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

She said the school district wanted to “error on the side of caution for our kids.” The bus that tipped over carried Springdale’s offensive players and several coaches, Scogin said, including interim coach Dennis DeBusk.

Many players contacted their parents immediately after the accident, but Scogin didn’t end the process there.

“Once we got back here, we wanted to do the whole process all over again,” Scogin said. “We had an EMT and our trainers check all the kids out, and then we had the kids go to their position coach and call or see their parents. We wanted the parents to be able to talk to the kids with a coach right there.”

Fayetteville coach and assistant athletic director Daryl Patton said he fully supported the decision to move his team’s homecoming game to Saturday afternoon.

“The No. 1 thing is that we’re not grieving a death or grieving a serious injury,” Patton said. “We were looking forward to the big game and atmosphere, but it’s a football game. It’s really minor in the realm of everything. Springdale had some kids banged up, and luckily it was nothing really severe. It probably wouldn’t have been fair for them to come over and play (Friday night).

“I think if the shoe had been on the other foot, I think Springdale would’ve done the same for us.”

DeBusk also spoke highly of Fayetteville’s reaction.

“Fayetteville was so good about it,” DeBusk said. “It’s their homecoming, and that’s where I feel bad about it all.”

Scogin said she looked at the whole ordeal as another learning experience for Springdale High and its football team. The Bulldogs already have faced plenty of adversity this season with Springdale coach Kevin Johnson’s fight against cancer.

“I think we’re being faced with what priorities we really need to stay focused on, and that’s family and community and how we treat each other with respect,” Scogin said. “This team has dealt with a lot of adversity and continues to deal with it. To watch our kids and coaches, and Fayetteville as well, embrace each other shows true character and true growth for all of us.”

Fayetteville used a potent one-two punch to claim its seventh consecutive 7A-West Conference girls golf championship Friday at Bella Vista Country Club.

Sophomore Olivia Lavy fired a 4-under par 68 to claim medalist honors, but teammate Micah Radner was not far behind with a 71 to help the Lady Purple’Dogs romp to the title.

Rogers High was also a repeat winner on the boys side as senior Slade Hames also shot 68 to lead the Mounties to their third straight league crown.

Fayetteville posted a team score of 223, easily outdistancing second-place Springdale Har-Ber’s 298.

Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams wasn’t sure how Lavy would react nursing a stress fracture in her wrist.

“We came out yesterday for a practice round and it was hurting her a little bit,” Adams said. “Obviously, she handled it pretty well.

“Maybe she should take a week off before we play again,” Adams added with a laugh.

Fayetteville will now quickly turn its attention to the Class 7A state tournament at Fianna Hills in Fort Smith on Monday. The Lady Purple’Dogs will be shooting for their fifth consecutive state title.

Hames put together a strong round and was particularly strong with his putter, Rogers coach Marcus Alexander said.

“It seemed like the rest of the team couldn’t figure out these greens,” Alexander said. “Slade putted well though. I saw a lot of tricky putts today. It challenged them for sure.”

Hames has come on in the last month to challenge teammate Jes Sanders, Alexander said.

“Jes has been my number one as far as stroke average since he was a freshman until about a month ago,” Alexander said. “Slade being our senior has challenged him. We’re impressed with his senior leadership.

The Mounties, who won the state tournament in 2007, are looking forward to the state tournament being in Fort Smith, Alexander said.

“It’s at Hardscrabble (Country Club) and my boys feel comfortable there,” Alexander said. “We’re excited about that.

The boys 7A tournament will be held Oct. 6.

7A West Conference Golf Tournament

Play five, count four format

Top four teams and top seven individuals not on those teams advance to the state tournament.

