Hooten's high school football magazine will be in the stores soon and lots of internet discussion rooms, blogs and social media will be warming up for the upcoming 2017 high school football season.
In 2016, Hooten's was fairly accurate. They picked Warren No. 2 and they finished No. 1 (after Pea Ridge knocked off No. 1 Nashville). Actually, Pea Ridge was picked to finish No. 9 last year, but that was where Nashville wound up after the Blackhawks put a beat down on them. The 'Hawks came in at No. 2.
Hootens got 11 of the top 15 right in their 2016 prognostication, picking Shiloh third (they finished fourth), Hamburg seventh (they took sixth), and JT Robinson eighth (they got fifth) with Central Arkansas, Stuttgart, Dardanelle, Prairie Grove and Ozark all slated for a top 15 finish, something they all did. Hooten's biggest miscue was picking Lonoke 14th but they finished a dismal 40th.
In a few days, after the dead period ends (no practice allowed of any kind per state rules), football teams will be getting together to work on strength and conditioning and the work they do from that time 'til the beginning of the actual season will have a lot to do with how things will actually turn out. The number of athletes that a roster can manage often makes the difference in the quality of an off-season program.
In small schools such as Decatur, there are barely enough players on the team to even compete in the sport. Consequently, the Bulldogs have had a run of years when almost no one shows up for the summer training programs, knowing full well they will get to play anyway because of the lack of numbers.
Here in Pea Ridge, any athlete who takes the summer off or who decides to just get by with the minimum effort, will likely see minimum playing time. Competition turns out competitors.
I was a cross country runner for Harding University in the 1970s and we carried more than 20 runners on our squad, with nearly all of them from out of state. I once ran a five-mile race in 26 minutes, 5 seconds and I finished in the top 20 of the old Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference which has Ouachita Baptist, Hendrix, Henderson State, UA-Monticello, Southern Arkansas, Central Arkansas, University of the Ozarks, and Lyon College. My problem was that although I was 20th in the 118 man race, I was only ninth on my team, meaning I didn't count in the team standings.
When I was a student runner at Harding, you had to work hard and long just to get on the team. Half the teams in the old AIC had problems getting enough runners to even fill out a team, hence no competition during their training. Harding won every AIC title from 1971 until the league disbanded.
The Blackhawks' big jump in the quality of their performance coincided with numbers of athletes, facilities and the staff in place to manage them. For the past couple of years at least, any Blackhawk on the field didn't get there by chance, forfeit or accident. He had to earn his way onto the field. That's how championship teams are formed.
After the past two years, Pea Ridge will not be able to surprise anyone. With a three-year record sitting at 34-6, Pea Ridge has become a football force to be reckoned with in the state of Arkansas.
There isn't a game on the Blackhawk schedule that can't be won. There are several that could be lost, depending on how far each team advances from July into the season. The greater the work, the greater the rewards -- just like life.
Football rules
changed a bit
for 2017
The National Federation of State High Schools have tweaked the rules a bit for the upcoming season, all in the pursuit of making football a safer sport.
It has long been a rule against blocking in the back of a defensive player. Drew Winn had a sensational 100-yard return called back for such a violation by another player last season, and the blocking rule has been expanded.
In seasons past, if a player came in on a defender's blind side and just leveled him, that was just a part of football. This year nationwide, that play will net a 15-yard penalty for a blindside block. Players can still block the defender if he uses open hands when he pushes the competitor aside.
Another rule now in place forbids kickers on onside kicks from kicking directly into the ground thus making the ball pop up into the air. That scenario has created a number of injuries from players crashing into one another while the ball hangs in the air. It will be called a dead ball foul hence.
Another rule prevents the defense from tackling or knocking down an offensive receiver when the ball has been intercepted by that defense. There were several rules changes that tightens up the meaning of what a late hit is. For example, if a player has been stopped from forward motion, though the whistle hasn't blown, cannot be run over or slammed into by other defenders.
Another rule change was that no defender can touch the ball on the snap until the ball leaves the center's hands. There have been some noseguards who were so quick, they could reach over and tip the ball as the center was hiking it. I have never seen that happen but it seems to have been a problem somewhere.
Lastly, the federation officials are stopping the trend of some schools to go to lighter and lighter home colors. Home uniforms must contrast sharply to visitor whites, but they gave all schools until 2021 to comply.
And for the umpteenth year in a row, there are more high school football players than in any other sport. Last season, 1,083,308 suited up for the gridiron, 2,140 of which were girls.
New pitcher
in town
When the northwest Arkansas Naturals take the field for their July 4th home game, I will have a relative on the mound for the locals.
My 83-year-old father-in-law, Troy Almand, has been called upon to throw out the first pitch for the Naturals. When Almand was 16, he was one of the first employees hired by Sam Walton when he launched Waltons 5&10 store. He was on hand to set the store up for the Grand Opening back in the day.
He moved on to start his own business and operated a tile and carpet business until his retirement. For the past several years, he has been the official greeter at the Walton's downtown museum during shareholders convention and meeting.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools and writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 06/28/2017