In fact, Har-Ber lost twice to Southside last season, once during the regular season (27-22) and again in the semifinals of the playoffs (8-7).

Although the Rebels (5-2, 3-1) are coming off a 34-26 home loss against Fayetteville last week, Williams said his team has played very well on the road and that he’s confident about his team’s chances.

“Anytime you play at home, you’re used to the surroundings, but it seems like we’ve been a pretty good road team this year,” Williams said. “We’re playing pretty good football.”

Wood said it’s no secret that both the Wildcats and Rebels will try to establish their running games tonight, the one area that’s been effective for both teams. Both teams have go-to guys in the backfield — Har-Ber has junior Gordon Welch (781 yards, nine touchdowns) while Southside has David Adair (718 yards, four touchdowns) and Lee Hollis (313 yards, nine touchdowns).

Meanwhile, both teams also possess two of the best defenses in the conference, as Har-Ber has given up only 109 rushing yards this season.

“They have so many talented guys on both sides of the ball,” Wood said. “It’s a tough matchup for us. Both teams are going to try and run the ball and both teams are going to rely on their defenses to get the job done. Hopefully we can come away with no turnovers and just rely on what we’ve done well this season.”

TIMES RECORD SPORTS WRITER KEVIN TAYLOR CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT.

When Pearce lines up against other teams on Friday nights, he said he’s already watched so much film that he knows exactly what teams are going to do, whether it’s what quarterbacks do or how blocking schemes are set up.

This season, Pearce has totaled 26 tackles, including nine for losses. He’s also had four sacks, nine quarterback pressures and one blocked kick.

“I really love my position,” Pearce said. “Who wouldn’t like going around and chasing a quarterback? It’s a lot of fun for me to get in there, hit some guys and get our defense going in the right direction. In our 4-3 scheme, we’re big believers that what we do starts up front.”

Travis Moreland, Har-Ber’s defensive coordinator, said because other teams sometimes put so many guys on Pearce, it always opens up other opportunities for Har-Ber’s defense.

This Wildcats have totaled 24 sacks, 23 quarterback pressures and eight interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns.

“Eric uses his hands so well and he has a great first step off the ball,” Moreland said. “Throughout the offseason, he really worked on his side-to-side movement, and he’s really improved.”

Although Pearce has been happy with Har-Ber’s defensive results this season, he said there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“We’ve got to find ways to keep getting better, that’s the bottom line,” Pearce said. “We’ve worked hard to get to this point, but I feel like we can’t let up. We’re on a mission to get a championship ring and we’re not going to stop until we achieve that.”

“I said I had the best doubles team (Anderson-Kraus) in the state all year long, and they came out and played that way,” Pautsch said. “They were an absolutely phenomenal doubles team for the last two years.”

Mount St. Mary’s Rebecca Bailey defeated Hillyer in the finals for the second straight year after posting a 6-0, 6-3 victory. Bailey defeated Bentonville’s Morgan Ryan 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.

The Bentonville boys finished in second after leading the tournament after Monday’s first two rounds. Little Rock Central won the school’s 11th consecutive title, edging the Tigers 12-11. The Bentonville doubles team of sophomores Matt Tabler and Zach Ellis won the doubles title but the Tigers watched Central’s Mario Martinez defeat Fayetteville’s Rob Hodous in the singles final to give Central the championship.

Martinez overcame severe cramping to defeat Hodous 6-4, 1-6 ,7-6 (7-5). Both players will advance to next week’s Overall Championships.

“I drank too much Gatorade and it made me cramp, so I had to change my strategy,” Martinez said. “I can’t run to the ball and I had to take the angles away. I was really glad that I was able to pull it out at the end. I was never going to quit. I’m representing the school.”

Ellis and Tabler defeated Central’s Bobby Emerson and Austin Crawford 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to run their record to 15-0 on the year. They also advance to the Overall Championships.

“Those two sophomores came out and they absolutely played their guts out,” Pautsch said. “They could have rolled over. They were way up, and then they got down. They could have quit but they didn’t.”

CLASS 7A STATE TENNIS TOURNAMENT

Boys Singles

Semifinals

Hodous, Fayetteville defeated Fox, LR Catholic 6-2, 6-0

Martinez, LR Central defeated Blake, FS Southside 7-5, 6-2

Finals

Martinez defeated Hodous 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5)

Boys Doubles

Semifinals

Z. Ellis-Tabler, Bentonville defeated Bagwell-Dunn, Van Buren 6-4, 7-5

Emerson-Crawford, LR Central defeated B. Ellis-Shah, Bentonville 6-3, 6-4.

