Class 7A showdown
Mitchell has NLR rolling; Powell creates own legacy at Fayetteville.
Jamie Mitchell’s first season at North Little Rock did not get off to a good start.
The Charging Wildcats kicked off Mitchell’s tenure at 0-4, with a 34-3 loss to Cabot on Sept. 25, 2015, putting them at 0-1 in the 7A/6A-East Conference.
North Little Rock also lost in overtime to Little Rock Catholic 32-25, then lost to state contenders Fayetteville and Pine Bluff in its other nonconference games.
Mitchell replaced Brad Bolding in May 2015 after Bolding was fired in April. North Little Rock was coming off a 10-2 season in 2014 where it lost to Bentonville in the Class 7A semifinals with eventual Ohio State signee K.J. Hill.
Hill was gone, as was Bolding, and Mitchell understood there were growing pains ahead. But losing the first four games of 2015 was not what he had in mind.
“People here didn’t know
me,” Mitchell said. “They were ready to send me back to Mississippi. I get that. That’s part of this game.
“But I know this: I know what it takes to win ballgames. I know we were doing the right things. Coaching, sometimes, you just have to stay in the fight. Luckily, we had players who chose to do that, too.”
North Little Rock won its final six games of the regular season in 2015 to reach the Class 7A playoffs. North Little Rock defeated Fort Smith Northside but lost at Bentonville in the second round to finish 7-5.
Since that 0-4 start, North Little Rock (12-0) has won 19 of its past 20 games and is in the Class 7A state championship game today against Fayetteville (11-1) at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
It’s been a team effort. Senior running backs Alex Day and Wynton Ruth have been the go-to offensive weapons for the Charging Wildcats, scoring a combined 32 rushing touchdowns, with Day reaching the end zone 19 times. Quarterback Trey Cox, also a senior, has passed for 1,842 yards and 18 touchdowns.
“We feel like we’re a football team that’s earned our way week by week,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been able to do some great things.”
Fayetteville Coach Bill Blankenship said Mitchell and the Charging Wildcats have had an outstanding season.
“I don’t care where you are at any level, whether it’s peewee or the NFL, anybody that can run the table on the
regular season has done something special,” Blankenship said. “To prevent drama and adversity and overcoming issues is huge. You put the film on, those guys haven’t won with smoke and mirrors. Those guys are talented. They’re well-coached. They line up and play real good football. We’ll have our work cut out for us.”
Mitchell replaced Bolding, who was fired in April 2015 for violating district purchasing procedures and recruiting rules. North Little Rock added the only out-ofstate finalist for the job in Mitchell, who was 163-61 in 18 seasons as a high school coach in Mississippi. He led Starkville High School to a Mississippi Class 5A state championship in 2012, and was 51-17 in five seasons at the school.
Bolding was 64-30 in eight seasons at North Little Rock, winning 10 or more games four times. But North Little Rock failed to get past the Class 7A semifinals four times, with Bolding’s last game at the school a 42-10 loss to Bentonville in 2014.
When Bolding was initially terminated in February before having an appeal hearing in April, offensive coordinator Blake Pizan and defensive coordinator Larry Standley were the interim coaches. Day, who had completed his sophomore season, was disappointed about Bolding’s firing and the team was in a state of flux.
“We didn’t know what to do,” Day said. “The only thing we could do was to
work out in the offseason and prepare for what’s next.”
Mitchell reflected on the spring and summer of 2015 as he attempted to mold the Charging Wildcats into his own program.
“It was a difficult time,” Mitchell said. “The community was torn. The school was torn. Our football team was torn. I don’t blame them. They loved Coach Bolding. He did a great job here. It was a tough, tough transition.
“We just had guys that decided to put all of that behind them. We’ve won some close games. We’ve found ways to win. 19 out of 20 is mind-boggling. It’s incredible. The one we lost, to Bentonville, was one we shouldn’t have lost. It’s been an amazing stretch, no question about it. We want to make that thing 20 out of 21. That would be the icing on the cake.”
If North Little Rock wins today, it would be the first state championship won by a Class 7A football team from central Arkansas since Little Rock Central in 2004.
“I’ve had people from Little Rock and the surrounding areas calling and encouraging us,” Mitchell said. “That puts a little bit more weight on your shoulders. But you really feel that for central Arkansas, there’s a huge supporting cast there for us.
“The teams we’ve played against and our biggest rivals are now our biggest supporters. That’s the neatest thing about it. Everybody in central Arkansas wants to see that streak stopped and let those folks up there know we can play some football here, too. Golly, that would mean a ton to have that thing to finally stop and we’d be the ones who did it.”