By Rob Patrick
Photo by Kevin Nagle
When the Henderson State Reddies and their across-the-street rivals, the Ouachita Baptist Tigers, get together[more] for the 2011 Battle of the Ravine, there’s a chance that both teams will be featuring running backs that are former Bryant Hornets.
Chris Rycraw returns for his sophomore season with OBU and now the Reddies have Stephen Clark on the way.
On Wednesday, Feb. 2, Clark signed a letter of intent to continue his education and football career at HSU.
In his only season for Bryant, Clark accounted for over 1,000 yards of total offense, leading the Hornets in rushing with 798 yards on 136 carries. He caught nine passes for 138 yards including a touchdown and returned two kickoffs for 76 yards. He also helped out at cornerback, making 10 tackles.
“If he’d been healthy the whole season, he’d probably have finished with over 1,500 yards of offense,” noted Bryant head coach Paul Calley.
Clark fills a vital need for the Reddies. In fact, Calley said that the Hornets’ runner was tops on the Henderson recruiting list because last year, they wound up without any running backs.
“They had two that were suspended for disciplinary reasons,” Calley recounted. “They had another that got hurt and they had to convert one of their receivers to running back. So they threw the ball the majority of the time. Their number one need was running back and Stephen was at the top of their list.”
“I plan on playing my freshman year but, you know, what happens happens,” Clark said.
“At the beginning of the year, UAPB, SAU, Henderson and, towards the end of the year, UA-Monticello was looking at me but I evaluated those and discussed it with my parents and took tours,” he added. “Henderson was the right choice for me. The coaching staff, the atmosphere at the football games I went to when I visited — it just made me want to go there.”
Clark started his high school career at Little Rock Mills, a Class 5A school.
“When I first moved to Bryant I knew I wanted to help out on the football team,” he recalled. “I knew I could do that. So I talked to Coach Calley and he let me come out. He knew I could be a good factor on the team.
“My first six or seven games I was uninjured,” he continued. “I put up pretty good stats but then I sprained my ankle. But we just taped it up and I kept playing. I wasn’t 100 percent though. So I couldn’t do what I was doing the first few games.”
Calley was impressed with how well Clark stepped in.
“Since he moved in as a senior, he didn’t get to spend a lot of time in the program but he made up for lost time with his work ethic,” said the coach. “He was already strong. He got stronger. He was fast. He got faster. He was smart and that allowed him to play two different positions. He could’ve played receiver. He’s just a tremendous, tremendous young man and a great athlete.”
Clark feels that playing at Bryant helped him prepare for the next level.
“Being a (Class) 7A (program) kind of showed me what college would be like because it’s way different from 5A,” he said. “There’s more competition, better weight rooms and things like that.”
