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.”

The mind game Curry constantly plays in his head has worked well this season for the junior, who has totaled 242 yards and four touchdowns in only six games. He also has four receptions for 32 yards.

Last week against Mountainburg, Curry scored the Elks’ (3-3, 2-2 3A-1 Conference) first touchdown in a 13-8 victory.

“He’s a power runner, he’s not afraid to get the ball and run right at you and then take two or three guys with him,” Elkins coach Aaron Clark said. “That’s just the way he is. He’s not going to juke you, so you have to take him head on.”

Curry’s strength was especially evident earlier this season when during practice, one of Elkins’ defensive players went to tackle him, but instead came away with a broken collarbone.

“I think I get it from my dad,” Curry said. “He (Kevin) played football at Fayetteville and has always worked with me and my brother (Chad) in the weight room, helping us get better. He’s the guy that taught me football when I first started in the pee-wee leagues.”

Regardless, Curry said he’s not only enjoying playing with his brother — a sophomore halfback/linebacker — this season, he’s hoping the Elks can continue their winning ways on Friday against Cedarville.

This season, the brothers have combined for 505 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, easily the majority of Elkins’ rushing attack.

“Right now, we’re just trying to stay focused for every game,” Curry said. “There’s only 20 of us on this team, but we’re pretty good when we want to be. We have to stay focused and keep looking forward to the next best thing.”

Kind of like getting a new truck after scoring a touchdown.

“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

“Whitlow is having a great year,” Heritage coach Perry Escalante said. “The improvement he has made this year is he is just bigger and stronger. He is able to finish blocks. Last year, he would he get good blocks, he would get on them, but he couldn’t finish them because of his lack size and strength.

“(Whitlow) is the leader out there and the driving force on the offensive line. But the whole offensive line has played well this year.”

In two seasons as a starter, Whitlow has never been called for a holding penalty and Escalante said he can count on one hand the number of bad snaps Whitlow has had in 17 games.

Whitlow knows that playing on the offensive line is not the most glamorous position on the field but he said the entire line takes pride in helping make the offense go.

“Before every practice, I snap to make sure my snaps are good,” Whitlow said. “We don’t get very much recognition, but I like it because you get to hit somebody every play. The other four guys next to me are like brothers.”

Whitlow credits not having any holding penalties to a combination of technique and luck.

“I’m a little lucky because I’m sure I hold some of the time but I just try to keep my hands inside instead of wrapping them around,” Whitlow said. “We are all bigger, stronger and faster than last year and we are more confident in our blocks.”

“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.

“Our coaches have been preaching to us that if all 11 players work together, we’ll get the job done, and I think we finally did that (Friday).”

Not only was Springdale’s (3-4, 1-3 7A-West Conference) passing game on target, but its running game had one of its best performances of the year, combining for 218 yards on 50 carries.

“(Friday) things finally went our way a little bit, we made some things happen and we didn’t turn the ball over,” Springdale High interim coach Dennis DeBusk said. “The defense got us the turnovers and we took advantage of it and scored, where before we hadn’t been doing that.”

Springdale’s defense forced Northside (2-5, 0-4) into four turnovers, including three fumbles that crippled the Grizzlies chances of putting points on the board.

Northside, which finished with only 79 rushing yards, had good production from quarterback Tanner Knight, who completed 25 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the fourth quarter.

Knight’s first touchdown pass went for 33 yards to Tevin Williams and his second was for seven yards to Shaquille Jones.

Before Northside knew what happened, it was already down 20-0 with 11 minutes left in the first half, something coach Darrell Henry said was too tough to overcome.

“I don’t know if we have voodoo on us or what, but turning the ball over had killed us in the last five weeks,” Henry said. “We came out in the second half and moved the football and we do everything right. I’m really proud of the kids of how they fought back.”

Springdale’s T.C. Barkey not only caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Calcagni in the first quarter, but finished with a team-high 74 rushing yards while Calcagni had 63 rushing yards.

“(This win) is something these kids have been looking forward to and have been trying to get,” DeBusk said. “All it does is it gives us another week, we have to get ready for Rogers Heritage now. Every game we have left will be a war, but if we come out and play like we did (Friday), we’ll have a shot.”

