TOP STORY > >What lawmakers cost

By stephen steed

Special to The Leader

The legislative per-diem fracas that has cropped up this election season in Arkansas once attracted the attention of The New York Times – in February 1897 – under a one-column headline: “A Bit of Arkansas Fun.”

Then, a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives attempted to lower the rate from $6 a day to $5. His fellow lawmakers met the effort with derision – and wit, when another member offered a substitute bill to lower the stipend even more: “to 75 cents per diem, board and washing.”

The Times’ scribe wisecracked: “The substitute was put on its passage in the instanter and passed by almost unanimous vote amid tumultuous applause. If the Senate passes the bill and the governor signs it, Arkansas will get her laws made at something like old-time prices.”

Those old-time prices are forgotten in the “instanter” today.

Rep. Mark Martin of Prairie Grove is the Republican nominee for secretary of state. According to state records, he collected $56,920 in per diem, mileage and office expenses in 2009, the fourth-highest amount among the 100 state representatives and 35 senators.

His Democratic challenger, Pat O’Brien of Jacksonville, the current circuit/county clerk of Pulaski County, has questioned the reimbursements as being excessive and whether Martin has violated state law by using his taxpayer-funded district office as a campaign headquarters.

Martin defends his reimbursement record as being reflective of an active and high-ranking lawmaker watching out for the needs of his constituents.

He does that, he says, by spending a lot of time in Little Rock. He is the second-ranking Republican in the House and a member of the ever-active House Education Committee, the Joint Budget Committee and the Legislative Council.

As for the latter charge, Martin’s campaign, at various times and on various forms, has listed his home address as being that of his business address, his legislative office’s address and his campaign address.

His campaign manager recently told The Leader that the campaign has no physical address. His campaign Web site lists only a post office box.

Most Arkansas lawmakers today receive a per diem of $149 for attending a meeting, an amount deemed sufficient for meals and lodging.

Those who live within 50 miles of the Capitol don’t receive per diem or mileage.

All lawmakers receive a stipend for office expenses, whether that office is at home, at his or her place of business, or someplace else. They can choose $5,820 a year, $6,540 a year, or $14,400 a year, depending on their forecast for expenses.

As for salary, most senators and representatives make $15,869 this year; the speaker of the House and Senate president pro tempore earn slightly more.

Here’s what area lawmakers collected in 2009 above their yearly salaries, in reimbursement for expenses incurred, primarily from their offices, according to records from the House and Senate:

Sen. John Paul Capps, D-Searcy: $39,151

Sen. Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle: $28,200

Sen. Mary Anne Salmon, D-North Little Rock: $29,187

Sen. Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock: $31,475

Rep. Richard Carroll, D-North Little Rock: $28,024

Rep. Davy Carter, R-Cabot: $26,400

Rep. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe: $26,700

Rep. Jane English, R-North Little Rock: $24,700

Rep. Ed Garner, R-Maumelle: $27,982

Rep. Barry Hyde, D-North Little Rock: $34,992

Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sher-wood: $27,910

Rep. Mark Perry, D-Jackson-ville: $27,000

Because they’re ineligible for per diem for attending meetings in Little Rock, none of those 13 lawmakers come close to cracking the top 20 in legislative reimbursements.

They can attend every meeting of every day of every week – or none at all – and still receive the basic reimbursement for office expenses. They also can be reimbursed for expenses of attending an occasional conference and receive an additional $10,200 for office allowances because they can’t receive per diem and mileage.

Per diem has cropped up as an issue occasionally in other states.

This past winter, in Wash-ington, some 50 lawmakers declared they wouldn’t accept per diem of $90 during a special session devoted to adopting a budget.

According to The Olympian, the lawmakers’ decision stemmed from discontent that a special session was needed to adopt a state budget that should have been adopted weeks earlier in regular session. To cynics, the action ringed hollow: Washington lawmakers are paid $42,106 a year.

