Conway at Bentonville

Razorback Red · September 10, 2017, 09:16:11 am

After a week 1 major letdown, and down 21-0 on the road in week 2 to a great team, Bentonville dug deep and fought back to win. We are 2 weeks in and I don't know what this team can or cannot do.

Same for Conway, letdown by a week 1 close loss to Springdale and then throttled a great 6A team in week 2.

Which BHS and Conway teams show up on Friday night? Could be a pivotal game for both.

I'm going to hope for the real Tigers to show up and take this own from Conway.

Rob Van Winkle · September 11, 2017, 03:22:19 pm

Big time win for the Tigers last week. I don't think Conway will be able to stay within 3 scores.

francocat · September 11, 2017, 05:00:38 pm

I'm pretty sure y'all thought Bentonville would dominate Conway last year, and like most of the season, we let you off the hook. Bixby was way over-rated from what I saw on ESPN two weeks ago. Bentonville might just win, but unless you mean 3 field goals, or you hire the same officiating crew that did the Springdale game, there is no way they win by "three scores".

SouthpawSensation · September 11, 2017, 06:04:22 pm

Quote from: francocat on September 11, 2017, 05:00:38 pm
I'm pretty sure y'all thought Bentonville would dominate Conway last year, and like most of the season, we let you off the hook. Bixby was way over-rated from what I saw on ESPN two weeks ago. Bentonville might just win, but unless you mean 3 field goals, or you hire the same officiating crew that did the Springdale game, there is no way they win by "three scores".

That depends ... Bentonville could win by 6 and win by "three scores" (three safeties) ... could win by 3 and it would win by "three scores" (three extra points) ... depends on what the scoring is.

Rob Van Winkle · September 11, 2017, 08:22:28 pm

Quote from: francocat on September 11, 2017, 05:00:38 pm
I'm pretty sure y'all thought Bentonville would dominate Conway last year, and like most of the season, we let you off the hook. Bixby was way over-rated from what I saw on ESPN two weeks ago. Bentonville might just win, but unless you mean 3 field goals, or you hire the same officiating crew that did the Springdale game, there is no way they win by "three scores".

Hey dude, Bixby didn't play on ESPN, it was Union and Broken Arrow so you have no clue how good they are. Get your facts straight.

francocat · September 12, 2017, 09:54:35 am

Well "dude", may have been off on my timing, but what I saw was re-cap/highlights of the Bixby-Jenks (0-3) game, but you're right about the game that was shown live. Thanks for caring!

flyhigheagles22 · September 12, 2017, 10:03:25 am

28-21 conway pulls this one out.

Rob Van Winkle · September 12, 2017, 10:17:15 am

My bad Franco-I shouldn't have come across so harsh.

I do have a question-How does Conway throttle a very talented Jonesboro team but lose to Springdale? Not trying to bash here but I highly doubt that Springdale has more talent than JB. I read your comment about officiating in the SD game, but that is what you can expect on the road and you will probably see something similar this weekend. Just the way of life on the road in HS football.

Over the past few years Conway has found ways to lose to the 7A West. In the playoffs against Harber a couple of years ago they were clearly in control and then let it slip away. You spoke of the BV game last year and then the Springdale game this year. If they are going to get over the hump they better do it this week but that is no easy task on the road at BV.

francocat · September 12, 2017, 10:56:03 am

No problem, RVW.

The NW AR hang up is indeed a mystery & seems to be widespread in the 7A Central. Perhaps Bryant turned that tide last week. Conway lost to Springdale by not taking advantage of turnovers, having to put too many blockers on Nichols and just trying to figure out their true offensive weapons for 2017. I believe that this team is different than the last couple of years, with a lot of seniors that are sick of losing. That said, there will continue to be doubt (inner & outer) until they beat a good NW AR team. Win or lose, I believe Conway will hold their own against BV.

