SPORTS >> Hurricane gets edge on Falcons at Conway

By TODD TRAUB

Leader sports editor

CONWAY – Jonesboro had an open invitation to the free-throw line as it beat North Pulaski 66-47 in the second round of the Wampus Cat Invitational at Buzz Bolding Arena on Monday.

The Hurricane (5-1) outlasted the Falcons in a game that featured 51 fouls while senior post player Ojo Ayo led with 22 points and 17 rebounds.

The Falcons struggled to handle pressure from Jonesboro’s full-court defense and to overcome 29 fouls. Jonesboro was able to reach the double bonus with 6:22 left in the first half and again early in the fourth quarter.

“He lost a lot of guards — a lot of experience from last year,” second-year Jonesboro coach Wes Swift said of coach Ray Cooper and North Pulaski, which reached the 5A state semifinals last season. “We thought our pressure might disrupt a little of what they were doing. We got beat Saturday in our own finals, and this is our fourth game in five days.

“On the one hand, I was concerned about our legs; on the other hand, I thought they were pretty motivated because they felt they gave one away Saturday night.”

Saturday’s loss to East Poinsett County became a distant memory for the Hurricane once they got the early jump on the Falcons.

Jacob Gibson’s buzzer-beating three pointer to end the first quarter gave Jonesboro a 16-13 lead, and it held the lead with three straight trips to the free-throw line before Ayo led Jonesboro on an 11-0 run that stretched the lead to 31-18 with 3:11 left in the half.

Senior guard Marcus Williams picked up his third foul with 7:03 left in the second quarter, and a foul by Shyheim Barron moments later sent Jonesboro’s Colby Inboden to the line for the first of seven trips by the Hurricane before the half.

Jonesboro capitalized by going 10 of 14.

Williams and Barron eventually fouled out in the fourth quarter.

The Hurricane had similar difficulties as it committed 22 fouls.

It was not Jonesboro’s 22 of 36 showing at the free-throw line that made all the difference, as the Falcons made 15 of 29 free throws. The Hurricane controlled the game by controlling the rebounding 43-16 over a greatly outsized North Pulaski team.

Most of that success was because of Ayo’s power-finesse presence inside. Ayo single-handedly out rebounded the Falcons by one.

“I thought Ayo set the tone,” Swift said. “We threw it to him early; I thought he got some baskets. I don’t know how many rebounds he had, but it was a lot.”

Junior guard Braylon Spicer was the Falcons’ only consistent scoring threat most of the night. Spicer helped keep things close early and scored five of North Pulaski’s final six points of the first half once the Hurricane crept out to a double-digit lead.

Spicer made two straight baskets inside the lane with less than two minutes left in the half, and hit the back end of a two-shot free-throw opportunity with 52 seconds left to make it 32-23.

But the Hurricane shut Spicer out in the third quarter, though he went on to lead the Falcons with 17 points.

After a successful run at Lonoke, Swift replaced longtime Hurricane coach Barry Pruitt last season and is beginning to see the program adapt to his style.

“Last year was kind of a culture shock for them going from one coach to a new one,” Swift said. “A coach that had been there for 25 years to a new, young, whatever you want to call me. It took them a little while to get used to what I expected, but things are moving the way I want them to.”

Sophomore Dayshwan Wat-kins added 11 points for the Falcons while senior post player Bryan Colson finished with eight.

North Pulaski will play Thursday at 5:30 against the loser between Fayetteville and Guy-Perkins.

SPORTS >> Appleby making case for spotlight

By JASON KING

Leader sportswriter

CONWAY – Jacksonville’s Raheem Appleby didn’t seem all that impressed by Sylvan Hills’ top college recruit Archie Goodwin.

At least it didn’t show in Appleby’s performance Monday night.

The Red Devils senior got his team rolling in the first quarter and led a defensive charge that kept the Bears searching for answers during a 68-52 Jacksonville victory in the first round of the John Stanton Wampus Cat Invitational at Buzz Bolding Arena.

Appleby scored 14 points in the first quarter and finished with 21 while Goodwin scored 20. But it was the halftime margin that told the tale.

Appleby outscored Goodwin 17-6 in the first two quarters and played sparingly during the fourth.

“I just think this much — I know they’re hollering about Archie Goodwin, but they forget Raheem Appleby ain’t a bad hand,” Jacksonville coach Victor Joyner said. “I don’t know whether or not Raheem is ranked in the nation, but if he’s not, he should be, because he’s a heck of a ball player.

“I thought Raheem came out and showed he’s a multi-talented kid, inside-outside, and I think he needs to be ranked in some of those polls.”

Appleby’s solid performance was only part of a Jacksonville attack that featured 13 players, 10 of whom scored. Post player Tirrell Brown and teammate Xavier Husky denied the Bears their trademark inside drives for the most part, while the Red Devils attacked from the inside out.

“I thought they all came out and played good team defense,” Joyner said. “That’s what we’re trying to stress, better team defense, and I thought they did a good job pretty much.”

Appleby’s hot hand was instantaneously apparent in the first quarter. He hit a pair of three-pointers in the first two minutes, and the Bears tried to respond by forcing shots.

That allowed the Red Devils to increase the margin to 23-12 after one quarter and 43-28 at halftime.