In the six states bordering Arkansas, per diem in Missouri is $103; in Mississippi $116; in Oklahoma $150; in Louisiana $159; in Texas $168; and Tennessee $185, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Arkansas’ yearly legislative salaries of $15,869 compare only to Louisiana’s $16,800. On the low end, Texas pays $7,200 and Mississippi $10,000. On the high end, Missouri pays $35,915 and Oklahoma $38,400. In the middle is Tennessee, at $19,009 a year.

The term-limits amendment approved by voters in 1992 has had wide-ranging effects. In the House, where every member is up for election every two years, freshmen make up about a third of the 100-member body any given regular session.

The Senate, whose 35 members have staggered four-year terms, retains slightly more experience from session to session.

Because of term limits, incoming freshmen are encouraged by House and Senate leaders to attend as many meetings as possible, even meetings for committees of which they’re not members. They’re on a fast-learning curve, they are told.

Chances to attend meetings are plentiful: the General Assembly’s Web site lists 210 committees, subcommittees, commissions and task forces. In the 2009 regular session alone, the General Assembly created 14 task forces assigned to study topics ranging from autism to water quality. Annual budget sessions, approved by voters in 2008, add to the opportunity.

A legislator who never attends meetings or files few bills is often characterized by the media (and sometimes by fellow lawmakers) as “furniture.”

A lawmaker who appears to have no life outside the marble halls of the Capitol is a “fixture.” When it comes to taking per diem, maybe the most comfortable position is somewhere in between.

TOP STORY > >Police called to candidates forum

By JOAN McCOY

Leader staff writer

The forum for Cabot mayoral candidates on Monday night ended with blue lights and police reports after punches were thrown by a candidate for county office and two others.

Jack McNally, 53, a Republican candidate for Lonoke County assessor, is listed as the suspect in the report filed Monday night. Former Cabot Alderman Odis Waymack, 77, and H.L. Lang, 63, a member of the Lonoke County Quorum Court, are listed as the victims.

But McNally said in his written statement that he was attacked, and he wasn’t the attacker.

Sgt. Brent Lucas, spokesman for the Cabot Police Department, described the incident as a shoving match and said unless the men involved pursue it, no charges will be filed.

The disturbance happened at about 8:20 p.m. inside the community center at 508 N. Lincoln St. 

Waymack and Lang told police that McNally approached Waymack and rebuffed McNally, telling him to stop talking to Waymack in that manner. McNally asked Lang if he “wanted some of this” and punched Lang in the chest and then punched Waymack in the shoulder.

Waymack, who is legally blind, said in a later interview with The Leader that he swung at McNally, who had apparently turned, and the blow hit his back.

A crowd gathered and Stubby Stumbaugh, a candidate for mayor, took McNally away.

McNally, who was gone when the police arrived, went to the police station later to make a statement. He told police that he approached Waymack and told him that he was “a piece of dirt.” He said Lang told him to stop talking to Waymack that way, so he told Lang to “shut up and mind his own business” and then turned to leave. When he turned, someone hit him in the back of the head, McNally said.

McNally would not talk to this reporter as he waited for the police to read his written statement. But he told the officers who took the report that he left the community center “to defuse the situation.”

“They’re both old men. They don’t need this hassle,” McNally said.

Waymack told The Leader that McNally had taunted him about a week earlier outside the city annex, where Waymack and several others were holding signs for candidates.

Waymack said McNally called to him. Waymack said he didn’t respond and didn’t look in McNally’s direction because he couldn’t have seen him anyway. But when his wife, Barbara, looked, McNally turned around, bent over and slapped his buttocks, saying what sounded like “kiss this.”

The bad blood between Waymack and McNally goes back about four years, when McNally, Stumbaugh’s campaign manager during his successful race for mayor eight years ago, was working for the city as a code-enforcement officer.

In September 2006, Waymack, who was a member of the city council, pushed for a police investigation into property being taken from two vacant homes in Cabot.