SPRINGDALE HIGH 34, FS NORTHSIDE 21

Northside    0    7    0    14    —    21
Springdale    13    14    7    0    —    34
First Quarter
Spring — Bocchino 13 pass from Calcagni (Garcia kick), 8:04
Spring — Barkey 17 pass from Calcagni (run failed), :49
Second Quarter
Spring — Calcagni 10 run (Garcia kick), 11:18
North — D. Jones 5 run (Martinez kick), 9:00
Spring — Johnson 21 pass from Calcagni (Garcia kick), 5:41
Third Quarter
Spring — Robinson 10 pass from Calcagni (Garcia kick), 8:05
Fourth Quarter
North — Williams 33 pass from Knight (Martinez kick), 11:38
North — S. Jones 7 pass from Knight (Martinez kick), 2:28

North    Spring
First Downs    17    22
Rushes-Yards    15-79    50-218
Passing Yards    203    157
Comp-Att-Int    25-38-1    14-20-0
Punts    3-29.7    5-32.2
Fumbles-Lost        3-3    0-0
Penalties-Yards    3-30    14-120

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Northside, Knight 9-51, Poole 2-20, D. Jones 4-8. Springdale, Barkey 13-74, Calcagni 13-63, Yager 12-39, Taylor 11-35, Johnson 1-7.
PASSING—Northside, Knight 25-38-1-203. Springdale, Calcagni 14-20-0-157.
RECEIVING—Northside, Poole 7-56, Williams 6-82, S. Jones 6-33, D. Jones 4-16, Shephard 2-14. Springdale, Bocchino 4-41, Fogg 3-41, Barkey 3-38, Johnson 2-26, Robinson 2-11.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

Nolan drove the Rebels’ to the Purple Dogs’ 37 before being intercepted on the final play of the game. The Rebels turned the ball over five times.

“Brandon Allen had fever and was throwing up, and we were feeding him chicken noodle soup at halftime,” Patton said. “That’s the way legends are made.”

Allen completed 30 of 49 passes.

Nolan, who had three touchdown passes of his own, gave the Rebels a 26-21 lead in the fourth by hitting Quai Anderson with a 55-yard touchdown pass.

After Allen’s 8-yard TD pass to Michael Heintzman put the PurpleDogs ahead 27-26, Southside was down for the count when the Nolan-to-McGee pass was wiped out.

“I knew it was close,” Patton said. “When they (officials) went back and looked at it, that was huge.”

“That was real disappointing,” Southside coach Jeff Williams said. “That was the play of the game. We didn’t get the break, and I don’t know why.”

Fayetteville converted three straight third-and-longs on its first series, moving from its 19 to the Rebels’ 17.

But Drew Patton missed a 34-yard field goal attempt, hooking the ball wide left.

After a three-and-out, Fayetteville drove 56 yards for its first touchdown. Again, Allen made things look easy as the PurpleDogs took a 6-0 lead on Allen’s 1-yard run with 49 seconds left in the first quarter.

The PurpleDogs, who outgained Southside, 119 yards to a negative two in the first quarter, saw their lead disappear on the Rebels second possession.

Facing third-and-seven, Nolan hit Anderson with a 54-yard reception to the PurpleDogs’ 13. Three plays later, Lee Hollis bulled in from the 2 to give the Rebels a 7-6 lead.

Fayetteville responded on its next series when Allen hit Josh Hale with a 30-yard strike down the center of the field. Southside blocked the PAT and trailed 12-7 with 8:20 left in the first half.

— KEVIN TAYLOR/TR

FAYETTEVILLE 34, FS SOUTHSIDE 26

Fayettevile    6    6    9    13    —    34
Southside    0    14    6    6    —    26
First Quarter
Fay — Allen 1 run (kick failed), :49
Second Quarter
South — Hollis 2 run (Gallo kick), 10:50
Fay — J. Hale 30 pass from Allen (kick blocked), 8:20
South — Anderson 47 pass from Au. Nolan (Gallo kick), 3:18
Third Quarter
Fay — FG Rosteck 33, 4:34
South — Falleur 22 pass from Au. Nolan (Gallo kick), 2:09
Fay — Heintzman 19 pass from Allen (pass failed), :04
Fourth Quarter
South — Anderson 55 pass from Au. Nolan (pass failed), 9:16
Fay — Heintzman 8 pass from Allen (pass failed), 4:14
Fay — Hale 15 run (Rosteck kick), 1:17