“We’re better shooters than we showed tonight,” Sylvan Hills coach Kevin Davis said. “We had opportunities to knock shots down and stay in the ballgame, and they wouldn’t fall.

“I think that was the tell-tale is that they were really hot early, coming off screens and knocking shots down. We were missing some wide-open looks.”

Appleby did not let up early in the third quarter. He faked a three-pointer to draw Trey Smith out of position and then drove the baseline for an open basket with 5:54 left in the third to put Jacksonville up 45-30.

The Red Devils picked up a defensive rebound and Appleby took it from the other side for a resounding dunk that fired up the small but vocal Jacksonville crowd.

Another missed opportunity for Sylvan Hills to another Red Devils’ dunk, this time from Jamison Williams to extend the lead to 49-30.

“We got out of sync,” Davis said. “I think we missed some early shots, we tried to get inside off the drive. Rather than rely on our teammates, rely on our offense, we went with too much individualism, and that gets you out of sync – throws your whole court out of balance.

“So now, not only do you have one guy out of sync, you have five out of sync.”

After Appleby’s concentrated scoring in the first quarter, the Red Devils spread out the load the rest of the way. Dewayne Walker put up a three-pointer in the first quarter and James Aikens and Justin McCleary also scored, but the rest was Appleby.

But Appleby turned into an assist specialist in the second quarter with passes to Williams and Aaron Smith, who scored five of his nine points in the second quarter.

Trey Smith hit a three-pointer in the first quarter and two more in the next period for Sylvan Hills for nine of his 15 points, but his teammates came up cold from the outside for the most part.

Goodwin finally scored from long distance with a minute left to play, but by then the Red Devils had wrapped things up and went into prevent mode.

Point guard Dion Patten added 12 points for Sylvan Hills.

For Jacksonville, Smith had nine points and Williams had eight.

Aikens and Husky added six points each.

SPORTS >> Brain power lifts Panthers to awards list

By TODD TRAUB

Leader sports editor

Cabot coach Mike Malham thinks he has unlocked the secret of the Panthers’ success during the 2010 football season.

Malham looked at the all-state and all-conference data scattered on his desk Monday, and while he had the requisite amount of praise for his entire group of selectees — including all-state choices Nathan Cash, Zach Brown, Riley Hawkins and Mason James — Malham focused in on the 18 academic all-conference selections.

“That’s more than we’ve ever had,” Malham said as he examined the list. “I think last year we had about 12, before that we had about 10. We usually get somewhere a little over 10 and under 14.”

The Panthers won a share of the 7A/6A-Central Conference championship and beat Rogers Heritage in the first round before falling in the quarterfinals at Fort Smith Southside.

After replacing 14 starters from the previous year’s state semifinal team, Cabot was picked to finish close to the middle of the pack in the conference this season. But the Panthers (9-3) overcame an early, two-game losing streak and steadily improved on their way to the postseason.

“Nine wins, you’d almost take nine wins any year,” Malham said.

Malham said the Panthers’ team smarts might have had something to do with that.

“That may account for the reason we had a better year than we thought we were going to have,” Malham said. “It doesn’t hurt to be smart out there.”

Defensive back/quarterback Bryson Morris, with grade-point average of 3.92, and kicker Will Hidalgo (3.90) head the list of players who finished with a grade point of 3.0 or better.

The all-state list featured the offensive/defensive lineman Cash, Brown at defensive back, Hawkins at linebacker and James at running back/defensive back.

Cash led the way up front for a run-oriented offense that averaged 27.5 points a game and helped out on a defense that allowed an average 20.3. Brown had 78 tackles and three interceptions, Hawkins led the defense with 110 tackles with two interceptions and James averaged 5.2 yards on just 39 carries.

The four were named first-team all conference and are joined by defensive lineman Jared Dumais (50 tackles, seven sacks) and tight end Rod Quinn, who averaged 15.4 yards a reception and scored two touchdowns.

“A lot of these kids that played are kids that have been seniors and been in the program and just paid their dues and finally got their chance to play as seniors, and did a good job,” Malham said. “That kind of speaks well for our program.”

Second-team all-conference choices were running back Jeremy Berry, who missed time late in the season with an injury; center/defensive end David Young; running back/linebacker Chase Boyles; defensive back Ethan Covington; tight end Jesse Roberts, who was also injured late in the season, and guard/defensive tackle Tyler Tarrant.

“We tied for the conference, 6-1 in our conference,” Malham said. “Usually when we win the conference we get around six or seven on the first team and then, of course, we do a second team so you get more kids represented.”

Running back/defensive back Antonio Davis, who moved in from out of state, won Cabot’s Lewis Smith award, a long-standing honor given to the player who Malham said represents the “heart and soul,” of the team.

Looking at the list of award winners dating to 1978, Malham said the Lewis Smith honor sometimes goes to a starter but is more often awarded to the reserve who does invaluable work in the unheralded role of scout team player.

SPORTS >> Wildcats in title tussle

By JASON KING

Leader sportswriter

Harding Academy’s second dose of revenge against Fountain Lake on Friday has landed the Wildcats in their first state championship game in eight years.