Then Lonoke County Prosecutor Lona McCastlain said that although the three-week long investigation produced hundreds of pages for her to read and evidence that could be used for civil suits, there was no evidence that McNally had done anything criminal.

In July 2006, Waymon Overton, who lived in Hot Springs but owned a house at 12 Chad Court in Cabot, told police that McNally, under the guise of cleaning his yard so he could mow, removed several items from his backyard, including tools, lawn mowers, grills and a swing set. Some of the items were in his backyard shed, he said.

At about that same time, Mary Smith, who lived in Jacksonville but owned a house at 13 St. John Street in Cabot, told police that someone removed from her property a bass boat, Oldsmobile car, freezer, two tool boxes, two dryers, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, five-piece bedroom suite and mattress and spring set.

Based on information she received from Jewell Pepper and one of his family members, Smith told police she believed McNally was involved with the theft. Pepper hauls junk and reportedly hauled off Smith’s boat and car.

Cabot has an ordinance against tall grass and clutter, but there are no provisions in the ordinance for hauling off anyone’s possessions so the grass can be mowed.

Waymack got the reports from the police by asking, under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, for all documents pertaining to McNally. Among those documents was a report from March 2005 in which McNally admitted to taking two chainsaws from the back of a pickup truck.

Cabot Police Chief Jackie Davis said in 2006 that the case of the stolen chainsaws was closed because the victim, who reported the chainsaws stolen, would not come back to the station to sign the complaint.

SPORTS>>Victory perks up Falcons

By todd traub

Leader sports editor

The only thing different around North Pulaski football this week may be the smiles.

The Falcons posted their first victory of the year and a season-high points total with a 38-13 romp over Crossett on Friday at Falcons Field.

“Hopefully it changes the mentality,” coach Terrod Hatcher said. “It won’t change the way we practice.”

The victory was a personalpick-me-up for Hatcher too. It was his first as a head coach since he was promoted from offensive coordinator in August.

As much as he wants to keep things all business, Hatcher admitted a few people took note of his milestone. He even got a congratulatory text message from Pulaski County Special School District athletic director Kevin Downing.

“Everybody has been excited about it,” Hatcher said. “We knew it was going to be a tough year this year.”

That has made it that much more fun for the Falcons (1-7, 1-4 5A-Southeast Conference) as they have begun preparations for this week’s game at Mills. Mills (7-1, 4-1) is coming off its first loss of the year, 22-15, to first-place Watson Chapel.

“They’re excited about winning,” Hatcher said. “Hopefully that will help us when we get to play one of the best teams in the conference. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Mills is averaging 32.9 points a game while allowing 15.6. North Pulaski is scoring an average 9.9 points a game while giving up 34.5, but the averages could have been worse if not for Friday.

Not coincidentally, North Pulaski’s best offensive night of the year came on the legs of its best rushing game.

Senior fullback Darius Cage rushed nine times for 113 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback/running back Derrick Hart gained 117 yards on 15 carries and scored twice. “It just all came together,” Hatcher said. “We’ve been building on the dive play a little bit. We just had to pull out the horses. We knew the A-gap would be open.”

Hatcher said he offensive line stepped up its efforts and a running back rotation kept his hard working backs rested.

“I had a couple groups of running backs and we just rotated them,” Hatcher said. “By keeping those guys fresh that helped the dive very well.”

The Falcons’ previous best points total came in the 36-12 loss to Pulaski Oak Grove on Week 2 but North Pulaski had been showing signs of closing the gap. In its 16-8 loss to Sylvan Hills the previous week, North Pulaski had its chances and even had possession with a chance to tie late, but penalties and other mistakes proved costly.

That’s something the Falcons, despite the victory, are still trying to clean up this week. North Pulaski committed 15 penalties for 98 yards in its victory, with 11 of them offensive motion penalties.

“You’ve just got to keep emphasizing focus, focus, focus,” Hatcher said. “I think all year we’ve probably had 100 yards of penalties in every game and that’s not good. That hurts in those games like Sylvan Hills and White Hall where we’ve had a chance to win.”

