Nate Olson: 2020 Arkansas high school football season was a team effort
By Nate Olson | Photo by Jimmy Jones
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Rex Nelson and I are two of the more optimistic guys you could meet. I’d say we both look at the glass half full.
But we also have a journalist’s mentality that was most likely with us long before we began our careers. We call it the way we see it — good or bad.
That’s why both of us agreed in July that a high school football season in Arkansas was unlikely. With COVID-19 cases already climbing and another spike expected with school beginning, putting teenagers together in large groups in locker rooms, on buses and on fields seemed like a recipe for disaster.
And there were the ‘what ifs?’ What if teams have to forfeit multiple games? What if schools close? The list went on and on.
We finished that text message exchange convinced we wouldn’t be airing the Friday Night High School Scoreboard radio show we co-host on more than 40 stations statewide.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Arkansas Activities Association Executive Director Lance Taylor had a plan, however. Hutchinson appointed a committee to oversee the beginning of the season, and the first games kicked off in August.
There was a long list of restrictions and precautions for school administrators and coaches to adhere to, but they dutifully enforced them with their coaching staffs, players and fans. The result was a 17-week season that culminated with six state championship games at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium — capped by Harding Academy’s victory over McGehee for the Class 3A title two Saturdays ago.
“It’s been hard. I am proud of coaches all over the state,” said Pulaski Academy coach Kevin Kelley, whose team won the 5A championship. “I am proud of the coaches because people don’t know what coaches are doing behind the scenes. I’m not just saying us — I am saying coaches all over just worked so hard to be able to have football this year by shifting kids around in and out of dressing, practicing and weights and all of the things they have had to do.
“The coaches know what it means to the kids. Not just out there physically, but being part of a team — mental health and all of those things, so I am really, really happy Gov. Hutchinson kept pushing us to do what was right so we could have it, but I am more happy with the coaches because they did everything they could to (play).”
Coaches and administrators, with the go-ahead from the AAA, worked tirelessly to reschedule games to ensure players were able to play as much as possible.
After Paris’ game with Two Rivers was called off, the school called Hector at 11 a.m. on a Friday and set up a game for that night. Booneville and Warren set up Friday games on a Thursday. After several of Texarkana’s games were canceled in Texas, the team played its first game of the season Sept. 18 against Warren and a week later played Fort Smith Southside after those teams had their scheduled games canceled.
We ended up witnessing some pretty good games on the fly, and in Greenwood’s case, the impromptu matchups helped make an undefeated season even more impressive as the 6A Bulldogs picked up wins against 7A programs Bentonville West and Har-Ber.
I talked with several players, and they were all ecstatic — and maybe a bit surprised — that they were able to finish the season. Harding Academy star quarterback Caden Sipe was especially grateful as he took the podium following a 71-44 Class 3A final win against McGehee that sealed the Wildcats’ first back-to-back state titles since 1977.
Harding Academy dealt with COVID-19 issues in October which canceled two games, but the Wildcats rebounded to repeat as champions. They haven’t lost to an Arkansas opponent since 2018.
“It was pretty stressful early in the season because we had half of our team out,” said Sipe, who was named MVP of the final after throwing for a championship-game record eight touchdowns. “We had more than half our team out. We worked with what we had and practiced when we could.
“It was a grind. We knew going into the season it was going to be weird, but we just kept at it and reaped the benefits.”
On Tuesday, I finished my final appearance of the season on regional midday sports talk show Halftime with longtime friend Phil Elson and Matt “Smackdown” Jenkins. We navigated the high school football season, recapping and previewing games every week, always with an eye on the pandemic. Phil said by the time I appear next August, he hopes 2021 feels more like 2019.
I agree. I plan on being in the stands at War Memorial Stadium with my boys and thousands of others watching Benton and Bryant kick off the season. That will be a special feeling.
I will always remember the 2020 season fondly, however, as it proved to me once again how special Arkansas football coaches and players are. While enjoying the satisfaction of competing on Friday nights, they gave us all a sense of normalcy during a time we needed a distraction. Everyone who played was a winner in 2020.
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More by Nate Olson:
Bad taste of 2019 final loss has fueled Shiloh Christian’s 2020 run
Pulaski Academy adds to onside kicking lore with 4 recoveries in rout of Little Rock Christian
Bryant soccer coach Nicole Inman leaves legacy of faith, caring, winning
In Bryant Hornets, Arkansas high school football fans are watching the state’s best dynasty ever
Lake Hamilton coach Tommy Gilleran glad to finally be ‘home’ playing for state title
