The Bryant Hornets host the Alma Airedales tonight in 7A/6A-Central Conference action. It’s the first game in a week for Bryant’s teams after Tuesday’s trip to Russellville was postponed due to inclement weather.
Leland Barclay, who writes for the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith and is quite an Arkansas high school athletics historian, wrote this interesting tidbit in a pre-game notes column this week:
FLENOR GOING AFTER TROPHY
Friday night, Alma head coach Stan Flenor will get as close as possible to the trophy that he was oh-so-close to winning 34 years ago.
Alma travels to Bryant on Friday for the first time for both Flenor and the Airedales as 7A/6A-Central play continues.
In March 1981, Flenor, then a flashy point guard for Van Buren, lost to Bryant, 39-38, in the Class AAA championship game on a call that allowed Bryant to go to the free throw line with no time left to hit the game-winning free throw.
“That was a life-time of heart-breaking endings,” Flenor said. “When one guy with no time remaining goes to the free-throw line with a chance to win a state championship; the things that you spend your entire life working for with guys you grew up with, it’s tough to swallow. As in life, and hopefully in athletics, you learn lots of perseverance.”
Alma team manager Cade Morganson is the grandson of former Van Buren head coach Quincy Coleman, who coached Flenor at Van Buren, so he, too, has a vested interest in the trophy.
“We’re going to take a picture of it,” Flenor said.
Flenor has already assured Bryant Athletic Director Mike Lee, who coached football at Van Buren before leaving four years ago for Bryant, that he won’t break the trophy case and steal the trophy.
“But, I am going to think about it,” Flenor said. “I might feel like it.”
The game was tied at 38-38 and Van Buren’s Eddie Wornkey took a shot at a game-winner. Very shortly after the shot missed, the buzzer sounded and a foul was called right at the same time. The officials sent Bryant’s Tim Hall to the foul line, and he hit the game-winning free throw for Joe Treat’s Hornets.
“I can walk you through the last play,” Flenor said. “There was a loose ball and an official just made a judgment call, blew his whistle and picked somebody to call a foul on. The ball was loose.”
Flenor has never watched the game.
“Rumor has it that Coach Treat has a copy of the film,” Flenor said. “I’d love to see it.”
Flenor went on to college and now is the winningest coach in Alma boys basketball history. He’s guided the Airedales to two state championships.
“Won two and lost one,” he said. “That’s one of the great things about coaching, you get to work with a lot of great people and there’s a lifetime of memories. When you play that long and then coach for 30 years, there’s going to be lots of highs and lots of lows.”
Although Friday will be the first time Flenor will see the championship trophy from that season, he has been constantly reminded of that game every year for a long time. The state tournament and the championship game were held at Morrilton. Visiting teams at Morrilton, which Alma played every year in the 5A-West, were housed in the same locker room that Van Buren had that dreadful night.
“They stuck us in that same locker room every time,” Flenor said.
