GRAVETTE — Gravette coach Bill Harrelson is fighting the same issue a lot of schools across the state are — low numbers.
The Lions opened practice earlier this month with about 36 players, which Harrelson said is about 15-16 fewer than what the program normally has.
"We're normally at 50-52 players," Harrelson said. "Last year we had 52, but even that was down."
Harrelson said he could not pinpoint one particular reason why the participation numbers are lower, but cited several factors as likely causes.
"Football is not for everybody," he said. "We all know that. I feel like we sugar-coat it as much as we can, but we've got what we've got."
The fear of concussions and the potential for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy are factors that many coaches across the country are saying is driving down the number of high school football players. But Harrelson said he does not believe that is the case at Gravette.
"I have not had one kid say, 'My mom does not want me to play football,'" he said. "There are probably some out there. We've had several go straight basketball, we've lost a couple to grades, a couple (of players) have moved off. But I haven't had anybody say 'I'm scared of getting a concussion.'"
Harrelson said the decrease in numbers will be seen in team depth, something that becomes more important as the season moves on and players get banged up.
"We basically lost an entire scout team," Harrelson said. "But we've been real pleased with what our kids have done this season. They've done a great job and we're looking forward to the season."
The Lions will join with Greenland for a tri-team scrimmage Aug. 21 at Farmington. Gravette opens the regular season Sept. 1 at Ozark.
Prep Football Scrimmages
Monday, Aug. 21
Fayetteville at Greenwood
Hackett/Waldron at Paris
FS Northside at Rogers Heritage
Greenland/Gravette at Farmington
Tuesday, Aug. 22
Lamar/Mansfield at Dover
Clarksville/Heber Springs at Atkins
Elkins/Green Forest at Gentry
Ozark at Huntsville
Springdale High at Shiloh Christian
Prairie Grove at Van Buren
Siloam Springs at Pea Ridge
Thursday, Aug. 24
Lavaca at Cedarville
Alma at FS Southside
Rogers High at Russellville
Bentonville High/North Little Rock/Bixby, Okla. at Springdale Har-Ber
Bentonville West at Poteau, Okla.
Friday, Aug. 25
Berryville at Harrison
Lincoln at West Fork
Sports on 08/16/2017