Team

1, Rogers High 307

2, Bentonville 326

3, Fayetteville 348

4, Fort Smith Southside 355

5, Springdale Har-Ber 356

6, Rogers Heritage 357

7, Springdale High 411

Individuals

1, Slade Hames, Rogers High 68

2, Zac Coats, Springdale Har-Ber 72

3, Drew Comer, FS Southside 74

4, Jes Sanders, Rogers High 77

5, Brik Braubergers, Bentonville 78

6, Ben Sullivan, Bentonville 80

7, (tie) Grant Washburn, Rogers High 81

Patrick Holt, Rogers High 81

Josh Leal 81

10, Wyatt Hively, Rogers High 82

11, Chas Goines, Rogers Heritage 83

12, (tie) Justin McDonald, Fayetteville 84

Andrew Moore, FS Northside 84

14, Alex Hoffman, Fayetteville 87

Joe Gruebel, Fayetteville 87

Zack Foster, Springdale High 87

Luke Treece, Bentonville 87

Tyrus Morey, Bentonville 87

19, Sam Hudson, Fayetteville 90

Jade McMullan, Rogers Heritage 90

Kyle Franklin, FS Southside 90

Girls

Play five, count three format

Team

1, Fayetteville 223

2, Springdale Har-Ber 298

3, Fort Smith Southside 308

4, Springdale High 361

5, Rogers High 391

5, Bentonville 392

6, Rogers Heritage 396

Individuals

1, Olivia Lavy, Fayetteville 68

2, Micah Radner, Fayetteville 71

3, Shelby Daniels, Fayetteville 84

4, (tie) Taylor Kline, Springdale Har-Ber 86

Paige McCain, FS Southside 86

6, Lauren Zulpo, Springdale Har-Ber 100

7, Morgan Johnson, Springdale High 108

8, (tie) Kelsey Hindman, FS Southside 110

Alex Del Sox, Fayetteville 110

10, (tie) Kaitleyn Vogel , Springdale Har-Ber 112

Taylor Stokes, FS Southside 112

12, Kara Kelsey, Springdale High 119

13, Ali Robinson, Bentonville 120

14, Kelly Lees, Rogers High 122

15, (tie) Sara Reidy, Rogers Heritage 123

Evan Verucchi, Springdale Har-Ber 123

17, (tie) Morgan Conway, Rogers High 127

Katelyn Boudreaux 127

19, Taylor Pauls, Springdale Har-Ber 128

20, Victoria Crawford, Rogers Heritage 130

A smash by Springdale’s Courtney Shaw pulled the Lady Bulldogs (5-3, 2-1) to within two, but a block by Hunter and Kacie Ballard’s kill gave the Lady Feds a 16-10 lead. Another ace by Driscoll and Milam’s kill made it 20-11 before Springdale’s Kristin Hylton unleashed a series of kills by bring the Lady Bulldogs within seven.

Starting quickly in the third game, Southside amassed a 11-4 lead on Milam’s block. Brooke Hale’s block and Christina Chapman’s kill boosted Southside’s lead to 20-9 before Hylton, again, sparked a late Springdale run.

Hylton led Springdale with 10 kills, while Lauren Perry added nine kills and three blocks. Chloe Brown also contributed 11 digs.

Springdale Har-Ber def. Fayetteville

Alicia Swearingen slammed 14 kills to lead Springdale Har-Ber to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-14) win over Fayetteville in 7A-West Conference play Thursday.

Sydney Marsellis added eight kills and Aubrey Marsellis chipped in seven kills and three blocks for the Lady Wildcats (5-1, 2-1). Har-Ber’s Katie Collins also contributed 11 digs.

JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL

Bentonville Black 14, Springdale Southwest 0

Southwest limited Bentonville Black to just two first downs, but could not score.

The Cougars (1-1, 0-1 in NWA Conference) were led by David Karr and Dalton Clinkscales.

Southwest defeated Bentonville Lincolne 27-6 in the eighth-grade game.

Braxton Jester ran for a touchdown and threw for two more to lead Southwest (2-0).

Jester scored from 10 yards out in the opening period, then hit Camden Scott with a 17-yard touchdown pass to give Southwest a 14-0 halftime cushion. Jester added a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Dennis in the third quarter.