Fay    South
First Downs    25    14
Rushes-Yards    26-78    24-47
Passing Yards    345    306
Comp-Att-Int    30-49-0    11-36-1
Fumbles-Lost    1-1    4-4
Punts    6-33.3    5-35.2
Penalties-Yards    9-105    8-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—Fayetteville, Hale 12-41, Allen 10-28, Heintzman 3-15, Gorton 1-(minus 6). Southside, Au. Nolan 7-27, Hollis 6-15, Adair 10-5
Passes—Fayetteville, Allen 30-49-0-345. Southside, Au. Nolan 11-36-1-306.
Receivers—Fayetteville, J. Hale 7-129, Heintzman 7-81, D. Hale 6-52, Dean 5-52, Underwood 3-17, Smith 1-9, Holmes 1-5. Southside, Anderson 4-165, A. Nolan 2-64, Falleur 2-30, Hood 1-32, Jones 1-16, Hollis 1-(minus 1).

If Holden can continue his consistent play this season with Bentonville, Mahan said, the offers will likely start piling up. Not that Holden’s motivation stems from impressing college coaches.

For now, Holden remains content blocking with his four friends up front and opening holes for the 7A-West Conference’s leading rushing attack. Holden said he’ll worry later about his football future. These days, he simply enjoys the comfort level achieved by him, Petersen, junior Marcus Danenhauer and seniors Jonathan Mortensen and Matt Hoffman.

“When you play with guys for a long time, you start to know what they do and they know what you do,” Holden said. “Everything just feels right. We know each other so well. When fronts move around, I’ll say one word, and we’ll all know what we’re doing. It makes it a lot easier.”

Football didn’t initially seem this simple to Holden, however. In fact, he didn’t start playing the sport until the ninth grade. Holden succeeded immediately, even as he appeared lost, using his physicality and what Bentonville coach Barry Lunney calls “outstanding feet” to mask his mental shortcomings.

Mahan and Lunney both remembered the first time they saw Holden at a ninth-grade workout, one of his first-ever football practices.

“You could tell he didn’t really know what was going on,” Mahan said. “But man, he was real strong and real quick.”

Holden quickly ascended up Bentonville’s depth chart, starting by the sixth week of his sophomore season. He has started every game since, constantly providing valuable leadership and crushing blocks for the Tigers.

He gained strength after his freshman and sophomore years — because of a body “that’s built for the weight room,” Mahan said — and mastered Bentonville’s blocking schemes this past summer. Holden’s even started to play defensive tackle the past two weeks, logging about 15 snaps against Fort Smith Southside and Rogers Heritage.

“These first six games, he’s been the most consistent guy on our line,” Mahan said. “He’s played with a passion, and he’s played so physical. I have a lot of trust and confidence in him.”

Holden doesn’t always display the toughness he takes out on opponents

He’s a constant jokester, always quick to make coaches and teammates laugh, often at their own expense. Holden also possesses a love for video games, spending plenty of nights on his Xbox 360, challenging his fellow linemen in online games of Call of Duty.

But every Friday night, he sets the jokes and games aside and becomes the talented guard Mahan pleads with coaches to watch.

“A couple of my friends say I’m different on Friday nights than any other time,” Holden said. “I don’t really realize it. But they say they love me. Apparently, I get pretty intense. The way I think, I’ve got to be that way. I’m only average size, so I have to be aggressive. I have to move forward. If I’m not aggressive, I’ll just be pushed back.”

And Holden rarely lets that happen.

BENTONVILLE — The Bentonville Lady Tigers had no room for error in the singles and doubles finals at the 7A-West Conference tennis tournament Wednesday at the Walton Life and Fitness Center.

It turned out to be an error-free effort by the Lady Tigers.

Bentonville’s Amy Anderson and Kendall Kraus were never threatened in the doubles finals and Oksana Hillyer defended her singles championship to lead the Lady Tigers to the league title.

Anderson-Kraus defeated Southside’s Lindsey Skinner and Cassidy Kincannon 6-2, 6-3 while Hillyer defeated Southside’s Ali Grahl 6-2, 6-4.

The Tigers already had the conference championship wrapped up heading into the finals but the Tigers made it official when Zach Ellis and Matt Tabler defeated teammates Brandon Ellis and Varun Shah 6-7, 6-3, 10-7 in the boys’ doubles finals.

Fayetteville’s Rob Hodous won the boys’ singles title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over the Rebels’ Bill Blake.