The Wildcats (12-1) punched their ticket to the 3A final with a 33-15 semifinal victory over the defending state champion Cobras, about the same time unbeaten Rivercrest was taking care of West Fork to claim the other final berth in War Memorial Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Harding Academy beat Fountain Lake in the season opener, a game that served as an early warning to the rest of the 3A classification and gave the Wildcats their first measure of revenge against the team that beat them in last year’s semifinals.

Harding Academy’s recent playoff history did not repeat Friday thanks in part to another four-touchdown performance from senior quarterback Seth Keese.

Rivercrest (14-0) survived a gritty comeback effort by West Fork to win its semifinal 17-14. Rivercrest went up 17-0 to start the second half before West Fork cut it to three with just over two minutes left.

Saturday’s outcome means either Harding Academy or Rivercrest will take its first loss within in its own classification. Harding Academy’s only loss came in Week 2 against 4A Heber Springs, and then the Wildcats swept their 2-3A Conference schedule for the second straight year to earn a top seed and first-round playoff bye.

Saturday will also mark the final high-school game for Keese, who has started at quarterback and defensive back since his sophomore year. Keese rose to the occasion against Fountain Lake with a 241-yard performance that included 18 rushes for 71 yards and a touchdown as well as a 15-of-23 night passing for 170 yards and three touchdowns, all to different receivers.

Keese found Corey Guymon with a 19-yard touchdown pass early in the second half to break a 16-15 halftime tie and also had scoring passes to senior receivers Josh Spears and Tyler Curtis.

For his career, Keese has 9,320 yards of total offense and 112 touchdowns.

Harding Academy and Rivercrest both fell a game short of the championship last year. Following the confusion of a lawsuit filed by Lamar over the eligibility of a transfer student, which postponed the playoffs a week, the Wildcats and Colts marched through the brackets until falling in the semifinals.

If Harding Academy wins Saturday, it would be the Wildcats’ fifth overall title dating to their first in 1976. It would be the Colts’ first championship since 1985 and their second overall.

The Wildcats won their last state title as a Class AA team in 2002 when they defeated Danville 29-26, and were led by a Keese then as well. Seth Keese’s older brother Caleb was Harding Academy’s quarterback from 2000-2002, and is still listed in the Arkansas Activities Association record book in several categories.

SPORTS >> Red Devils get credit where due

By TODD TRAUB

Leader sports editor

The postseason spotlight hasn’t quite shifted from the Jacksonville Red Devils just yet.

After returning to the playoffs under first-year coach Rick Russell and beating Sheridan in the first round before bowing out, Jacksonville had three Class 6A all-state selections heading its list of postseason honorees this week.

Senior defensive lineman Rhakeem James, junior wide receiver D’Vone McClure and senior quarterback Logan Perry got the all-state nods to go with their first-team, 7A/6A-East all-conference awards.

Russell said the talented nucleus, which included 10 who earned postseason honors, was instrumental in the Red Devils’ playoff push after they won two games the previous season.

“The kids, through their effort made a name for our school in the 2010 season, and the postseason accomplishments speak for that,” Russell said.

McClure, who will return to bedevil defenses next year, led the Jacksonville receiving corps with 58 receptions for 944 yards and nine touchdowns.

Perry was 150 of 233 passing for 2,052 yards, 19 touchdowns and just four interceptions. His fellow senior James had 59 tackles, 32 unassisted, with fives sacks and 11 tackles for 40 yards in losses.

“Logan Perry, a three-year starter,” Russell said. “What has he done for the program in three years? It’s unmentionable the amount of things he’s done over the last three years.

“Rhakeem James is the same way. He’s been a three-year starter and just an outstanding character kid and a Red Devil through and through. We’re proud of what they’ve done and what they’ve done for our program.”

Senior running back Antwone Mosby and senior cornerbacks Tyler Crook and Kenny Cummings round out the Red Devils’ all-conference, first-team choices.

Mosby carried 69 times for 519 yards and had five interceptions. Crook had 48 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery and Cummings had 43 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

“Tyler Crook has worked extremely hard in the weight room, from a sophomore in there about 130 pounds to a 170-pound, all-conference cornerback,” Russell said.

“Kenny Cummings is the same way. He developed and did what the coaches asked him to do and was just a joy to coach and we’re proud of their accomplishments.

“They put the work in to achieve those things.”

Jacksonville’s second-team, all-conference selections were junior offensive/defensive lineman James Reddick, senior linebacker Justin Kirk, sophomore safety Kevin Richardson and junior safety Cari Jordan.

That gives Russell a good pool of talent from which to work next year, but for now he is pleased to send his seniors out with some accolades ringing in their ears.

In fact, Russell said, the all-conference honors don’t begin to describe the players’ contribution. The all-conference list doesn’t measure conduct, Russell pointed out.

“From their leadership to their performance on the football field and their work ethic on the practice field they’ve set a very good example for the younger kids to follow and we’re going to miss them,” Russell said.

SPORTS >> Bears ignite efforts on cue from coach

By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter

Kevin Davis is one coach willing to do whatever it takes to fire up his team.

That was evident mid way through the third quarter of Sylvan Hills’ 74-43 rout over Central Arkansas Christian on Tuesday when Davis, reacting to a player-control foul called against junior guard Archie Goodwin in the backcourt, unleashed a barrage of high-volume complaints at the head official.