Rob Van Winkle · September 12, 2017, 11:20:19 am

A friend of mine worked the chains for the Conway Springdale game. He said Conway is very talented but just couldn't execute. Sounds like that problem might have gotten corrected last week. It also looks like BV may have figured out some of there issues as well last week. The thing about BV is they will always get better each week.

Should be a great game and will be a pivotal matchup when everyone compares west vs central.

Razorback Red · September 15, 2017, 09:42:14 pm

When I started this thread I was curious which Conway and Bentonville teams would show up. No question it was week 2 Conway and week 1 Bentonville.

Congrats to Conway for executing and winning on the road. Even in a down year, BHS is tough to beat on the road and it was convincing. Conway has some size and can run the ball. If the QB improves his accuracy, they could be tough down the stretch. One really fast WR.

As a Tiger fan, I am embarrassed. Undisciplined football, can't protect the QB, can't establish the run and can't stop the run. Bentonville will have a tough time getting to 5 wins. Just not a good football team, not a whole lot else to say.

Rob Van Winkle · September 15, 2017, 09:48:57 pm

Quote from: Rob Van Winkle on September 11, 2017, 03:22:19 pm
Big time win for the Tigers last week. I don't think Conway will be able to stay within 3 scores.

I stand corrected!!! Big win for the Cats!

Baitshop · September 15, 2017, 10:33:52 pm

Quote from: Razorback Red on September 15, 2017, 09:42:14 pm
When I started this thread I was curious which Conway and Bentonville teams would show up. No question it was week 2 Conway and week 1 Bentonville.

Congrats to Conway for executing and winning on the road. Even in a down year, BHS is tough to beat on the road and it was convincing. Conway has some size and can run the ball. If the QB improves his accuracy, they could be tough down the stretch. One really fast WR.

As a Tiger fan, I am embarrassed. Undisciplined football, can't protect the QB, can't establish the run and can't stop the run. Bentonville will have a tough time getting to 5 wins. Just not a good football team, not a whole lot else to say.

So Red, do think that the decline of Bennie is rooted more in the loss of student population or do you think the loss of CBL has been a larger factor than some thought?

Razorback Red · September 15, 2017, 10:39:08 pm

Good question, Bait. Probably a bit of both. The depth and overall size in the trenches has been significantly impacted by the split. My bigger concern is the discipline. CBL teams did not hurt themselves, the last 2 years have been ugly. Two first half drives tonight stopped in red zone by holding calls and false starts. Just didn't happen to a BL Coached team.

Both schools are large, but if I'm being honest I am shocked at the drop off. It would be fun to see a D try and cover KMH (BHS) and Jackson (West) on the same field.

sportsguy80 · September 15, 2017, 10:42:04 pm

Honestly, I see Bentonville being like Springdale with the drop off. I just didn't see it happening so fast. But who knows...

Baitshop · September 15, 2017, 11:17:17 pm

Quote from: Razorback Red on September 15, 2017, 10:39:08 pm
Good question, Bait. Probably a bit of both. The depth and overall size in the trenches has been significantly impacted by the split. My bigger concern is the discipline. CBL teams did not hurt themselves, the last 2 years have been ugly. Two first half drives tonight stopped in red zone by holding calls and false starts. Just didn't happen to a BL Coached team.

Both schools are large, but if I'm being honest I am shocked at the drop off. It would be fun to see a D try and cover KMH (BHS) and Jackson (West) on the same field.

Welcome to the "two school" world...perhaps you should have enlisted the Tyson guy that was the architect of the Springdale split. He was able, with the swipe of one incredibly crooked boundary line, to create one of the biggest "have/have not" lines in recent history..

TigerHawg · September 18, 2017, 05:44:27 am

Quote from: Razorback Red on September 15, 2017, 09:42:14 pm
When I started this thread I was curious which Conway and Bentonville teams would show up. No question it was week 2 Conway and week 1 Bentonville.