But at least the Falcons now have a victory on which to build, for the remainder of this year and on into next season, Hatcher said.

“Next year is going to be a pretty good year,” he said. “We’re not going to change anything. We’re just going to do what we do.”

SPORTS>>Beebe won’t rest in sprint to finish

By jason king

Leader sportswriter

There are no light weeks for Beebe; at least not in coach John Shannon’s mind.

The Badgers will look to remain unbeaten in the 5A-East Conference this week against a Nettleton team still looking to find its first victory.

It is the second straight home game for the Badgers at Bro Erwin Stadium and a tune-up for next week’s conference finale at Batesville that will decide it all.

Nettleton (0-8, 0-5) has had little to cheer about since takinga 57-0 clubbing at the hands of Batesville to open conference play in Week 4. The Raiders have allowed an average 43.2 points a game.

The news doesn’t get any better for them this week against a Beebe team that has averaged over 40 points a game since opening East play with a 60-14 rout of Paragould.

This week’s matchup looks a bit brutal on paper, but Shannon remains cautious.

“That’s the thing — we can’t underestimate anybody,” Shannon said. “We’re not the type of team that can just show up and win. We’re a blue-collar team, and we have to work for everything we get.

“We have to have a great week of practice every week to go out and have a chance on Friday nights.”

Last week’s 57-27 victory over Greene County Tech was Beebe’s last big test before unbeaten Batesville comes calling next week. The Badgers’ Dead-T offense ran over the Eagles for 562 yards, while the defense stiffened in the second half and drove Tech’s rushing attack backwards 15 yards.

After averaging 16 points a game the first three weeks, Beebe has poured on the offense since opening conference play to improve to 43.2 points per game.

“I don’t really know how to explain it,” Shannon said. “We’re not doing anything different now than what we were then. The offense we run, you’re usually not able to score that many points — usually if you score 35 in a game, that’s a lot. But we’ve had some big runs that led to fast scores.

“But I don’t know other than that except that we’ve gotten a little better each week.”

The defensive numbers are a little more down to earth, but still show marked improvement. Beebe gave up an average 35.3 points through the first three weeks but has since allowed 26.4.

“We could tell a difference in our defense after that Forrest City game,” Shannon said. “We’re playing more sound, and we’ve been able to make our system better with a few adjustments each game.”

Running backs Colby Taylor and Jay Holdway have shined through Beebe’s dominating run through the conference. Taylor, a senior fullback, has rushed for over 100 yards in each conference game, including 26 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns last week.

Holdway, a junior halfback, carried 15 times for 167 yards and three touchdowns. Beebe’s rushing attack is further complimented by the option abilities of senior quarterback Scot Gowen.

“They’re really starting to come on,” Shannon said. “When you have two or three clicking like that, it just opens up what you can go out there and do.

“Colby’s been hitting off-tackle for us, Jay’s handled our dives, and that’s opened Gowen up for the option. It just allows us to be more diverse in our play calling.”

SPORTS>>Time, baseball march on

By todd traub

Leader sports editor

“Baseball provides a recreation which does not last over two hours or two hours and a half, and which can be got for very little cost. And, incidentally, I hope that night games can be extended because it gives an opportunity to the day shift to see a game occasionally.”

That was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his famed “Green Light Letter” to baseball commissioner Kennesaw “Mountain” Landis on Jan. 15, 1942.

Roosevelt was giving Landis the go-ahead to continue the 1942 baseball schedule as planned in the face of World War II and the United States’ escalating involvement in the conflict.

Roosevelt, quite rightly, realized the U.S. would need some worthwhile distractions as the war intensified and more American boys where shipped home in flag-draped coffins.

Though the war would sap baseball of many of its most talented players, Hank Greenberg and Ted Williams being two of the notables, Roosevelt understood the need for a semblance of normalcy at home, and so headvocated baseball go on with a full slate of games for the duration.

