Photo by Andrew Schroeder
The time has come for the Bryant Hornets to start playing their best football. The regular season is ending. The postseason is looming. And, if anyone should know what that looks like, what that requires, it’s the two-time defending 7A State champions.
Judging by their last two games — a 42-14 win over once-beaten Cabot two weeks ago and a 58-21 thumping of previously undefeated North Little Rock last week — they may just be starting to hit their stride.
“I’m proud for the kids,” said Hornets head coach Buck James regarding the win at NLR. “You know we talk about this every week, about chopping the tree and, if it’s a big tree and it’s a big game, you ain’t going to chop it down in one chop. You’re going to have to chop at it awhile. Eventually you want to impose your will on the team that you’re playing. In a big game like that against a team like that, you know, you’ve got to stay in the fight for a long time. And I thought our kids did that.”
Bryant amassed over 800 yards of offense. Quarterback Austin Ledbetter broke a 20-year-old school mark for passing yardage in a single game. His top receiver Hayden Schrader broke a 16-year old school mark for receiving yards in a single game.
After falling behind 14-9, the Hornets scored the next 42 points while the defense put the stops on the Charging Wildcats.
Said James, “You know the hardest thing in the world is — you can talk about being tough but when it’s time to really be tough — you can measure a lot of things by how a guy is when he gets hit in the mouth and he sees blood. Does he spit it out and run or does he spit it out and come back at you? I felt like we got hit in the mouth; we saw blood; we ran right back at them, and got some more of it.
“That’s what you want your team to be like,” he declared. “Football is a physical, collision, contact sport. When they tasted the blood, they went right back into the fight and that’s what I’m proud of them about.”
Tonight, the Hornets close out the regular season against the high-flying Conway Wampus Cats.
Bryant, which will be seeking a 26th consecutive win, comes in averaging over 49 points a game. Conway, 6-2, averages almost 42 points per game. The Wampus Cats’ only losses were to Bentonville, the unbeaten champs of the 7A-West Conference, 47-21 back on Sept. 4, and 39-37 to North Little Rock on Oct. 2.
“We’re going to have the same kind of effort for the rest of the way out,” James said, referencing the North Little Rock win. “I mean you’re not going to lose a game this time of year and learn a lesson from it. If you’re going to lose a game this time of year, you’re going to end your season. Our kids have got to be mature. They’ve got to be disciplined and they’ve got to stay in the fight.”
The coach and his staff are ever mindful of the risks and the unpredictable nature of the coronavirus, which could blow up even the best season.
“You know, quarantine is the devil,” he stated. “It is a silent assassin as far as guys playing football. You can do everything your supposed to do and do it like you’re supposed to do it. Next thing you know you’re not playing anymore. This time of year, it’s tough anyway, much less the virus itself.
“So, the (players) have to be disciplined about where they’re at and who they’re with, what they’re doing,” the coach asserted. “There’s a lot of variables that go into it this year more so than any other time. Then, you’ve got to deal with injuries and bad plays and all that stuff. So, our kids have to be really disciplined. Our parents have got to be disciplined with our kids and understand that this is a four-week process and we’ve got to hold onto the rope.”
Conway features quarterback Ben Weese, who has thrown for 2,550 yards and 29 touchdowns this season with seven interceptions. His top receiver is Brian Bohannon (46 catchers, 1,079 yards and 13 scores). West Boudreaux and Manny Smith both have over 30 receptions this season.
On the ground, sophomore Boogie Carr has emerged to rush for 348 yards, mostly the last three weeks. Senior Jamal Bethune, more of a power back, has gained 613 yards.
“They’re a very good offensive team,” James acknowledged. “They could be the best offensive team we’ve played this year, very easily. They can attack the whole field. They’re 50 yards deep and 50 yards wide. They can run the football. They’re very athletic at receiver. They’ve got a big offensive line. And their quarterback is very, very accurate. They pose a lot of problems. It’s a big task for our football team especially for our defense.”
The Hornets defense has surrendered only 737 yards rushing this season but 1,339 yard passing. That fed right into the game plan against North Little Rock but Conway’s passing game is a different challenge.
An indication of the outstanding run defense is the fact that linebackers Hart Penfield, Koby Melton and Myles Aldridge are three of the team’s top four tackles. End Rodricho Martin and tackle Andy Scott round out the Hornets’ top five.
The secondary, mostly corners LaQuav Brumfield and Kyle Knox with safeties Kaleb Knox and Austin Schroeder, have broken up 27 passes and intercepted six.
“Offensively, the pressure’s on us,” James said. “We’ve got to score, and score often, and put pressure on them to where our defense can play with their ears pinned back.”
That, James noted, kind of goes hand in hand.
“If your offense is playing well, your defense can be more aggressive and go for plays and stuff,” he explained. “We’ve got to get off to a good start. We’ve got to score touchdowns and we’ve got to keep putting pressure on their football team to try to keep up with us.”
Ledbetter has thrown for 2,010 yards and 27 touchdowns on just 184 throws (as compared to Weese’s 282 attempts. Schrader has caught 38 for 782 yards while sophomores Cory Nichols and Jordan Knox have developed into reliable targets.
The Bryant ground game is imposing with a trio of top-notch runners, Tanner Anderson, Jamarien Bracey and Xavier Foote. They have each rushed for more that 400 yards as the Hornets have piled up 1,794 yards rushing this season behind a strong o-line of seniors Jacob Powell and Parker Elswick and juniors Brooks Edmonson, Will Diggins and Jason Shifflet.
Turning to Conway’s defense, with just three starters returning from 2019, James said, “They’re big and they’re athletic. They’re young on the back end, that’s been their biggest problem. They’ve got a lot of young guys that are playing, the linebackers and D backs. They’re inexperienced but this time of year, I think they’re getting better and they’re playing well. They’ve competed well. Their record shows that they’ve done a pretty good job. They were really ahead of North Little Rock late in the game.
Overall, the coach related, “I compare them to North Little Rock in a lot of ways. They’re probably a little better offensively than North Little Rock. They’re definitely a team that is going to have to be reckoned with, for sure. They could go very deep in the playoffs.”
