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Going 10-0 No Easy Task In 7A-West
Last updated Thursday, November 6, 2008 10:07 PM CST in Prep Sports
By Nathan Allen
THE MORNING NEWS
BENTONVILLE -- Barry Lunney's success in the 7A-West Conference has never come the easy way.
Throughout the 16 years he spent at Fort Smith Southside, Lunney won 135 games, including four state titles (1991, 1992, 1997, 2002) and eight conference championships.
"It was one of the greatest times of my life, we had a great run at Southside," Lunney said. "It was a wonderful experience."
Despite the constant success, one thing that was largely absent from Lunney's teams at Southside was a 10-0 record during the regular season. In fact, the only time it happened was in 1998, when the Rebels were highly favored going into the playoffs before getting beat in the semifinals.
"There's a reason going 10-0 doesn't happen very often," Lunney said. "This conference is one of the best in the state. The players are so talented and every team is coached so well."
Since 1991, when the conference took on its current format of eight teams, only four teams have gone 10-0 during the regular season -- Southside in1998, Springdale High in 2004 and 2005 and Rogers High in 2006. Springdale's storied 2005 team, which finished its season 14-0, was the only group to win a state championship.
Furthermore, besides the previous four 10-0 teams, only two other teams went undefeated during conference play, Van Buren in 1996 and Springdale High in 2000.
"We know what's at stake," Bentonville sophomore quarterback Pearson Gean said. "I mean, we're obviously staying focused on the game, but I'm sure for some of us, going 10-0 is in the back of our minds. It would certainly mean a lot for this program."
When Lunney came to Bentonville in 2005, the Tigers had just come off their third straight losing season after winning their first state championship in 2001.
Since then, the Tigers have gone 28-14 and 19-8 in conference play, with this year being their best yet.
"It's certainly exciting," Bentonville defensive lineman Austin Taylor said. "We've got a chance to win a conference championship outright, something we haven't done before. This whole year has been awesome to be a part of and we want it to go as far as it'll take us."
Lunney said he and his coaching staff talked to Bentonville's players on Saturday about what it would mean to go 10-0 in such a competitive league, but also warned them to not let it go to their heads.
"I wanted them to be proud of their accomplishments and everything they've done," Lunney said. "But I didn't want them to lose sight of what we're trying to do. Har-Ber is a very tough, talented team, and we absolutely can't overlook their ability."
The Lunney File
Before coming to Bentonville in 2005, Lunney totaled a 135-60-1 record in 16 years at Fort Smith Southside. Since then, Lunney has improved the Tigers' record every year and now, if they can beat Springdale Har-Ber tonight, has them poised to be only the fifth team to go 10-0 in the 7A-West Conference since 1991. The records below show Bentonville's improvement under Lunney.
Year Overall Conference
2005 3-7 2-5
2006 7-4 5-2
2007 9-3 6-1
*2008 9-0 6-0
TOTAL 28-14 19-8
*Records represent through week nine.
TONIGHT'S TICKET
Bentonville at Springdale Har-Ber
KICKOFF: 7:30 p.m.
RECORDS: Bentonville 9-0, 6-0 7A-West; Har-Ber 7-0, 4-0.
RANKINGS: Bentonville is No. 1 in Class 7A by Hooten's Arkansas Football. Har-Ber is No. 4.
HOOTEN'S LINE: Har-Ber by 7.
RADIO: KURM-FM 100.3.
Projected Starters
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER WILDCATS
Offense Defense
Pos. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos. Name Yr. Ht. Wt.
QB Zach Faust Sr. 5-10 189 DE Jeremy Pianalto Sr. 6-2 200
RB Derek Brinker Sr. 6-0 207 NG Eric Pearce Jr. 6-2 242
WR Kaleb Vaughn Jr. 6-0 168 DE Stephen Needham Sr. 5-11 201
WR Brad Taylor Sr. 6-5 200 LB Austin Otwell Sr. 5-10 162
WR Brye Payton Sr. 6-2 175 LB Jacob Bundrick Jr. 6-0 199
WR Josh McKinney Jr. 6-1 189 LB Daniel Andreadis Sr. 5-10 174
LT Sam Henley Sr. 6-3 237 OLB Berkley Cox Sr. 5-9 177
LG Eli May Sr. 6-1 265 CB Zach Smith Sr. 5-9 142
C Kent Woodard Sr. 6-1 237 CB D.J. Donahew Jr. 5-6 145
RG Daniel Garcia Soph. 6-0 245 SS Chandler Collyar Sr. 5-8 172
RT Brandon Thayer Sr. 6-3 244 FS Houston Pruitt Jr. 5-11 170
BENTONVILLE TIGERS
Offense Defense
Pos. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos. Name Yr. Ht. Wt.
QB Pearson Gean Soph. 6-2 178 DE Ivan Gallegos Sr. 6-1 248
TB Shane Boedeker Jr. 5-10 164 NG Austin Taylor Sr. 6-4 282
WR Drew Edwards Soph. 5-8 145 DE Rob Ferrell Sr. 6-1 218
WR Sheldon Vanderpool Jr. 6-1 175 MLB Arthur Flowers Jr. 5-11 191
WR Chad Hood Sr. 6-0 170 MLB Ben Nichols Jr. 5-11 168
TE Taylor Lyles Sr. 6-0 202 OLB Erik Ragsdale Sr. 6-0 190
LT Chase Petersen Jr. 6-4 268 OLB Brandon Sleeth Sr. 5-10 189
LG John-Mark Holden Jr. 6-1 262 CB Tyler Jones Sr. 5-9 156
C Pierce Skersick Jr. 5-9 202 CB Chase Baggett Sr. 5-8 154
RG Marcus Danenhaeur Soph. 6-5 295 FS Jean-Claude Rodriguez Sr. 6-0 164
RT Faisal Khalaf Sr. 6-2 241 FS Justin Mize Sr. 6-1 165
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