It didn’t take long for Davis to be hit with a technical foul, but with his Bears already up 48-24 with 4:37 left in the third, the exchange was more about team motivation than concern over any impact the call had on the game.

“I thought we had lost a little intensity,” Davis said.

“I was really after them to work harder. And that was probably a little frustration. I just tried for my guys to feed off that and let them know, ‘Hey, I’m not sitting over here not bringing intensity,’ so you’ve got to bring the intensity.”

Goodwin, one of the top college prospects in the state, pulled down a rebound and began heading upcourt when Mustangs defender Josh Adams stepped in the lane and made contact.
Goodwin, expecting a blocking foul, showed his frustration over the call by giving the ball a hard bounce that caused it to stray near the Bears’ bench.

Davis took up a conference with the head official, who tried to calm Davis, only to get another verbal salvo.

“That’s a block/charge; any coach is going to be upset about that in the backcourt,” Davis said.“That can go either way all the time. That really wasn’t the issue. It was the issue of just sometimes doing things just to see how your troops are going to respond.”

The Bears responded by picking up the pace in a game they already had in control, outscoring the Mustangs 9-2 in the final three minutes. That was enough to push the score to 74-43 at the start of the fourth quarter and trigger the sportsmanship/timing rule in which the clock doesn’t stop.

“I told them at the half that people pay good, hard-earned money to watch you play,” Davis said. “You make sure what they’re watching is your hard work that you’ve put into this game. They really responded.”

Goodwin, who led the Bears (4-0) with 22 points, brought his share of intensity — not to mention a few scary moments — to the game in the first half. His first attempt to dunk in the first quarter was met by a hard foul from Mustang post player Jaylon Jones, who took Goodwin to the floor on the play.

Teammate Dion Patton tried to set Goodwin up for a dunk early in the second quarter, but his ally-oop pass was too high. Goodwin went up for it and wound up flat on his back under the goal, to the gasps of the home crowd.

Goodwin finally pulled off a showstopper with 2:11 left in the first half to put the Bears up 40-20.
Patton gave the Bears a spark early in the third quarter with a pair of defensive plays he was able to finish on offense.

His first was a stray rebound he quickly grabbed before driving for two points; his second was a quick steal moments later that caught CAC ball handler Adams off guard.

Patton got his coach’s attention with the second play.

“He definitely brings you a spark,” Davis said.

“Boy, I tell you, I don’t know if everyone else was impressed, but I’ve been doing this 20 years, and that play impressed me. He basically takes it as clean as a whistle. But his effort and intensity on just that one play was at a high, high level.”

While the Bears made defense a group effort, each player took his turn in the offensive spotlight. Larry Zeigler was key for the Bears with 12 of his 18 points in the first half, and he went 8 of 8 at the free-throw line.

Post player Devin Pearson and guard Trey Smith each finished with eight points.

“These guys are so unique,” Davis said. “Larry’s the garbage guy — he’s going to get the balls and make plays that you just can’t believe. Archie is who he is, and everybody knows him for the right reasons. Trey comes along, and he can get the tip-ins and shoot the long ball.”

Pearson led the Bears in rebounding and also helped spread the ball out on offense. That helped create mismatches elsewhere and opened lanes for Goodwin and Zeigler.

“He is no doubt the most agile, athletic big guy I’ve had all the way around,” Davis said of Pearson.

“He’s just a complete athlete. He does give you that ability to be unique with some of the things that a big, agile guy can do, and we’re just having a blast coaching him.”

Adams led CAC (0-2) with 16 points while Jones had 10.

The Bears begin play in the John Stanton Wampus Cat Invitational tournament in Conway on Monday.

SPORTS >> Strong start propels Sylvan Hills girls

By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter

A stellar start for Sylvan Hills was enough to overcome a sloppy ending as the Lady Bears rolled over Lake Hamilton 56-45 in the consolation round of the Mills Invitational Tournament on Thursday.

Senior guard Ashley Johnson scored 18 of her game-high 24 points in the first half, which helped the Lady Bears (5-3) jump to an 18-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 35-12 advantage at halftime.

The Lady Wolves (0-4) slowly erased the wide margin in the second half by utilizing better ball control and taking advantage of a Sylvan Hills offense that did not appear as potent with Johnson on the bench for most of the final two periods.

“We played pretty well first half, I thought,” Lady Bears coach Bee Rodden said. “I don’t think Lake Hamilton played as well as they are capable of playing. We worked with the ninth-grade boys yesterday, working on our defense and handling the ball under pressure.”

Toyletha Lewis led the Lady Bears defense with a disruptive attack that denied the ball inside for Lake Hamilton through the first quarter and most of the second.

Lewis, who also led in rebounding with 11, had three steals that led to transition opportunities for Sylvan Hills in the first half, and she proved to be a general nuisance for Lake Hamilton.

“That’s what she needs to do,” Rodden said. “She’s playing where she’s playing. She had defensive touches, and that’s what we need from her.”

The Lady Wolves dug a hole early when they tried to force the ball inside to post player Melissa Chynn, which usually resulted in a steal or easy defensive rebound for Lewis.

