This was an incredible year of football in the Resident News Coverage area. New Coaches, new athletes, School, State, and National records broken. Communities separated by district lines coming together. Surprising upsets. So much went on from the last week of August until the first week of December.
Coach of The Year
Midway through the year Mansfield Head Coach Whit Overton, about sealed up this title with a win over Booneville. The Tigers had not defeated the Bearcats in 30+ years. Then four days later, the unthinkable happened. A housefire claimed the lives of three people in the Greenwood community. Senior Wide Receiver Isaiah Arrington, his mother Wendy Medrano, and sister Vivian Medrano. What happened next for the community, the school, and the Greenwood Bulldogs football team is hard to put into words, but I will give it a good effort.
When a tragedy happens, there is always a search for how we get back to normal. For this writer I have seen this occur twice, my junior year we lost a teammate in the middle of two-a-days before the season. The second being 9-11 when I was a volunteer at the school. Sports are always that glue that helps us get put back together when we are broken. And on October 30th, there were a lot of us broken. Rising up and standing at the forefront of it all was Greenwood Head Coach and Athletic Director Chris Young. The night of the tragedy, he rallied the coaches at 2am to plan the next steps, how to help the kids affected. Most certainly a tough situation for anyone to be in. A vote with the Seniors was taken on whether to play that Fridays game against Fort Smith Southside, and the vote was yes. At the prayer vigil the first night, Coach Young spoke about the community wrapping their arms around the team and the families affected. Something he would mention several times throughout the remainder of the season. The gluing had begun.
Support for the Bulldogs came from all over, local schools Hackett, Mansfield, Fort Smith Southside, and Lavaca served a pre-game meal the first Friday. President-elect Donald Trump sent a letter later in the season as well. As the Bulldogs took the field at Jim Rowland Stadium at Fort Smith Southside, it was time to heal just a little more. The opening kick-off was ran back by Arrington’s classmate Grant Karnes and Coach Young was the first one down to grab him up. Touchdown dances ensued, something Coach Young spoke about at the Celebration of Life service for Isaiah, Wendy, and Vivian. “At Siloam Springs, Isaiah makes this catch then this move on the sideline where he’s got the ball in the air and the guy misses. Then he gets the Touchdown and does a dance. I know I was hard on him for not having the ball high and tight, but you know he made the right move. I would give anything to see him do a touchdown dance again.”
The next Friday against Mountain Home for the Conference Championship, Greenwood in a first half downpour won 42-0 on Senior night. The next two games Greenwood outscored their opponents 90-0 to earn their 18th State Title appearance. At War Memorial Stadium the Bulldogs won their 12th State Title in Football defeating Shiloh Christian 61-35. Along the way they broke school, State and National records. Most importantly, Coach Young and his staff let the kids be kids and have fun on Friday night and take the time they needed. The broken hearts and minds may never be fully glued back together, but for six weeks the team and the community tried hard to make it happen. For his leadership at a time when it was needed most, Greenwood Head Football Coach Chris Young is the 2024 Stone Cold Lock of the Week: Dudes Of The Year – Coach of the Year.
The Extras
Near the end of the regular season, there was a curiosity as to what place had cannot miss concession stand food, spirit squads, band. While suggestions were rather light on the latter two, who had the great food, garnered the best response. Band was the Hackett Marching Band. I will throw in Greenwood’s band for their rendition of 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” which well…. caught me off guard on how good it was. Their train percussion in the 4th quarter is fun. Spirit Squads back to Hackett again, their cheer team finished 3rd in state this past weekend. Greenwood’s Cheer and Dance teams added to the trophy cases with State Championships of their own. Finally, food. Last season the Greenwood Band Concession set the bar with their Crinkle Cut Fries, but did not bring them back this year. But! It got us thinking, what else is out there? Magazine has Outdoor Grilling that received high marks. Mansfield has pulled pork nachos, which on my trip for the first round of the playoffs I forgot to try. There was a shout out for the burgers at Lamar. Nachos made an appearance again in Cedarville for their Apple Nachos. I am intrigued to see what those are. Then Hackett has State Fair Food with their take on Funnel Cakes and Deep-Fried Oreos.
The Team
Offense
QB – Kane Archer – Greenwood
RB – Daniel Burton – Mansfield
RB – Kolton McCubbin – Magazine
OL – Christian Fleming – Greenwood
OL – Cody Taylor – Greenwood
OL – Akira Fujibayashi – Greenwood
OL – Sam Hicks – Booneville
OL – David McKamie – Charleston
WR – Grant Karnes – Greenwood
WR – Champ Davis – Greenwood
WR – Emiliano Gaona – Charleston
ATH – Isaiah Arrington – Greenwood
Defense
DL – Caiden Ore – Mansfield
DL – Eddy Castelo – Greenwood
DL – Dakota Deer – Mansfield
DL – Aiden Fox – Booneville
LB – Cash Archer – Greenwood
LB – Jaxson Brown – Waldron
LB – Maddix Terry – Charleston
LB – Cole Bailey – Waldron
DB – Jayden Carter – Paris
DB – Kaylor Jasna – Greenwood
DB – Andrew Burton – Mansfield