Finals

Z. Ellis-Tabler defeated Emerson-Crawford 6-4, 3-6, 7-5

Girls Singles

Semifinals

Hillyer, Bentonville defeated Gray, Russellville 6-1, 6-2

Bailey, Mount St. Mary’s defeated Ryan, Bentonville 6-1, 6-2

Finals

Bailey defeated Hillyer 6-0, 6-3

Girls Doubles

Semifinals

Anderson-Kraus, Bentonville defeated Word-Word, Van Buren 6-1, 6-4

Liles-Randolph, LR Central defeated Skinner-Kincannon, FS Southside 6-1, 7-5

Finals

Anderson-Kraus defeated Liles-Randolph 6-2, 6-0

TEAM STANDINGS

Boys

1-Little Rock Central 12

2-Bentonville 11

3-Fayetteville 7

4-Fort Smith Southside 3

5-Little Rock Catholic 2

5-Van Buren 2

7-Rogers High 1

Girls

1-Bentonville 13

2-Mount St. Mary’s 9

3-FS Southside 4

3-Little Rock Central 4

5-Russellville 2

5-Van Buren 2

7-Rogers High 1

7-Rogers Heritage 1

If the two Bentonville doubles teams win today, it would set up a rematch of the 7A-West Conference doubles finals that was won by Zach Ellis and Tabler.

Brandon Ellis and Shah will face Little Rock Central’s Bobby Emerson and Austin Crawford in the semifinals at 10 a.m. today.

“Brandon and Varun have to play the team from Central and I watched them and they are good,” Pautsch said. “Our guys can beat them if they do some things right.”

Zach Ellis and Tabler will face Van Buren’s Bagwell-Dunn in the other boys’ semifinals.

“We have seen them this year and had good success,” Pautsch said. “But they (Van Buren) have improved and I am impressed with them. They are in a position and now it is up to them.”

Rogers High’s Trent Lamers and Adam Hile advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory before losing to Ellis-Shah in the quarterfinals. Mounties coach Steve Peck said the quarterfinals finish was one of the best in recent years.

“We played well and we actually played better in this match (quarterfinals loss),” Peck said. “We did well in the first match and this is the first time I have had a doubles team make it past the first round at state. It felt good.”

The Lady Mounties doubles team of Caroline Kelley and Anusha Manjagi also won a first-round match before falling 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals to the Little Rock Central duo of Lindsey Liles and Trinity Randolph.

“In the first match, we limited unforced errors, covered the nets well and played good team tennis,” said Lady Mounties coach Ronnie Cowan. “We were just overpowered in the second match.”

Rogers Heritage freshman Pratheepa Ravikumar won her first round match against Conway’s Mary Leath 6-0, 6-2 before losing in the quarterfinals.

CLASS 7A STATE TENNIS TOURNAMENT

WHEN: 10 a.m. today

Semifinals

Hodous, Fayetteville vs. Fox, Little Rock Catholic 10 a.m.

Martinez, Little Rock Central vs. Blake, FS Southside 10 a.m.

Finals, 1 p.m.

Semifinals

Emerson-Crawford, LR Central vs. B. Ellis-Shah, Bentonville 10 a.m.

Z. Ellis-Tabler, Bentonville vs. Bagwell-Dunn, Van Buren 10 a.m.

Finals, 1 p.m.

Semifinals

Hillyer, Bentonville vs. Gray, Russellville 10 a.m.

Ryan, Bentonville vs. Bailey, Mt. St. Mary’s 10 a.m.

Finals, 1 p.m.

Semifinals

Anderson-Kraus, Bentonville vs. Word-Word, Van Buren 10 a.m.

Liles-Randolph, Little Rock Central vs. Skinner-Kincannon, Southside 10 a.m.

Finals, 1 p.m.

Boys

1. Bentonville 6

2. Fayetteville 5

2. Little Rock Central 5

4. Fort Smith Southside 3

5. Little Rock Catholic 2

6. Van Buren 2

7. Rogers High 1

Girls

1. Bentonville 6

2. Mount St. Mary’s 4

2. FS Southside 4

4. Russellville 2

4. Van Buren 2

6. Rogers High 1

7. Rogers Heritage 1

Gordon Welch was shoved into action real quick for Springdale Har-Ber this season.

Starting tailback Tre Tyler broke his fibula on the eighth play of the season-opener against Greenwood, forcing Welch into service. Since then, Welch has been the most consistent runner in the conference and now leads the 7A-West Conference in rushing.

“He’s literally taken the ball and ran with it,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. “He’s iron-manned up for us.”