Her first steal with 4:35 left in the first quarter resulted in a three-pointer by Johnson to start a run of seven consecutive points from the senior that put the Lady Bears up 11-2.

“We heard that number 50 was their go-to person,” Rodden said of Lake Hamilton’s post player.
“We tried to work on our shifting. We’ve got four kids on the floor who didn’t play last year. They’re still learning every day. Lord help, it’s a work in progress, every time we hit the floor.”

Johnson scored four more points during the period, including a jumper with 10 seconds left that gave Sylvan Hills an 18-4 lead heading into the second quarter. Johnson had 11 points in the first quarter alone.

“She can play; she’s a dandy,” Rodden said. “You can’t say enough about her. She’s worked really hard on her perimeter shooting. She can play any position I need her to, and she can run any offense we need to run.”

The Lady Bears extended their lead early in the second quarter with putback baskets by Jalmenal Byrd-Hudson and Lewis, as well as another three-pointer by Johnson that upped the lead to 25-4.

Johnson pushed it to 27-4 with a pair of free throws before the Lady Wolves finally showed signs of life with a 6-0 run. Kashima Wright closed out the half with a pair of free throws to make it 35-12.

Wright completed a solid first half at the free-throw line for Sylvan Hills, which went 9 of 10 compared to 0 of 6 for Lake Hamilton.

Johnson increased the lead to 41-15 with two baskets early in the third quarter, but she came out of the game with three fouls.

Kayla Ballard hit a three- pointer for Lake Hamilton, and Wright answered for Sylvan Hills.
The Lady Bears had a 52-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter before the Lady Wolves mounted their best charge of the game against mostly Sylvan Hills reserves.

Wright finished with 13 points and five rebounds for Sylvan Hills. Valecia Jarrett also had five rebounds. For Lake Hamilton, point guard Jasmine Collier led with 11 points while Ballard had nine.

Sylvan Hills will play Little Rock McClellan in the consolation finals tonight at 6:30 p.m.

SPORTS >> Defense drives Cabot to big victory

By TODD TRAUB
Leader sports editor

Cabot committed the first turnover of Tuesday’s game at Jacksonville. It only seemed like Jacksonville committed all the rest.

Cabot rolled to a 72-35 girls victory at the Devil’s Den, harassing Jacksonville with its aggressive defense and turning multiple turnovers into points.

“We’re really trying to improve our defense and we’re pleased with the way the girls played,” Cabot coach Carla Crowder said. “We were able to involve a lot of players.”

Jacksonville committed 33 turnovers with 16 leading to points.

“We were pretty much not running the press breaker,” Jacksonville coach Katrina Mimms said. “I think that’s pretty much what they do and we just didn’t handle it.”

Cabot’s Eliot Taylor lost the ball out of bounds for the first turnover of the game, but Jacksonville lost the ball twice, with the second turnover leading to Jaylin Bridges’ layup that opened the scoring and set the tone for the night.

Jacksonville never led and forced a 2-2 tie, the only one, when Jessica Jackson made a layup with 5:13 left.

Melissa Wolff hit a jumper for Cabot to start a 14-4 run from inside to make it 18-6 with 45.3 seconds left in the first quarter.

The closest Jacksonville would get after that was 18-8 when Nichole Bennett responded with a layup with 31 seconds to go.

The Lady Panthers outscored the Lady Red Devils 24-10 in the second quarter to take a 44-18, halftime lead.

“We haven’t seen any man-to-man this year,” Mimms said. “This was our first test with it. We flunked.”

Jackson, a sophomore who has been drawing major-college interest since before her freshman season, tried to give Jacksonville a spark when she scored her team’s first eight points of the second half, but despite her efforts Cabot continued to pull away.

Wolff made a floater in the lane for the 60-30 lead with less than 45 seconds left in the third quarter to start the clock running under the sportsmanship/timing rule.

Mimms said the Lady Red Devils, playing the second of three consecutive games, tried too hard to be a one-player show, passing up opportunities as they tried to get the ball to Jackson.

“We got in a hurry and fed the ball back to Jessica too much and tried to rely on her too much instead of moving the basketball and hitting the open person,” Mimms said.

But Mimms, who has started mainly freshmen and sophomores, said such growing pains are to be expected with a young team.

“We were hoping to be way more competitive than we were, that’s the bottom line,” Mimms said. “We wanted to be right there. We wanted to be able to take care of the basketball and be able to execute on offense coming out of the dressing room against a man-to-man.”

Crowder said she wasn’t trying to exploit Jacksonville’s youth as much as she was simply trying to refine her own team’s game.

Wolff led Cabot with 20 points, Taylor added 12 and Laci Boyett scored 11. Jackson led Jacksonville with 15 points and Bennett scored 11.

SPORTS >> NFL ref Coleman welcomes boos in Sherwood trip

By TODD TRAUB
Leader sports editor


If NFL referee and Arkansas native Walt Coleman didn’t already feel at home Thursday, he quickly took steps to correct that.

Coleman, featured speaker at the Sherwood Chamber of Commerce luncheon, invited the gathering to serenade him the way he has become accustomed in his 21-year professional officiating career, and the crowd responded with a lusty chorus of boos.

