Sunday, auguSt 28, 2011 SportSSECTION B

Interim Sports Editor Kyle Troutman501-268-8621

ktroutman@thedailycitizen.comDaily Citizen

The

By Craig WoodsonSpecial to The Daily Citizen

With less than a week until the beginning of high school football in Arkansas, many teams are setting goals to accomplish through-out the season.

Most coaches and players would say that reaching the playoffs is the first goal they set for their team.

But for the coaches of class 6A programs such as Searcy, the “to-do”

list just got a little shorter.Earlier this month, the Arkansas

Activities Association passed a new rule allowing all 6A programs to

receive an automatic bid into the post-season state playoffs.

The new system — effective immediately — includes all sports, but is causing a stir among football programs statewide.

Claude Smith, principal at Searcy High School, is president of the Class 6A Principals Organization and noti-fied the AAA of the vote on Aug. 18.

The proposal passed 14-2 in favor among 6A principals statewide to adopt the new power rating system for all sports in the 2011-12 school year.

The original power ranking system was put in place at the beginning of last season, but Smith said there were issues that made the system unfair to some programs.

“This is just to get us through this year,” he said. “Last year, we intro-duced the power ranking, but it need-

ed tweaking because the mathematics involved washed some schools out.”

According to Smith, this system could be obsolete next year when the AAA meets again to discuss new high school conferences next year.

Since all 6A teams will advance to postseason play, the power rank-ing system will determine seeding among teams. The 2011-12 amend-ments include:

n Each victory against a 6A con-ference opponent equals 10 points.

n Class 6A receive two points for each 7A school played within the conference only — win or lose.

Searcy head football coach Tim Harper said the system is flawed but fair.

“It’s probably not what we would want as coaches,” he said. “But it is

Lions impacted by new AAA rule

New SyStem at glaNce n Conference win equals 10 pointsn 6A school that plays 7A school receives two points, win or losen All 6A teams compete in playoffs

Kyle troutmaN

Fourth grader Gavin Sparks gets his offense lined up during the Billy Ellis Service Company Hurricanes peewee football practice at the Searcy Sports Complex Saturday afternoon. The Hurricanes were preparing for upcoming gridiron action in front of family and friends. Jacob Brower/jbrower@thedailycitizen.com

Searcy’s youth football players get ready for upcoming seasonContinued on PAge 3B Sorry for the spoiler, but

congratulations to the Searcy Lions.

Their first football game of the season is five days away, but the Lions have already secured a playoff spot.

Well, secured may not be the best word. More specifically, the Lions have been handed a playoff spot through the Arkansas Activities Association’s power rating system.

As the AAA does with basketball, the system ensures all 6A schools have a spot in the playoffs, regardless of their regular-season record.

So, now that we know Searcy is already in the post-season, the biggest hurdle is motivation. What meaning does the regular season hold if a team can go 0-10, but sweep the playoffs for a state championship title?

The only motivation to play well in the regular sea-son is to land a choice seed in the playoffs. Other than seeding, I imagine pride will play a major role in motivating Lion players.

Would a player quit playing to his potential if his team had no shot at the playoffs? I think not.

Any athlete, postseason implications aside, plays the game for fun and pride. Without these two qualities, there is no foundation on which to build the glory of a playoff run.

Thankfully, this every-team-makes-the-playoffs system is only a one-year deal. Next year, the AAA will reclassify the schools to a more suitable, fight-for-a-play-off-spot structure.

Sadly, this year’s power rating structure has a ripple-effect.

Smaller schools in the area still have to fight for playoff spots. They may be sore that they don’t get an automatic bid. But, in the end, a playoff spot earned is much sweeter.

No matter what, reclassi-fication will be welcomed, as will watching Searcy play for that top seed this fall.

Now go get it, Lions.

Kyle Troutman is the interim sports editor of The Daily Citizen. He can be reached at ktroutman@thedailycitizen.com, or (501) 268-8521.