The Lady Tigers have now won the last seven league titles but Bentonville coach Paul Pautsch couldn’t celebrate until Hillyer recorded her fourth service break to finish off Grahl in the second set of a match that was closer than the final indicates.

“(Anderson-Kraus) are the best doubles team in the state and I will stand behind that,” Pautsch said. “Their win today solidifies that. That was a tough match (for Hillyer).”

Zach Ellis and Tabler are now 12-0 in doubles matches this season and Pautsch said the two sophomores should do well at next week’s state tournament in Fayetteville.

“You have to give credit to Zach and Matt, they played it right,” Pautsch said. “They had the opportunity and they took it. They played well all year.”

Rogers’ Trent Lamers and Adam Hile will be the third seed in boys doubles at the state tournament after the pair defeated Patrick Shields and Reed Churchill 4-6, 6-2, 13-11 in the third-place match. Shields-Churchill were seeded No. 1.

“I thought that was the best tennis that they played this year,” said Rogers coach Steve Peck. “That was huge the way they came back.”

7A-West Conference Tennis Tournament

Girls Singles
Finals
Hillyer, Bentonville defeated Grahl, Forth Smith Southside 6-2, 6-4

Girls Doubles
Finals
Anderson-Kraus, Bentonville defeated Skinner-Kincannon 6-2, 6-3

Boys Singles
Finals
Hodous, Fayetteville defeated Blake, Fort Smith Southside 6-3, 6-1

Boys Doubles
Finals
Z. Ellis-Tabler, Bentonville defeated B. Ellis-Shah, Bentonville 6-7, 6-3, 10-7

SPRINGDALE — Kristin Hylton likes volleyball matches that end with a headache.

The senior outside hitter has likely provided the opposition with plenty of pain, but Hylton said she puts a lot of herself into each match.

“I love it when I have a headache after the game,” Hylton said. “I’m very, very competitive. If I have a headache that means I’m screaming and putting all I have into it.”

Hylton has helped Springdale High to a 13-13 record this season, within one victory of a berth in the Class 7A State Tournament.

The Lady Red’Dogs can lock up that spot with a win over Fort Smith Northside tonight. Springdale is 4-8 and in fifth place in the 7A-West. But a loss could plunge Springdale into a three-way tie with Northside and Rogers High — a situation that could leave Springdale on the outside looking in come state tournament time.

The top six advance to the state tournament in Van Buren.

Hylton has adjusted to being a “go-to” player for the Lady Red’Dogs this season.

“It has its good points and bad points,” she said. “If I have a bad game and everyone else has an off game, too, I feel like I was responsible for that. But I think they feed off my enthusiasm.”

Springdale coach Nan Shamblen said there’s never been any question about Hylton’s effort or skill level.

“She was a starter as a sophomore on varsity because of her skill level,” Shamblen said. “Maturity-wise, she’s one of those kids who are pretty mature to begin with.”

Hylton even surprised Shamblen a bit when she came to Springdale three years ago.

“I didn’t realize how good she was,” Shamblen said. “Watching her in practices in the summer was one thing, but when I saw her in our first match, I was thinking this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime athletes that you get to coach.”

The high-flying Hylton not only leads with her physical performance but also emotionally and mentally.

“It’s a lot harder than it sounds,” Hylton said. “I can’t be the one getting frustrated. If I make a mistake, I can’t get down because my team will follow me.”

Hylton is almost like a coach on the floor, Shamblen said.

“She has outstanding court sense,” she added. “Kristin not only knows where she’s supposed to be on the floor, but she knows where everyone else is supposed to be, too.”

No one can question Hylton’s commitment to the Springdale High program, particularly since she had an opportunity to transfer to Springdale Har-Ber over the summer. Hylton plays club ball with several members of Har-Ber’s team

“This is my team,” Hylton said. “I couldn’t do that. They’re my girls.”

She admitted to having a lot of frustrations but no regrets about staying at Springdale High.

“When we’re on our game, I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” Hylton said.

Shamblen added she only tried to lay out the pros and cons of the situation for Hylton.

“That shows how level-headed and mature she is,” Shamblen said. “I told her she made that commitment to this team and that says a lot about her, not only now, but in the future. As an adult, you don’t just quit something and go somewhere else because the pasture appears greener. A lot of times, it’s not.”