“I always feel out of place when I get a nice introduction and I get applause,” said Coleman, an executive at Coleman Dairy who has made a second career spending his weekends at NFL stadiums around the country.

In an upbeat appearance, Coleman explained his love of football and touched on some of the highlights of his career, which included one of the most controversial calls in the history of the game.

He is prohibited by NFL rules from doing media interviews during the season but Coleman, a member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, also took questions from the audience.

His father was a referee and Coleman began his own career as a junior high official in 1974. He has seen some of football’s greatest players up close, but he pointed out guys like Joe Montana and Peyton Manning wouldn’t have amounted to much without the unsung heroes — the blockers who never touch the ball.

Unfortunately the unsung heroes usually only get attention when they have committed a penalty. That’s where Coleman comes in.

“Somebody like me stands out in front of everybody and says ‘Holding, No. 62 offense,’ and then No. 62 gets recognized,” Coleman said.

Yet it is the effort of individuals pulling together which makes Coleman a fan of the game.

“When you get out there in the real world that’s the way it works,” he said.

Coleman probably feels an affinity for the players whose mistakes are singled out because it is something that happens to Coleman and his fellow refs almost every week.

Whether the goofs are real or perceived, fans will let you know what they think, Coleman said.
“Boos just come with the territory when you’re trying to get something accomplished,” he said.
To this day, Coleman still hears from irate Oakland Raiders fans about the “tuck play” call he made in the 2002 AFC playoff in a snowstorm at New England.

Oakland led 13-10 with New England driving in the closing minutes when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady dropped back to pass, then appeared to try to tuck the ball to run, was hit and fumbled with Oakland recovering.

With 1:43 left, it appeared to be the fumble Oakland needed to lock up the victory, but replay official Rex Stuart called for a review.

After studying the video on the sideline, Coleman ruled Brady’s arm was going forward even though Brady may have been trying to tuck and run, and thus the play was an incompletion and New England kept possession.

The Patriots drove for the tying field goal and won it in overtime to advance to their third Super Bowl and first championship.

The league upheld the call but Coleman’s name was mud in the Bay Area.

Where Oakland fans had previously mourned the “Immaculate Reception” by Pittsburgh’s Franco Harris — the controversial catch of a deflected ball which beat the Raiders in the 1972 playoffs — now they channel their grief into rage at Coleman.

“I’ve trumped that,” he said.

Coleman, who wears No. 65, said that on Monday he took a call from a Raiders fan who confused him with referee Walt Anderson, a Texas native who wears No. 66 and worked Sunday’s Oakland loss to Miami.

“You blew another call,” said the fan, by way of introduction.

Coleman said he long ago mastered the referees’ rules for survival, which include running off the field as soon as the final gun sounds and backing in one’s car for a quick getaway.

Coleman was only partially joking. He recalled his first game, a 1974 junior high matchup between Mt. Ida and Mountain Pine, after which an irate coach ran after him and stuffed a note featuring two bible verses into Coleman’s pocket.

On Thursday, Coleman fished out a copy of the verses. One verse essentially urges Judas to go hang himself and the other, basically, says to do likewise.

Coleman joked that he calls NFL games for stress relief and then seriously explained he has no say-so in his assignments, which are handed out by the league office three weeks in advance.
He would prefer to visit Miami, Tampa or San Diego, but his next four trips are to New York, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Chicago.

“Very pleasant in Chicago,” Coleman said, looking toward the Dec. 26 Bears game.

Coleman was asked about the apparent increase in blown calls across the board in Major League Baseball, college football and the NFL. He said that while mistakes are made, part of the perception has to do with the age in which we live.

In the high-tech age, an official’s goof, real or perceived, travels faster to more places and is scrutinized by more people.

Technology that includes TiVo replay, high definition and multiple camera angles sometimes undermines a referee who is being asked to make a quick decision to keep the game moving.
A referee is as human as the player who jumps offsides, yet technology can no more replace that player than it can replace officials. Coleman said most people who love football understand that human element and live with it.

“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things but from our standpoint you just do your job,” he said.

SPORTS >> Red Devils thump Panthers

By TODD TRAUB
Leader sports editor


It got out of hand in the second quarter and it stayed that way as Jacksonville trounced non-conference rival Cabot 79-42 at the Devils’ Den on Tuesday night.

Guard Raheem Appleby had a big night with 24 points and Jacksonville put its depth to work to grind down Cabot after the Panthers had pulled within one point of the lead late in the second quarter.

“We were just going to keep it sped up,” Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner said. “We just wanted to run.”

Cabot was within 32-31 when Kai Davis made a three-pointer with 54 seconds left in the second quarter. But Appleby, who scored his team’s first nine points, made a jumper as the Red Devils outscored the Panthers 7-0 to close out the half.

“I wish we could go back and do the last 30 seconds of the second quarter,” Cabot coach Jerry Bridges said. “We had the ball down one, 30 seconds to go if I remember correctly and then it just snowballed.”

Chuck Matione made an inside shot to open the second half for Cabot, but De’shjon Penn got a rebound and putback to make it 42-33 to start an 18-1 Jacksonville run that ended with Dewayne Waller’s three-pointer that increased the lead to 57-34 with 1:56 left in the third quarter.