Congrats to Conway for executing and winning on the road. Even in a down year, BHS is tough to beat on the road and it was convincing. Conway has some size and can run the ball. If the QB improves his accuracy, they could be tough down the stretch. One really fast WR.

As a Tiger fan, I am embarrassed. Undisciplined football, can't protect the QB, can't establish the run and can't stop the run. Bentonville will have a tough time getting to 5 wins. Just not a good football team, not a whole lot else to say.

I said when they split that eventually West would be the team. I just didn't see it this fast. I think we are def feeling the effects of not having CBL. I hate to think its the coaching but when you see talent on the field that doesn't produce it pretty much speaks for itself.

francocat · September 18, 2017, 01:51:40 pm

An extremely good start to perhaps turning the tide a bit vs. NWA. I agree that BV hurt themselves with stupid penalties. Conway's defense was down a couple of starters and that hurt their depth, but they hung in there, bent but didn't break. KMH was virtually a non-factor, but he kept talking! It's only one game, but a huge confidence builder for the Wampus Cats.

Rob Van Winkle · September 18, 2017, 03:22:32 pm

Quote from: francocat on September 18, 2017, 01:51:40 pm
An extremely good start to perhaps turning the tide a bit vs. NWA. I agree that BV hurt themselves with stupid penalties. Conway's defense was down a couple of starters and that hurt their depth, but they hung in there, bent but didn't break. KMH was virtually a non-factor, but he kept talking! It's only one game, but a huge confidence builder for the Wampus Cats.

Yeah KMH loves to talk! Last year against Harber he catches a deep ball and gets up giving the "feed me" sign and then a couple of plays later gets stripped and fumbles on a reverse by the smallest kid on the field...... Needless to say a few of our players gave him the "feed me" sign.

Big win for the Cats and I had the 3 score difference right.... Just the wrong way

Oldhound56 · September 19, 2017, 10:15:26 am

I'm sure it is the coaching. These guys are probably not coaching these young men the same way they have in the past. It never fails that if a team is struggling it is the coaching and if they are winning they have a great run of talent. In all the years I have been around football, Coaches get too much credit for wins and way too much blame for losses. These are 15-19 year old kids, who have trouble keeping up with their homework and cleaning their room, but coaches jobs in many cases depend on those kids. Bentonville is a powerhouse year in and year out. It is obvious that the split has had some effects. I know people in the stands, especially parents always say their is talent on the field, but I can tell you sometimes it is not as much talent as you think. In other cases when talent can not or will not be coached and teams do not gel it has the same effect.

There is bad coaching out there, but more times than not, that is not the biggest issue. It is difficult to win consistently on a year to year basis and when a community becomes numb to this fact it hits real hard when things don't go as planned early.

I bet they right the ship and finish strong and if not this season, more than likely next. Good Luck to the Tigers!

businesstron · September 20, 2017, 05:40:10 pm

Quote from: Razorback Red on September 15, 2017, 10:39:08 pm
Good question, Bait. Probably a bit of both. The depth and overall size in the trenches has been significantly impacted by the split. My bigger concern is the discipline. CBL teams did not hurt themselves, the last 2 years have been ugly. Two first half drives tonight stopped in red zone by holding calls and false starts. Just didn't happen to a BL Coached team.

Both schools are large, but if I'm being honest I am shocked at the drop off. It would be fun to see a D try and cover KMH (BHS) and Jackson (West) on the same field.

When i moved to Bentonville West school zone i wasn't that suprised. I basically lived on both ends of Bentonville since i've been up here over the span of about 10 years. When we lived off of Been 4 or 5 years ago there wasn't much of anything at the end of that street. Now that's a whole neighborhood and an apartment complete there. That whole scenario is being replayed all over West Bentonville past Elm Tree and into Centerton. There is alot of growth out that way and they aren't done. Plus it doesn't help Bentonville High that alot of the houses in their school zone while nice are expensive as heck compared to West Bentonville and Centerton.