Colton Weztler provided a key interception at the goal line to end a Lincoln scoring threat, while Paul Williamson was credited with several big tackles to lead the defense.

Southwest returns to action next week at Ramay in Fayetteville.

Springdale Central 40, Rogers Heritage 0

Six different players scored touchdowns as Central notched its second straight shutout victory.

Tucker Lee, Hunter Patrick, Miguel Salgado, Colin Richardson and Aaron Wellman all scored touchdowns on the ground for Central (2-0, 1-0 in NWA Conference). Pierce Phillips also completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Alex Rice. Jesus Sidon also kicked four PATs.

Kyle Pianalto scored three touchdowns and threw for two 2-point conversions to lead Central to a 24-16 win in the eighth-grade game.

Trailing 16-8 in the third quarter, Pianalto ralllied Central. Pianalto scored the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes left in the game and added the 2-point conversion pass to Tyler Horstman to set the final score.

Heritage Expects Man Coverage

ROGERS — Rogers Heritage coach Perry Escalante expects the War Eagles will see a man defense from Oklahoma City Northwest Classen (0-1) Friday night in Gates Stadium.

“Classen is very athletic and they can run on defense,” Escalante said. “They play a lot of man on defense and they will dare you to throw it over the top because they think they are athletic enough to play with you.”

And Escalante is hoping that is a dare that will backfire on the Knights.

Heritage (1-0) rolled to an easy 51-13 victory over Springfield, Mo., Parkview last week as junior quarterback Reed Brown tossed five touchdown passes. Brown finished with 233 yards passing in a little more than a half of work.

“Our offense clicked pretty well and they executed well,” Escalante said. “Reed was on and we will need to execute again Friday night.”

— PAUL NIELSEN

FHS Preps For Jefferson City

FAYETTEVILLE — The Purple’Dogs have had nearly a full week of extra practice to prepare for Friday’s home opener against Jefferson City (Mo.), and they’ll likely need it.

Fayetteville (1-0) opened its season with a 31-0 win over Little Rock Central on Aug. 31. Since then, the Purple’Dogs have turned their attention to Jefferson City, which defeated Springdale High 47-20 last week.

The Jays led 47-0 in the fourth quarter in that game, 37-0 at halftime, and Springdale had six turnovers in the game.

Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said the extra preparation time has been useful in preparing for Jefferson City’s option offense, which outgained Springdale 312 yards to 96 in the first half last week.

The Purple’Dogs defeated the Jays 42-37 last season, but Patton would like to hold Jefferson City to a lower number this week.

“If we can slow them down enough to hold them into the 20s, we have a chance to make it a great game,” Patton said. “If it becomes a barnburner and we let them score 30-40 points, it’s going to be tough.”

— Kurt Voigt

Debusk ‘Shocked’ Over Turnovers

SPRINGDALE — Out of all the things that could have gone wrong for Springdale High in its opener, it certainly wasn’t turnovers that Springdale interim coach Dennis Debusk expected.

The Bulldogs fumbled the ball four times, losing three, and also threw four interceptions in a lopsided loss at Jefferson City, Mo.

Debusk said although nerves or first-game jitters could have played a part in the large amount of turnovers, the team wasn’t going to use that as an excuse.

“I was just shocked, I couldn’t believe it, it was something none of us expected,” Debusk said. “And it wasn’t from one person, it was from a lot of players. But we developed a motto over the offseason that said, ‘No Excuses,’ and we’re not going to start now by making excuses for that many turnovers.”

Debusk said the Bulldogs worked heavily this week in taking care of the ball and he doesn’t expect to have that many turnovers again.

“I’m not saying we would have won the game or scored more points, but you take those turnovers away, and it’s a different ballgame,” Debusk said. “We can’t let stuff like that happen, we have to take care of it now and we’re working to do that.”

— Nathan Allen