As progressive as he was, Roosevelt got just about everything else wrong in his letter to Landis. And I think, as the San Francisco Giants and the first-time Texas Rangers are squaring off this week in the World Series, old FDR would shudder to see the state of the game today.

For starters, “two hours, or two hours and a half?” The 30-team average for length of games last season was 2:52 in the regular season and 3:30 for postseason play, Bloomberg Business Week reported in April, and I don’t expect that average to shrink too much now that the Fall Classic is set to get underway.

With frequent breaks for television advertising, more deliberate play and pitching changes, playoff games now seem to last about as long as Gulf War I.

“Very little cost?” The average ticket for a Major League game this year was projected in April to be $26.74, up 1.5 from last year, the Team Marketing Report said in its annual survey.

While that on its own is not so expensive, especially compared to the NFL’s $74.99 average from last year, who wants to sit in a ballpark by himself? And that’s where the real expense comes in — the average cost for a family of four, with modest concessions and souvenirs included, was projected at $194.98 this season.

And remember, Team Marketing Report, which has been tracking the cost of games since 1991, considers the least expensive souvenirs and concessions in its formula.

Of course, no one has to buy a cap, or beer, or even pay the average ticket price. You can skate by on a bleacher seat under $10 and stay away from the concession and souvenir stands entirely.

But if you’re going to sit there for 2:52, or longer, you’re bound to get a little hungry and thirsty.

And, really, time of game is my big beef, bigger than the expense, because while you can avoid the costs entirely by staying home and watching on TV, you have no control over games, especially playoff games, stretching on toward midnight.

I don’t know what it is about short baseball games, but they’re just better, something I’m sure could be said about my columns.

The quicker a pitcher works, the more he keeps his defense focused and the less standing around and dead time there is and the cleaner and more graceful the game seems to be.

The Arkansas Travelers had a pitcher named Nick Green, now in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, who would make a “2:20 guarantee” to the umpire.

“We’re getting out of here at 9:30 tonight,” Green would say before his scheduled, 7:10 p.m. first pitch, and Greenie usually did his part to deliver.

As soon as the last out was recorded ballpark employees would bolt like the stadium was on fire, and those of us in the press box wouldn’t be far behind.

But you know, I have to admit, when I’m a paying customer with time on my hands, my thinking changes a little bit. With a longer game, if it’s well played, I feel like maybe I’m getting my money’s worth.

I paid $48 for a seat near third base to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play the Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis’ old Busch Stadium in 2004. And wouldn’t you know it, former Traveler Matt Morris threw a two-hitter that lasted 1:58 as the Cardinals won.

Man, I was robbed.

I hardly had time to finish my $10 beer.

SPORTS>>’Rabbits’ race muddled

By TODD TRAUB

Leader sports editor

The 2-4A Conference needs no form of power rankings or points system — it’s confusing enough just to look at the standings.

The race for first is fairly clear-cut, with Clinton dominating the league at 5-0 and Marianna-Lee one game back at 4-1, but third through sixth place features a cluster of good teams vying for a limited number of playoff spots.

Lonoke falls into that group.

The Jackrabbits are 3-2 in conference along with Heber Springs and Stuttgart, Lonoke’s opponent this week. A three-way tie for third is difficult enough to decipher before adding in sixth-place Newport, which is just one game in back of the mess at 2-3.

“It’s just jumbled up right now,” Jackrabbits coach Doug Bost said. “You got Clinton right there rolling, but it’s six teams right there. Somebody is going to get left behind.”

The head-to-head records also complicate things.

Lonoke (6-2 overall) has a key victory over Heber Springs, which has victories over Stuttgart and Newport. Newport handed Lonoke its first conference loss in Week 5, but has since lost to Stuttgart, Heber Springs and Clinton.

The battle for seventh and eighth place will also be settled this week when Southside Batesville plays at Cave City in a game between winless teams.

