Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
ALMA AIREDALES
2018 RECORD 5-6, 5-2 5A-West Conference
COACH Doug Loughridge
RETURNING STARTERS 4 offense, 4 defense
KEY PLAYERS QB Landon Blair (Sr., 6-1, 250), RB Ben Henley (Sr., 6-0, 200), WR Grayson Bailey (Sr., 6-2, 160), OL Bobby Winfrey (Sr., 6-3, 200), DL Karsten Beneux (Sr., 6-1, 225), LB Gabe Jensen (Sr., 6-3, 230), LB Adrian Vardaman (Sr., 5-7, 195), OL Nick Archer (Sr., 6-1, 235).
THE SKINNY The Airedales stumbled out of the gate last season, losing all three nonconference games. A fourgame win streak in conference play was followed by a late-season swoon that resulted in back-to-back losses that crushed its chance at a high playoff seed. A first-round matchup with Pulaski Academy ended Alma’s season. … Quarterback Landon Blair is a sledgehammer but is also an effective passer. He will benefit from the offseason hiring of former Charleston coach Greg Kendrick to be the offensive coordinator. Last season Blair, who split playing time, passed for 1,400 yards and ran for 400 more. … Blair has his favorite target back in Grayson Bailey, who caught 44 passes for 776 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. … Gabe Jenson is poised to have a breakout season after recording 81 tackles as a junior. … Karsten Beneux is a two-way starter, but shines on the defensive line where he recorded 9 sacks last season. … Alma’s offensive line is big and talented, led by Nick Archer and Seth Cole.
COACH SPEAK “What hurt us last year was our start,” Loughridge said. “We started out 0-3, which has never happened since I’ve been here. Losing to Van Buren early hurt us mentally because it’s always a big one. Then Springdale had its best team in a long time. But then we ran off several in a row. I’ll take a 5-2 conference record every year. That’s usually a pretty good year. This league is really balanced. Every conference game is tough, there is not a team in the conference who will roll over for anybody.”