In Friday’s hard-earned 21-14 win against Rogers Heritage in overtime, Welch carried 35 times for 147 yards and all three of the Wildcats’ touchdowns.

“We really pounded him up in there,” Wood said. “It’s nothing fancy. It’s all between the tackles.”

Welch leads the conference in both carries with 167 and in rushing yards with 781. Three times this season, he’s had over 30 carries. Five times, he’s went over 100 yards rushing.

“It starts with the guys around him,” Wood said. “The offensive line has blocked well, and the receivers are blocking downfield.”

Friday night, Heritage just dared Har-Ber to run. Welch did.

“They had eight and nine guys in the box,” Wood said. “They knew what we were going to do, and that’s what we did.”

Welch brings a no-nonsense approach to the position for the Wildcats.

“His parents are hard-working down-to-earth people, and so is he,” Wood said. “He’s a blue-collar worker. He comes to work every day with a lunch pail. He’s very humble.”

Welch had 12 carries for 43 yards and no touchdowns last year as a sophomore in mop-up duty.

Friday night, Welch scored on a 3-yard run and a 14-yard in regulation before scoring on a 10-yard run on Har-Ber’s first play of overtime for the win.

Har-Ber Eyes Gauntlet
Har-Ber is No. 2 the Associated Press poll this week, but the Wildcats will be challenged the final three weeks of the regular season with Fort Smith Southside, Fayetteville and former No. 1 Bentonville waiting to knock them off their perch.

“It’s a gauntlet,” Wood said. “All three are very good. We’re aware of that. Fortunately, two of the three are at home.”

Southside visits Jarrell Williams Stadium this week and will be looking to bounce back from a 34-26 loss to Fayetteville.

“It will be a physical ball game,” Wood said. “Their coaching staff does as good a job as anyone in the conference as far as scheming for their opponents.”

That game will also be a rematch from last year’s semifinals, which Southside won, 8-7, with a late touchdown and two-point conversion.

Bentonville Seniors Make History
The rivalry between Bentonville and Rogers High is as old and storied as any in the state.
Friday, Bentonville’s seniors made history by becoming the first class to go undefeated in all three years against the rival Mountaineers.

“It was in the newspaper earlier in the week, and it was brought up after the game,” Bentonville coach Barry Lunney said. “It’s a long rivalry so it goes without saying when you can do something for the first time, it’s pretty special.”

Friday, Bentonville blanked Rogers, 48-0. Last year, Bentonville won 17-15. In 2007, the Tigers prevailed 28-0.

The win was also Bentonville’s biggest over Rogers since a 58-0 win in 1914.

Perfect Tigers
Bentonville was perfect on Friday against Rogers on possessions.

The Tigers did not punt, committed no turnovers and scored on all six offensive possessions.
“We were real efficient,” Lunney said. “We executed really well. We didn’t have any dropped passes. The passes were on target.”

Bentonville led 41-0 at halftime, applying the mercy rule to begin the second half with the continuously running clock. The Tigers scored on all five offensive possessions in the first half and added a defensive touchdown on Christian Larimer’s 33-yard interception return on the second play of the game.

“We were running the ball, and the clock was running,” Lunney said. “We took a lot of time off the clock in the third quarter and were running the ball with our second group in.”

Bentonville took the second-half kickoff and used up the first seven minutes, 17 seconds of the third quarter before scoring.

Bentonville did have a final possession to end the game running out the clock without scoring, which does not count in scoring efficiency.

End Of The Passing Era?
Passing is still the fancy around the state, but the trend is changing in the 7A-West. In 16 conference games played thus far, the team that rushes for the most yards is 14-2.

“It’s an interesting statistic,” said Lunney, who brought the pass-happy Spread attack to the conference in 1996 while at Southside. “I heard somebody on a college game on Saturday talking about the team with the most rushing yards usually wins. It’s still about the ability to run the football.”

Bentonville and Springdale Har-Ber are the leading rushing teams in the conference. Har-Ber is currently the top-ranked team in the state. Bentonville is the former No. 1 team in the state.

“I think we’re seeing an offensive evolution again,” Wood said. “It’s controlling the clock and controlling the game by running it.”

Har-Ber also has the best defense in the conference, which goes hand-in-hand with the philosophy of controlling the game.

“For us, we have a good defense so why would we throw the ball over and over, stopping the clock and extending the game,” Wood said. “We want to protect the ball and not take any chances with it.”

Many of the teams that are running the ball, however, are still in the one-back shotgun Spread attack but with certain philosophies of the Power-I, Wishbone, the Wing-T and Split-back veer.