Free bid? Make it count, Searcy

LEFT: Golfers of the Searcy Country Club competed in the Club Championship Tournament this weekend. From left: Third place Dwayne Cox, second place Bradley Wright, Searcy Country Club golf pro Bruce Baxley and tour-nament champion Blake Showalter. RIGHT: Young golfers competed in the Junior Club Championship at the Searcy Country Club. From left: Second place Conner Murphy, tournament champion Harrison Gooch and third place McNiel Killoughs. Contributed Photo

Searcy Country Club hosts Club Championship

Hogs’ Wilson ready to lead team in 2011By Robbie NeiswangerArkansas News Bureau

FAYETTEVILLE — Rick Jones can feel the anticipation building as the first football weekend inches closer.

He is preparing his Greenwood High team for another season, but admits another story will take hold of the town, too. It’s obvious in the coffee shops and restaurants, where foot-ball often dominates conversation. And in the halls of the high school, which is home to four state titles in six seasons.

“This is going to be the most ner-vous town in America next Saturday night,” Jones said. “We’ve been waiting for this. We all want him to do well.”

Him, of course, is Tyler Wilson. The Greenwood native who has waited ... and waited ... and waited for the chance to lead Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino’s offense up an hour up the road in Fayetteville.

He’s the former Greenwood quar-terback who, after sitting behind star Daniel Stegall as a sophomore, led the Bulldogs to consecutive championships as a junior and a senior. And the quar-terback who, in three seasons since, has toiled in relative obscurity (save for an autumn afternoon of unexpected brilliance at Auburn) while his can-non-armed, larger-than-life predecessor rewrote passing records.

Three days ago, as the Razorbacks crept closer to their season opener against Missouri State on Saturday night, Petrino made official what has long been suspected. Wilson — finally — was named Arkansas’ starting quarterback and steps into the spotlight to lead a team carrying championship hopes.

It’s an announcement Wilson, his family, and, of course, Greenwood has waited for with patience.

“You have to have the strength and the mental toughness and the heart to stick in there even when you’re not the guy,” Wilson said. “It can wear on you. There’s days where, mentally, you’re

like, ‘Is this what I want to do?’ Then you just continue to grind it out and your day finally comes. That’s kind of the attitude I’ve had this whole time.”

Wilson, of course, had to wait his turn. Patience has been the key characteristic in his football devel-opment, after all, so he spent his sophomore season at Greenwood watching Stegall star.

But it wasn’t long before Wilson landed at the controls of Jones’ spread offense, stepping in to replace Stegall in 2006. His coach soon realized the Bulldogs were in good hands with Wilson, too.

“I just remember Tyler looking me in the eyes and saying ‘What’s up? What’s the next play?,” Jones said. “He was just calm. It was as much pressure as any quarterback would be under and he was just like, ‘OK. What are we going to do here.’ We talked as calmly as we would sitting in my office.”

That’s why Jones has no doubt Wilson, who led Greenwood to another title his senior season, is ready to step in and replace another departed star.

WiLson

The Associated Press LITTLE ROCK —

Bentonville is the favorite to win its third Class 7A Arkansas high school football championship in four years.

Associated Press-member sports writers and broadcast-ers put coach Barry Lunney's Tigers at No. 1 overall in the preseason poll, earn-ing 17 of 20 first-place votes. Bentonville defeated Fayetteville in the state cham-pionship game last season and also won the 2008 title.

Fort Smith Southside is second overall with one first-place vote, while Class 4A Pulaski Academy garnered the other two first-place votes and was sixth overall.

Pine Bluff was voted No. 1 in Class 6A, while defend-ing champion Greenwood tops the Class 5A poll. Pulaski Academy is No. 1 in Class 4A, with Rison tops in Class 3A and Magazine No. 1 in Class 2A.

Tigers picked to win 7A

state titleBy Robbie NeiswangerArkansas News Bureau

Brandon Mitchell may not be the starter, but should play plenty early on.

Mitchell has improved as a passer and should be able to make plays with his feet. There’s a good chance the sophomore works as a change-of-pace player in 2011.

The new crop of Arkansas quarterbacks brings one add-ed dimension to the game this season - the ability to run.

Ryan Mallett didn’t move well in the pocket, but Arkansas is confident Wilson and Mitchell can make plays on the move this season.

The biggest question: What happens if Wilson goes down with an injury?

Arkansas was fortu-nate last year when Wilson excelled in relief of Mallett, shining against Auburn and Ole Miss.

But is Mitchell experienced enough in the offense to do the same thing if needed?

Arkansas has depth

at QBposition

HArper

Searcy coach: Playoff seeding

will be motivation