Harrelson speaks to the Kiwanis Club about Lions' football squad

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

— “They per- formed great.” “They’ve got a lot of heart.” “We’ve got a long way to go.”

Those were words Gra- vette Lions football coach Bill Harrelson used to de- scribe this year’s team as he opened his talk to members of the Gravette Kiwanis Club Friday morning.

The Lions scrimmaged in a non-scorekeeping game against Green Forest Thurs- day night. And Harrelson was positive about what he saw and the outlook for this season which opens Friday night at Lion Field against non-conference foe Lamar.

Harrelson said 47 players make up the Lion squad this year. He lost 26 seniors from last year’s team that went to the quarter-finals at state. There are 13 return- ing seniors getting fired up for the preliminary non- conference games which also include Booneville and Siloam Springs. “We’re excited about playing Si- loam,” he said. These first three prelim-games are at Lion Field.

The first conference game will be at Pea Ridge on Sep- tember 21.

Turning to the confer- ence, the coach suggested, “Prairie Grove is going to be it” in the chase for the title. He added PG and Ozark will both be in the running. “But we’re going to be right in there with them,” he added confidently.

Harrelson also mentioned the other conference teams, Farmington, Gentry, Lincoln and Berryville, and added, “Our work is cut out for us.”

“We’ve got great kids in Gravette. Not just on the football field,” Harrelson declared. He mentioned the cleanup work team members did in Old Town and parks last spring when he asked for volunteers to give back to the commu- nity. “Twenty-two signed up. That’s the type of kids they are, the way they are raised, the values they have been taught.”

Tipping His Hat

The field house with its facilities and weight room is a great addition to the program in Gravette. “The facilities are great PR. Visit- ing teams are impressed,” the coach declared.

He also tipped his prover- bial hat to the Boosters Club which provides meals and courtesies to visiting teams. He related that when Dol- larway came to Gravette in the playoffs, the coach men- tioned their team doesn’t get that kind of hospitality elsewhere.

Harrelson made good praise for his assistant coaches Duke Mobley, Jake Knoedl and Seth McKinzie for making the program successful.

Responding to a question about distance teams must travel, the coach noted it af- fects basketball and others more than football since football games are on Fri- day and not on mid-week

school nights. Conference make-up, etc., is set by the Arkansas Activities Associa- tion.

Harrelson said, “There’s lots of talk (about the prob- lem) but we’re stuck with it for the next two years.”

Responding to a question about Shiloh Christian, the team which has been the nemesis of the conference for years, he suggested, “I haven’t even thought about them,” but added, “They’re going to be tough whichever conference they’re in.”

Turning to the Junior High team, he said they played very well against Green For- est. He described several of those upcoming senior Lions with these words: “We have high expectations for them.”

In his closing remarks, he mentioned FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) which is active in Gravette and added one of his players recently told him they were going to have a devotional after practice Wednesday.

“That’s pretty powerful,” the coach declared.

Sports, Pages 9 on 08/29/2012