The Red Devils led 69-41 when Appleby made a layup with 5:28 to go in the game, and 12 seconds later Dustin House converted a three-point play with 5:06 left for the 70-41 lead.

The 30-point margin triggered the sportsmanship/timing rule and the continuously running clock and the Red Devils outscored the Panthers 7-1 in the race to the finish.

“We just know the style that we wanted to play and we wanted to play up-tempo,” Joyner said.
Justin McCleary added 16 points for Jacksonville (3-0) and joined with Appleby to form a 1-2 combination Bridges found hard to defend.

“I think he’s got a good nucleus,” Bridges said of Joyner. “I’ll tell you what, that No. 3 and that No. 4 those are two good guards. His second string was bigger; they weren’t as quick as the first group. They still had quickness about them but they had size.”

Joyner praised Appleby who set the tone early for the Red Devils.

“Raheem Appleby, this is his team,” Joyner said. “You’ve got other guys who are stepping up in there. Xavier Huskey, Dustin House stepping up in there. I thought we got some good play off our posts tonight. De’shjon Penn came in there and played solid in the middle, solid defensively.”

Jacksonville has thrived since the end of football season, when it welcomed seven players from the Red Devils’ playoff team.

“We’re getting our depth ready and our depth is getting a little bit better,” Joyner said. “Those guys are getting their wheels. Our timing is a little bit better. We’re still kind of slow on rotations on the press. They just don’t have that feel right now.”

The fresh legs and extra bodies were too much for a Cabot team that played in the Mills Invitational the night before.

“That would have been a different game if they’d had fresh wheels,” Joyner said. “They got a little bit tired. You could see they were right there early. His first six or seven are pretty dang good but they got a little tired, a little leg heavy in that third quarter going into that fourth quarter.”

Because of the previous night’s action in the Mills tournament, which continues for Cabot today, Bridges had to rest Darin Jones and Davis as things were getting out of hand in the third quarter. Davis was Cabot’s leading scorer with 17 points.

“Darren and Kai are the only two who have had any varsity experience, period,” Bridges said. “We’re just now getting through that deer-in-the-headlights look.”

Tim Bellou added 10 points for Cabot.

Cabot plays in the consolation round of the Mills Tournament at 11:15 today. Jacksonville travels to the Conway tournament next week.

TOP STORY >> Jacksonville’s $18.9 budget gets approval

By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer

It didn’t take long—about 10 minutes—for the Jacksonville City Council on Thursday to approve its $18.9 million general budget for 2011.

The council, in the same ordinance, approved a $2.78 million street budget, a $1.7 million sanitation fund and $1.05 million for its emergency medical-services fund.

Only the proposed expenditures for the sanitation fund were higher than the projected income.

The approved general budget of $18,946,105 included $12.4 million for public safety; $4.1 million for public works; $1.99 million for general government, and $503,829 for judicial.

Jacksonville’s proposed 2011 budget is about $100,000 less than this year’s budget but still gives employees a small raise and maintains services. The projected expenditures do outstrip the projected income by about $500,000, but the city will make that up but shift some money from its capital-improvement fund and its reserves, if necessary.

Mayor Gary Fletcher was pleased with the budget and said that it’s very conservative and any increase the city may see will come from higher census numbers. “If we get more than what we are expecting, that’ll be icing,” the mayor said.

The city will give its employees a flat $500 raise instead of a percentage raise as it has in the past. City council members will not receive a raise and all city services will stay at their current levels, but an increase is expected in sanitation rates.

Both the mayor and Finance Director Paul Mushrush said that something needs to be done with sanitation. Mushrush explained that if the city continues without a rate increase or a reduction in garbage and trash services, the department will lose about $1 million over the next five years.
The department is already running a deficit of more than $400,000.

The department has not raised its rates in almost a decade.

Alderman Reedie Ray chairs the committee looking into options. The committee has met once already and plans another meeting next week.

Ray said it looks like a rate increase will be necessary, but the committee will have a public hearing before making any recommendation to the council.

Nearly 67 percent of the expected revenue for the 2011 general budget will come from various sales taxes, followed by intergovernmental transfers at 7.8 percent, operating transfers at 6.4 percent and utility franchise fees at 5.9 percent.

The bulk of expenditures will be for public safety at 64 percent of the total budget, followed by public works at 22 percent, general government at 11 percent and judicial at 3 percent.

TOP STORY >> O’Brien loses shredding fight

By stephen steed
Special to The Leader


Pat O’Brien’s two-year effort to digitalize courthouse records in the Pulaski County clerk’s office has come to an end.

In a brief and terse ruling Thursday afternoon, the Arkansas Supreme Court sided with 17 Pulaski County circuit judges who had ordered O’Brien to stop shredding paper documents at the courthouse as part of his project to move the papers into an electronic form.

O’Brien, whose term as Pulaski County circuit clerk ends on December 31, asked the Arkansas high court to first set aside the judges’ order, at least temporarily, and, second, to hold a hearing at which O’Brien could make oral arguments.

The court expedited its consideration of the issue, then without comment rejected both of O’Brien’s requests: “Petitioner’s motion to expedite is granted. Petition for Writ of Certiorari is denied. Request for oral is denied.”