Stuttgart (4-4 overall) is coming off a 41-14 victory overSouthside Batesville last week. A victory over Lonoke is key for Stuttgart after it lost to Clinton and Heber Springs.

“We know this game is very important,” Bost said. “Clinton is on a roll, and we’ve got them for the last game, so we’re really looking at this one hard. Both of these last two are really important.”

Stuttgart has shown depth even after graduating all but two starters last year.

The offensive backfield features a blend of experienced and younger players who have helped the Ricebirds to an average 26 points a game since the start of conference play while the defense has held opponents to 18.3 points a game.

“Of all the teams we play, they run the option better than anybody,” Bost said. “Their quarterback rides the running back, and he knows right when to give it and right when to pull it, so we have to be very disciplined on defense.

“There’s no downfield passing that we’ve seen from them, but it all starts with their quarterback; he’s the one you have to stop.”

The Jackrabbits will also be looking to fire up their offense after last week’s disappointing, 20-14 loss to Marianna Lee. The Trojans held Lonoke to a season-low, 210 total yards.

Sophomore Eric Williams led in rushing with nine carries for 76 yards, while senior receiver Darius Scott had five receptions for 82 yards. Senior Logan DeWhitt and junior Terrale Watson split time at quarterback, with DeWhitt going 6 of 10 for 76 yards and an interception while Watson was 3 of 10 for 46 yards and a touchdown.

“They lined up both tight ends and went with a full house, which you know is the type of offense that controls the clock,” Bost said of Marianna Lee. “We had two big fumbles and an interception. You can’t go on the road and do that and expect to win, so that definitely hurt us.”

Watson’s playing time has slowly increased since he first appeared in the Southside Batesville game three weeks ago. He injured his ankle in August after earning the starting job over DeWhitt and has been recovering the past few months.

“Tarrale could give us some more options as far as running the football,” Bost said. “That’s something we might take a look at. I’ve gone back and counted it up, and it’s been 12 weeks that he’s been back after getting injured.”

SPORTS>>Cabot in need of calculator

By todd traub

Leader sports editor

With two games left in the regular season, some people in the 7A/6A-Central don’t like the way things are adding up.

While football coaches in the 7A classification, including Cabot coach Mike Malham, are beginning to crunch the numbers that affect playoff seeding, Van Buren has filed a lawsuit over those same numbers.

On Friday, the school district and board of directors of Van Buren, Cabot’s opponent this week, filed a suit in the circuit court of Crawford County against the Arkansas Activities Association citing inconsistencies with conference classifications and the way playoff berths and seeds are determined.

The AAA, the governing body of high school sports, realigned the 7A and 6A conferences for the current two-year cycle and implemented a power rating to determine playoff seeding.

Because of travel burdens, the 7A and 6A schools agreed early last year to be grouped in the same conferences during the regular season and to be separated into their respective classifications, which are based on enrollment numbers, for the playoffs.

Van Buren was reclassified from 7A to 6A and is one of two such teams that play in the 7A-heavy Central Conference. West Memphis, on the other hand, is one of two 7A teams playing mostly 6A schools in the 7A/6A-East.

Among other things the power rating grants points to 6A teams for 7A teams played, which gets to the heart of Van Buren’s suit.

Initially the plan was for both non-conference and conference games with 7A schools to count toward a 6A team’s power rating, but without Van Buren’s and Russellville’s knowledge the process was changed to count only conference games.

Van Buren could be contending for a top seed in 6A, but with the unforeseen change in the points system the Pointers are now closer to a third seed.

The reclassification has already seen one challenge, an appeal by 6A school Searcy that was approved in a 23-9 vote by the 7A and 6A schools before the season.

That kept Van Buren in the 7A/6A Central but moved 6A schools Little Rock Hall, Little Rock Parkview and Little Rock Fair to the 7A/6A-East, with Searcy, and moved 7A schools Cabot, Bryant and North Little Rock in into the 7A/6A-Central with Van Buren.

