Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
BENTONVILLE WEST WOLVERINES
2017 RECORD 9-2, 6-1 7A-West COACH Bryan Pratt
RETURNING STARTERS 4 offense, 6 defense
KEY PLAYERS WR Jadon Jackson (Sr., 6-2, 175), QB Will Jarrett (Sr., 6-0, 170), RB Tyrese Smallwood (Sr., 5-7, 160), TB/MLB Jonas Higson (Jr., 6-2, 205), LB/DE Kendall Young (Sr., 6-5, 200), DL Chris Busch (Sr., 6-4, 225), NG Ho’opono Doctorello (Sr., 5-8, 211), LB Nick Whitlatch (Jr., 6-0, 185), DB/WR Tucker Swoboda (Sr., 6-3, 175), PK Blake McDoulett (Sr., 5-10, 160).
THE SKINNY West will open its season at Wolverine Stadium for the first time after sharing Tiger Stadium with Bentonville the past two seasons. West’s first home game is Aug. 31 vs. Fort Smith Southside. … Pratt needs only three more victories to reach 100 for his coaching career … QB Will Jarrett and WR Jadon Jackson are setting the bar high for any future Wolverines wanting to get into the school record books. Jarrett, who has started all but one of West’s games, enters the season with career totals of 331-of-509 passing for 5,397 yards and 56 TDs, while Jackson — who has a number of offers from NCAA Division I colleges — has 120 receptions for 2,155 yards and 23 TDs. … Tyrese Smallwood led the team with almost 800 yards rushing after he joined the team a month before preseason workouts. … Kendall Young, who also has a number of college offers, finished second on the team last year with 85 tackles and had a team-high 14 quarterback sacks. … West will have five new starters on the offensive line after lone returning starter Brandon Beesley suffered an injury in the spring game and is out of the season. … Tucker Swoboda and Chase Pearson will move from the defensive backfield to provide help in the receiving corps. … Nick Whitlatch, who finished fourth in tackles with 74, switches from safety to inside linebacker. … PK Blake McDoulett was close to being automatic last year after connecting on 57 of 58 extra-point tries and 12-of-13 field-goal attempts. He hit a season-long of 43 yards, and his only miss came from 50 yards.
COACH SPEAK “Everybody knows about our skill players and know we have some of the best skill guys around. We have some question marks up front that we have to answer, and that’s something we have to work on. Our offensive line definitely has to step up and give us some time to make some plays, and I think there are some other people that are ready to have breakout years. We finally have a home stadium, and I think the kids are excited about it. You talk to them and ask them about it, and they know it’s a place we can call home.” — Henry Apple • @NWAHenry