2009 by director Gaylen Scott of Dardanelle as a tribute to his beloved late mother – hosts 16 boys and girls teams and is a faith-based organization that promotes good sportsmanship, excellent family values and expects its athletes to exhibit Christ-like behavior.

Each team prays before and after games win or lose and hold bible studies during each scheduled practice.

Although the pandemic obviously cost his three teams some valuable court time. Rico insists that it has been a successful season.

“We have had to travel to Oklahoma and Missouri to get games in and I am sure our prents are probably travel-weary by now but we gained a valuable year of experience for these girls, most of whom have never played travel ball on a competitive level before.” Rico said. “I have been very pleased at how they have responded to everything we have thrown at them. This video project was just something else that they did that exceeded our expectations.”

Plum, who missed the current WNBA season with a torn ACL has recently been added to Coach Mike Neighbor’s staff at Arkansas.

Could there be a potential meeting in the future between the organization and their sports hero?

“Anything’s possible.” said Rico. “I hope we get a chance to thank her in person for the kind words and hospitality she has shown our girls. It has really been a blessing.”

Tuesday’s Scores
Varsity
St. Joseph’s defeated Clinton 3-1 (25-17, 25-15, 22-25, 25-15)

KILLS: Amy Lambe 5

ACES: Maggie Mooney/Lambe 7 each

Records: St. Joseph’s (4-1, 1-0 conference)

Conway defeated North Little Rock 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-22)

KILLS: Kennedi Wyrick 15

ASSISTS: Abby Masters 22

ACES: Karis Scott and Madison Holloway 2 each

DIGS: Scott 18 BLOCKS: Kaylon Neal, Olivia Knight, Naomi Young 1 each

Records: Conway (3-1, 2-0 conference)