However Van Buren (6-2, 3-2) has held its own against the 7A talent. The fewest points the team has scored this year is 26 and Malham, who has been trying to sort out the tie-breaker system in his own conference, knows his defense will have its hands full.

“They’re not the same team. They’re a lot better this year,” Malham said. “They’ve scored lots of points. 

Twenty-six is the lowest point total they’ve put up and that was against Conway and Bryant, two pretty good teams.”

While focusing on Van Buren, Malham has had to think about Conway and Bryant too. Conway beat Cabot, Bryant beat Conway and Cabot beat Bryant in its last game Friday to form the “perfect triangle” of a three-way tie atop the Central.

That triggers the points tiebreaker, which tallies margin of conference victory points up to 13. If the season ended today, Bryant (43 points) and Conway (52) would have more points than Cabot (42) and Bryant would be the champion because it beat Conway.

But, Malham pointed out, there are still two games to play with more points to be earned and the possibility any or all three first-place teams could take another loss.

“If we all win out we’re tri-champs,” Malham said. “It’s the seeding and the playoffs, that’s what the points do.”

Then there is the West Memphis factor, Malham said. If the 7A Blue Devils win their final two 7A/6A-East games, beginning at Jacksonville on Friday, they will roll into the postseason as undefeated conference champions and take a No. 1 seed to the 7A.

Top-ranked Bentonville (7-0, 5-0) is the only other 7A team with a perfect conference record.

“West Memphis is going to be the one,” Malham said. “They still could get that bye.”

But resurgent Jacksonville could beat West Memphis in Jacksonville this week, and there are so many other things that could happen in the final two weeks Malham prefers to zero in on the real object of the game.

Winning.

“We’re just trying to focus in on Van Buren, have a good week of practice,” Malham said of his banged up team that may have to go without workhouse running back Spencer Smith (shoulder) on Friday. 

“We’re not going to try to keep them out on the field too long. Body rest is important this time of year. If you’re still celebrating that win Friday night it’s going to cost you.”

SPORTS>>Devils keeping goals in place

By Todd Traub

Leader sports editor

A rough week for Jacksonville coach Rick Russell got a little better when the Red Devils traveled to Little Rock Parkview and came away with a 28-14, 7A/6A-East Conference victory.

The Red Devils (6-2, 4-1) are playoff bound after missing out during last year’s two-victory season. Facing conference powerhouse West Memphis at Jan Crow Stadium on Friday, the Red Devils still have a shot at a conference title, a first-round bye, a home playoff game or all three.

“You want to be playing your best football at the end of the year and that’s where we’re headed,” Russell said.

The Friday night smiles were welcome after Russell’s week started with a kitchen fire in his home that caused him to miss school and practice Tuesday while he dealt with the aftermath. Russell and his family willhave to relocate for a few months while the damage is repaired, but he was quick to point out it could have been worse.

“All those things at home can be replaced,” he said. “I’m just glad nobody was hurt.”

The coaches and players rallied around Russell, the former defensive coordinator in his first year as head coach, and gave him the best pick-me-up they could — a victory.

“I’m glad the football team could focus on Parkview last week in the midst of the distractions,” Russell said of his week.

Jacksonville rallied to a 14-14 halftime tie, drove for a touchdown on the first possession of the second half and then recovered an onside kick leading to another score. The 14-point swing was a plus for the defense, which had last been on the field during the first half, Russell said.

“The first half was back and forth. It was a football game,” Russell said. “Parkview is a very good football team.”

In beating the Patriots, the Red Devils avenged yet another of last year’s losses with a chance to do the same this week against a West Memphis team that won 42-0 last year. The Blue Devils (7-1, 5-0) were the preseason conference favorites and have averaged 10 victories a year since 2004.

This season West Memphis, the defending conference champion that went 10-1 in 2009, is scoring an average 37.8 points a game while giving up an average 15.5. Jacksonville is averaging 24.5 points while giving up 10.7.

