Latest Sports Tweets
No Problem With Brinker's Workload
Last updated Wednesday, September 10, 2008 7:34 PM CDT in Prep Sports
SPRINGDALE -- Derek Brinker can be a workhorse, and that's just fine with his coach.
The Springdale Har-Ber running back carried the ball 26 times for 167 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-14 win over Greenwood on Friday night. Most of the carries -- 116 yards worth -- came in the second half.
"I think over the course of time, the teams that are successful in the long haul are teams that have a solid running game," Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. "When you get a lead -- and I think we were up 24-15 -- you've got to get that clock moving and get first downs. One of the safest ways to do this is run the football."
Wood said he wasn't concerned with the heavy workload on Brinker, and that Brinker wasn't either. After all, when Brinker gets that many carries, it usually means the Wildcats have a lead.
"He loves it," Wood said. "He'd probably love the ball every snap. It's just like the receivers -- they'd probably love to throw the ball every snap."
-- Brandon Harris * Special To The Morning News
Injuries Piling Up For Mounties
ROGERS -- The disabled list at Rogers High is getting longer and longer.
Senior offensive lineman Marc Spreen will miss the next two weeks after suffering a concussion and running back/linebacker Justin Reed is doubtful after suffering a sprained ankle. Both injuries happened in the Mounties' 36-33 season-opening loss at Webb City, Mo.
Starting running back and backup quarterback Michael Tibbs will likely play Friday night when Rogers hosts Kansas City Westport. Tibbs has been hampered with a hamstring injury and Mounties coach Ronnie Peacock said the senior is about 75 percent after feeling some tightness against Webb City.
"All three of those guys (Reed, Tibbs and Spreen) are really good," Peacock said. "One of the first times Reed ran it, he got an ankle injury. It isn't a bad injury but he is limping on it. I don't know how much Reed will play, or if he will play."
Alex Flowers was getting practice time at running back to provide some much-needed depth but the junior suffered a knee injury Tuesday and is likely lost for the season.
"We are not in good shape there," Peacock said.
-- PAUL NIELSEN
Johnson Not Down On Bulldogs Defense
Springdale High coach Kevin Johnson didn't like seeing his defense give up 534 rushing yards in the Bulldogs' 45-21 loss to Jefferson City last Friday night. He didn't enjoy any part of watching the Jays' 225-pound sophomore bruiser, Kody Walker, rush for 238 yards, including 150 after halftime.
But after taking a look at the film, Johnson said the Bulldogs' problems were fixable.
Johnson pointed out that Jefferson City ran option plays mostly out of the veer, an offense the Bulldogs (0-1) won't see the rest of the season. Still, Springdale must improve its tackling before its trip to play young but athletic Clarksdale (Miss.) on Friday night, Johnson said.
"We didn't tackle as well as we needed to," Johnson said. "As far as assignment-wise, we played pretty good assignment defense. Our kids were in the right spots. We might have missed some tackles, but we didn't miss many assignments."
-- Ryan Malashock
Offensive Injuries Hurting Tigers
BENTONVILLE -- Before the season began, Barry Lunney was excited about the depth Bentonville had at its receiver position.
He's not so excited anymore.
The Tigers have lost two receivers (Austin McCollum and Steven Reid) to season-ending injuries and another (Chad Hood) this week because of an ankle sprain.
Both McCollum and Reid suffered their injuries at Bentonville's preseason scrimmage in Tulsa and Hood suffered his sprain last week at Conway.
Hood, however, should be back for Bentonville's game against Nettleton next week, Lunney said.
"When you lose guys like we have, it does affect the offense somewhat," Lunney said. "Austin was our fastest player, a guy that played a lot last year and had some experience under his belt. We just have to make do with what we have."
Defensive back Justin Mize, who has been out with a knee sprain since the beginning of July, will also be back this week, Lunney said.
-- NATHAN ALLEN
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