O’Brien, of Jacksonville, said Friday he was disappointed the court didn’t address his question: whether he, as circuit clerk, or the circuit judges controlled the records.

“I’m not surprised by the decision,” he said. “I knew it was a long shot to try to get something done that quickly. I’m disappointed that it’s going to be unresolved. By not stating a rationale, there could be any number of reasons why they denied my writ.”

O’Brien said the circuit judges’ orders breached the separation-of-powers doctrine of constitutionally separate executive, legislative and judicial branches. The judges ordered O’Brien to cease and desist shredding in two separate but identical orders on Nov. 12 and 15. Two orders were necessary because not all the judges were available to sign the first one. The remaining judges, once available, signed the second one.

The attorney general’s office represented the circuit judges in a brief filed Wednesday with the Supreme Court.

The judges – some individually, all as a group – said they weren’t opposed to digitalizing the files, or to destroying the paper documents, but wanted to make sure the electronic system was operating efficiently before any more shredding was done.

As more counties and courts across the state transfer paper documents into digital files, conflicts similar to what O’Brien and the Pulaski County judges faced are possible, O’Brien said. “The main issue remains the same,” O’Brien said. “And that’s who’s in charge of the process? If the argument is that the electronic system is ‘not reliable,’ who makes that determination? All the judges? A majority of the judges? The Supreme Court?”

O’Brien could have run for re-election to his clerk’s post this year but instead chose to run for secretary of state. He lost that race Nov. 2 to Mark Martin of Prairie Grove (Washington County), a Republican member of the state House of Representatives.

O’Brien is a lawyer. After Dec. 31, he has no plans. “I’ve pretty much been working or going to school since I was 18. I’m going to take some time off. I may travel some,” he said.

As for another shot at public office? “I love public policy, but it’s way too early to decide anything like that,” he said.

TOP STORY >> New officials say workers to keep jobs

By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer


Republicans swept all four contested countywide offices in Lonoke County in November, but so far, at least, it doesn’t appear there will be any wholesale layoffs.

New County Judge Doug Erwin, who defeated incumbent Charlie Troutman to become essentially the county’s chief operating officer and head of the road department, said he didn’t anticipate big changes.

In fact, he said he’d not make any changes “until we get into the office and evaluate who’s who and what’s what. We’re going to try to work with what we’ve got. Everybody needs their job, and I want to give everybody a chance to prove themselves.

“If they work, they’ve got a job. If not, they can work somewhere else.”

He has started interviewing for road administrator and comptroller, the job currently held by Darrell Tullos. Tullos has been Troutman’s right-hand man throughout his term as county judge, but he said he had decided to retire.

“There’s a lot of rumors floating around,” Tullos said. “I met with Doug for two and a half hours. He asked if my mind was made up.

“Everybody here is on pins and needles. Their livelihood and insurance depend on the job,” he said.

“Charlie has accomplished much and I’m proud to have been part of it,” Tullos added.
He said he’s got about a year’s worth of honey-dos stored up. “I’ll take it one day at a time.”
Tullos also wants to expand his ministry, manifested in his Hallelujah Harmony Quartet.

Jimmy Depriest, head of the county’s solid-waste collection and office of emergency management, seems to have been doing a good job, Erwin said.

Prosecutor Chuck Graham said he doesn’t expect to change “a whole lot of anything.”
“I was there eight years and it’s a good office. Denise (Brown) will be leaving since she was elected circuit clerk,” he said.

Graham worked as former Lonoke Prosecutor Lona McCastlain as chief deputy.

Interim Prosecutor Will Feland has been very helpful, according to Graham. Graham’s law partner, Ben Hooper, will finish up Graham’s legal work, but there won’t be any conflict because he was handling mostly civil cases.

“My focus is going to be protecting our kids. We’ve got to continue doing that. Second, we’ll focus on property crimes and drugs, and I want to see expansion of the drug court, which I helped start about six years ago.”

Brown’s duties in the prosecutor’s office have put her in frequent contact with the people in the circuit clerk’s office. “I’ve worked with those ladies for about 10 years,” she said. “I’m not going to cut off my nose to spite my face,” she said.

She does plan changes to bring the office more into the digital age. “I will have a website up and they can email us. I want to bring us into 2011.”

She said she’d like to bring other technology into the office, but that she’ll move slowly to see what might work.

Brown is taking vacation between now and taking office Jan. 1, but part of the time, she’ll visit other circuit clerk’s offices to see what they are doing, including Pulaski County Circuit Clerk Pat O’Brien, who has a website where people can look up court cases from their own computers.

“I’m am excited to get started,” Brown said.

Jack McNally, the nursing-home employee who beat Assessor Jerry Adams, couldn’t be reached for comment, but Adams said McNally came by the office one day, left a card and said if any of the employees had questions, they could call him.

“I have no idea (what McNally’s intentions are about current employees). I’ve not talked to him,” said Adams.

Asked if he thought his participation of what’s come to be called “double dipping” cost him his job, he said, “You can see the (Republican) tidal wave from the top all the way down to the constable north of town,” noting that Jimmy Taylor, a Democrat, had held that position for 20 years, but this year Republican Stanley Doug Sutterfield beat him with 59 percent of the votes.