“They’ve got size, they’ve got speed and they’ve got strength,” Russell said. “They’ve got everything that a football team needs. On Friday night it’s going to be the best football team, no matter how good each position player is.”

West Memphis runs a multi-formation Wing T offense that thrives on misdirection and likes to pull its guards, Russell said.

“You’ve got to make a tackle or you know they’re going to go the distance,” Russell said.

Russell pointed out West Memphis thrives with three junior highs to feed the senior high program and a tradition of success that feeds upon itself.

“When you’re in a system where you’re expected to win, that’s what happens,” Russell said. “You get what you expect as a coaching staff and as players.”

But, Russell said, Jacksonville is working toward re-discovering those same expectations.

“We challenge the kids,” he said. “They work real hard, they follow through with the game plan. When you have good habits good things happen.”

Russell said he didn’t have a specific number of victories in mind when he started the year. Suffice to say, most of the Red Devils’ goals are still within reach.

“I never really get a pencil and a piece of paper and say ‘If we win this we can do that,’ ” Russell said. “I think that sells your kids short and your coaching staff short. We thought we could have a good season, we’re excited to be where we are but we feel like we could play better.”

SPORTS>>Second-half outburst lifts Beebe in blowout

By ray benton

Special to The Leader

A shootout turned into a rout at Bro Irwin Stadium in Beebe Friday night, as the Badgers ran away from Greene County Tech in the second half to take a 57-27 victory and stay undefeated in the 5A-East Conference.

Beebe (5-3, 5-0) trailed 21-14 with 10:20 left in the first half, but reeled off the next 37 points to take a commanding 51-21 lead with 6:45 remaining in the game.

“We’re just clicking right now on offense,” Beebe coach John Shannon said. “We challenged them all week to come out in the second half. We didn’t score to start the half at Blytheville and let them right back in it. Tonight they came out and answered the challenge.”

Beebe racked up 562 yards of offense, with all but 29 coming on the ground, but it was a crucial 29 yards.

With the score tied at 21, Beebe’s Dakota Lovston intercepted a Clayton Curtis pass - the only turnover of the game - to give the Badgers the ball with 3:32 left in the first half.

The Badger drive sputtered at the Tech 44-yard line, and the Eagles picked off a desperation heave at the buzzer for what would have ended the half. The Eagles, however, were flagged for a personal foul, giving Beebe an untimed play from the 29.

This time quarterback Scott Gowen found receiver Matthew Pursell cruising all alone down the right sideline for the score and a 28-21 lead.

The Badgers got the ball to start the second half and drove 65 yards in 11 plays before settling for a 25-yard field goal by Jordan Goss with 6:45 left in the third quarter.

When Beebe’s defense took the field for the first time in the half, the rout was on.

After getting torched for 245 yards in the first half, the Badger defense stiffened and Tech (4-4, 3-2) could barely move forward. In fact, the Eagles failed to run a play for positive yards in the second half until their third possession.

Tech’s first drive went backwards four yards before Beebe blocked a punt to set up a 13-yard scoring drive and a 38-21 lead.

The visitors’ second possession of the quarter went six yards in the wrong direction and was further hampered by another personal foul.

A Tech punt set Beebe up at its own 46, and the Badgers needed just two plays to make it 44-21. Colby Taylor went 53 yards with 46 seconds left in the third.

The Eagles’ next drive ended when Beebe stuffed a fourth-and-one at the 10-yard line.
From there, the Badger offense 90 yards in eight plays to put the Eagles down by 30. Jay Holdway got 68 of it in one play.

After the stellar first half for Tech, the Eagle offense managed just 73 yards in the second half.

“We thought we had a pretty good game plan defensively but they were doing a good job with their option stuff at pinching us and not letting us get outside,” Shannon said.

“We just took our ends off the pitch man and put them on the quarterback because we realized they were wanting their quarterback to run the ball.”

Taylor finished with 180 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. Holdway ran the ball 15 times for 167 yards and three scores.