“There is a little bit of all of each one of those in the Spread,” Wood said. “There are just variations.”

Teams are relying on defense, field position, ball-control offense like the conference did in the 1980s and 1990s.

“It’s like back in the day of Jarrell Williams and Joe Fred Young,” Wood said. “And those guys sure won their share of games.”

Remember When …
There was actually a 7A-West game that ended regulation in a scoreless tie?

In this modern age of offense, so-called basketball on grass and a barrage of scoring, in 2001 Fayetteville and Springdale actually played a scoreless tie in regulation.

Springdale quarterback Damon Moody broke the tie with a short touchdown run in overtime to lift the Red Bulldogs to 6-0 win over their purple rivals at Harmon Field.

Each team had 14 first downs, Fayetteville had 292 yards of offense while Springdale had 242.

It is the last time two 7A-West teams played to a scoreless tie in regulation and the lowest scoring game in the conference in the past eight years.

By Leland Barclay/Special To The Morning News

THAT FIGURES

0 — Turnovers and punts by Bentonville on Friday night
1 — Win needed by Bentonville’s seniors to tie last year’s senior class as the winningest in school history
3 — Scoreless quarters this season by Bentonville, including two in the fourth quarter of mercy-rule victories, out of 28 quarters played
6 — Straight times in which Springdale has defeated Fort Smith Northside at Jarrell Williams Stadium since Grizzlies won 23-12 in 1997
7 — Straight wins by Fayetteville over Fort Smith Southside, all during Daryl Patton’s tenure

The Bentonville team of Zach Ellis and Matt Tabler is seeded second behind a Central team, but the sophomores won the 7A-West title by knocking off Zach’s older brother, Brandon, and Varun Shah.

Pautsch said he’s happy the elder Ellis’ team is matched against the top Central team.

“Brandon can handle the pressure,” Pautsch said. “He can handle the pressure.”

Two players were suspended prior to the conference tournament, but Brandon Ellis has taken a stronger leadership role, Pautsch said.

“I’ve waited for the last year for him to step up, but he’s done it,” Pautsch said. “Brandon’s really done a great job.”

The Lady Tigers’ doubles team of Kendall Kraus and Amy Anderson come in as the top seed.

“There’s not doubt they’re one of the best doubles team in the state,” Pautsch said. “Amy Anderson is a three-time conference champion.”

Oksana Hillyer, who lost in the state singles finals a year ago, and teammate Morgan Ryan, will be keys to the Lady Tigers’ chances of a sixth state title.

“The (Rebecca) Bailey girl from Mount St. Mary is the best player in the state,” Pautsch said.

Fayetteville’s Rob Hodous could also make a run at a boys singles title. Hodous is the top seed in the draw.

There are also several area players who qualified for the Class 4A Tournament to be played in Arkadelphia.

On the girls’ side, Shiloh Christian’s Alisha Hedgecock will play in the singles draw along with teammates Bailey Riggins and Shannie Suttie, who qualified in doubles. Farmington’s team of Shylene Scott and Plearn Seripumitapap, who won the 4A-1 conference title, will face a team from Nashville.

Shiloh’s Ross Naber and Daniel Evans will play boys doubles, while Shiloh’s Andrew Evans and Farmington’s Blake Cutter qualified in boys singles.

“To win this race, it says a lot about him, he’s having a great year,” said Thane Garnett, College Heights Christian’s cross country coach. “He was pretty determined to finish well in this race, and I think he showed it.”

In the girls invitational, Greenhill High’s (near Dallas, Texas) Chelsey Sveinsson won for the third straight year with a time of 17:32.71. Sveinsson, a senior, is one of the top long-distance runners in Texas and is hopeful she can continue doing so next year on a collegiate scholarship.

“This is one of the races that I look forward to the most during the season,” said Sveinsson, who was disappointed with her finishing time. “I really just wasn’t feeling it, but like my mom told me, I’m just happy again to win it.”

Fayetteville’s boys team finished fifth overall with 261 points while Bentonville’s girls team finished sixth with 206 points.

Fayetteville’s Austin Simkins had the highest finish among area competitors, finishing sixth with a time of 16:06.19. Elkins’ Grace Heymsfield also finished fifth with a time of 18:24.48.

2009 Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival

Wood said Welch’s game-winning sweep was a play the Wildcats staff thought would work.

“We saw them (Heritage) crashing the box real hard,” Wood said. “We wanted to get on the edge with a stretch play and he made one guy miss.”

“We did a good job of bringing pressure,” Wood said. “We wanted to get pressure on him (Brown). Glad we have a good defense.”

