Springdale High faces major road test at Russellville

Do you remember the newspaper headline “Jones to Birmingham to Atlanta?”

It was in reference to Matt Jones’ touchdown pass to DeCori Birmingham in 2002 that helped Arkansas beat LSU 21-20 and send the Razorbacks into the SEC championship game in Atlanta. It was the first of two exciting games I saw that day.

I drove to Russellville that night and watched Springdale High beat the Cyclones 28-21 in the semifinals of the Class AAAAA state playoffs. It was a significant road victory for Springdale and Gus Malzahn, who reached the state championship game in his second year as coach of the Bulldogs.

Times are different and current Bulldogs coach Zak Clark has only half the manpower Malzahn had before Springdale split its school district. Springdale will start the season 3-0 with a win at Russellville tonight, which would a major step for a proud program that hit bottom with an 0-10 record in 2014. But it won’t be easy against Russellville, the defending state champion in Class 6A.

Billy Dawson is now at Fayetteville and current Cyclones coach Jeff Weaver is a former Greenwood assistant who knows all about putting together a championship team. Russellville beat Rogers Heritage last week after stumbling in its season-opener to Morrilton.

Springdale’s two wins have come against Conway and Alma and the Bulldogs open 7A-West Conference at Rogers Heritage on Sept. 22. So, there’s potential for a fast start and a winning season for Springdale, which finished 4-7 last season.

Russellville and Springdale will go at it hard tonight, like in the old days when the two were members of the same conference. Springdale is definitely on the upswing but Russellville doesn’t lose very much anymore, especially at home.

RICK’S PICK Russellville Other games involving teams from Northwest Arkansas (selections are capitalized).

CLASS 7A

Dallas Bishop Dunne at FAYETTEVILLE

Jenks, Okla., SPRINGDALE HAR-BER

BENTONVILLE WEST at Muskogee, Okla.

St. Louis Normandy at ROGERS HIGH

Conway at BENTONVILLE

Springdale High at RUSSELLVILLE

CLASS 6A

VAN BUREN at Siloam Springs

CLASS 5A

GREENWOOD at Alma Harrison at LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN

Farmington at PEA RIDGE

CLASS 4A

PRAIRIE GROVE at West Fork

SHILOH CHRISTIAN at Pottsville Jay, Okla. at GRAVETTE MENA at Waldron GENTRY at Greenland Green Forest at BERRYVILLE Mansfield at LINCOLN DOVER at Lavaca

CLASS 3A

CHARLESTON at Ozark ELKINS at Huntsville

CLASS 2A

DANVILLE at Mountainburg