Har-Ber’s Russ Reynerson stopped a Heritage drive early in the second half with an interception and War Eagles coach Perry Escalante said the two turnovers was too much to overcome. Brown completed 21 of 38 passes for 201 yards.

“Can’t turn the ball over, the picks just killed us,” Escalante said. “(Har-Ber’s) defense had everything to do with that. When you turn the ball over in clutch situations like that, that’s going to get you beat every time. We were right there and we had every opportunity to do that (win).

“We had an opportunity right there late on a little drive to put it away. We just missed that opportunity.”

Heritage forced overtime when Jimmy Britton scored from the 5-yard line on fourth-and-one with 3:47 left in the regulation. Britton’s run capped an 12-play, 79-yard rive that saw Brown hit Driver for 35 yards. Driver finished with seven receptions for 122 yards.

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 21, ROGERS HERITAGE 14 (OT)

Har-Ber    7    0    0    7    7    —    21
Heritage    0    7    0    7    0    —    14
First Quarter
Har — Welch 3 run (Escobar kick), 6:04
Second Quarter
Her — Entwisle 29 run (Severs kick), 11:47
Fourth Quarter
Har — Welch 14 run (Escobar kick), 7:58
Her — Britton 5 run (Severs kick), 3:47
Overtime
Har — Welch 10 run (Escobar kick)

Har    Her
First Downs    18    11
Rushes-Yards    48-199    21-26
Passing Yards    83    201
Comp-Att-Int    10-22-0    21-36-2
Punts    8-32    7-32
Fumbles-Lost    0-0    1-0
Penalties-Yards    6-40    1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Har-Ber, Welch 35-147, Luther 7-37, Pruitt 5-13, Vongvone 1-2. Heritage, Entwisle 6-48, Britton 3-14, Stewart 6-6, Snoderly 1-3, Brown 5-(minus 45).
PASSING—Har-Ber, Luther 10-22-0-83. Heritage, Brown 21-38-2-201, Stewart 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—Har-Ber, Vaughn 7-49, Stith 3-34. Heritage, Driver 7-122, Entwisle 5-30, Stewart 5-15, Fruik 3-29, Snoderly 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

Rogers Kirksey 24, Rogers Lingle 6

Ty Galyean returned a kickoff 73 yards for a touchdown and threw for another score to keep Kirksey unbeaten on Tuesday.

Galyean threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Hill after taking a backward lateral from quarterback Max Harrell.

Harrell threw a 56-yard touchdown to Brett Gentz and a two-point conversion for Kirksey (7-0). Devin Young also tackled the Lingle quarterback in end zone for a safety.

Kirksey will host Bentonville Washington next week.

Springdale Central 20, Fayetteville Ramay 9

Kyle Pianalto threw a touchdown pass and added a two-point conversion to lead Central past Ramay.

Pianalto completed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Cole Brothers. He ran in thw conversion for an 8-3 Central lead.

Holden Thornton added a 16-yard touchdown run and Trashaun Gaus finished the scoring with a 51-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

Brothers also interception a pass for Central (6-1).

JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL

Springdale Central 21, Fayetteville Ramay 7

Tucker Lee ran for three touchdowns to help Central remain undefeated on Thursday night.

Lee scored on runs of 13, 47 and 2 yards. Lee’s 47-yard run came after Central (7-0, 5-0 in Northwest Arkansas Conference) stopped Ramay on a fourth-and-1 play. Jesus Sidon added three extra points.

Safety Alex Rice also had two interceptions in the red zone for Central.

PREP VOLLEYBALLL

Springdale Har-Ber def. Rogers High

Alicia Swearingen had 22 kills and Marisa Pless added 20 kills to lead Har-Ber to a 25-12, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20 win over Rogers High in 7A-West Conference play Thursday.

Har-Ber improved to 11-2 in the 7A-West and is now tied with Fayetteville for the league lead. The Lady Wildcats finish the season Tuesday against cross-town rival Springdale High.

Sydney Marsellis contributed six blocks and Katie Huff five blocks for Har-Ber. Katie Collins added 22 digs and four aces.

Springdale High def. Fort Smith Northside

Kristin Hylton finished with 21 kills and Lauren Perry added 20 kills to help Springdale High claim a 23-25, 20-25, 25-14, 25-22, 17-15 win over Northside in 7A-West Conference play Thursday.

The Lady Red’Dogs (14-12, 5-8) clinched a spot in the Class 7A state tournament with the victory. Springdale will likely be the fifth seed.

Setters Emily Broad and Tisha Watkins contributed 19 and 18 assists, respectively. Chloe Brown led Springdale with 20 digs.