Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ozark primed for deep playoff run
CHIP SOUZA
OZARK — Like most coaches, Jeremie Burns says all the right things when asked about the conference his team competes in.
The Ozark football coach says every team in the 4A-4 Conference is wellcoached, every team has tremendous talent, every game will be a dogfight. And all of that is true. What Burns doesn’t say is that his Hillbillies are the class of the conference. That’s OK; we’re saying it.
Ozark was 9-3 last season and rolled unbeaten (7-0) through the 4A-4 despite injuries that kept a number of players who were expected to play major roles off the field. Daniel Woolsey, for example, was expected to carry the load at running back after a big sophomore season. Instead, Woolsey watched most of the season on the sideline with a leg injury. Eli Munnerlyn, a stalwart on the defensive line, missed considerable time with injuries. There were several others who also missed games.
Instead of complaining and making excuses, Ozark found more than capable replacements. Then sophomore Tyler Sanders emerged at running back and pounded
out 1,187 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. Lawsyn Jackson stepped in for Munnerlyn and played exceptionally well until he went down with an injury. And that experience is what sets Ozark apart from the rest of the conference.
“Our depth is better, and we have a few younger guys coming this season that will help us,” Burns said. “We have a lot of guys back on offense and defense.”
In each of the last two seasons, the Hillbillies have been eliminated by teams that advanced to the state title game. The goal this season for Ozark, besides winning the conference title again, is to make a deep postseason run.
“We’re trying to get over that hump, to get into that semifinal or even the finals,” Burns said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”
Burns is right to praise the competition in the 4A-4 because there are some teams that will challenge the Hillbillies for the title. Dardanelle was also 9-3 last season and returns almost its entire offense and most of its defense. Dual-threat quarterback Jordan Metcalf ran for 800 yards and passed for 800 last season, and running back Blake Chambers rushed for more than 1,200 yards. Those two teams square off Oct. 11 in Dardanelle.
Mena has a new coach in Craig Bentley, who led Mansfield to an 8-4 mark last season in the ultra-tough 3A-1 Conference. The Bearcats also return a number of starters from an 8-4 team, led by quarterback Max Montgomery, who passed for more than
2,000 yards and 19 touchdowns as a sophomore. Ozark travels to Mena to open league play on Sept. 27.
“It’s a tough league and the reason we try to schedule the teams that we do for nonconference,” Burns said. “It gets us ready for the conference race. Our conference is tough top-to-bottom. I think several teams from our conference have a chance to compete deep in the playoffs.”
4A-1 CONFERENCE
The 4A-1 conference has not produced a state champion since Shiloh Christian’s three-year reign from 2008-2010, but the Saints came close a year ago until a stomachache derailed those chances.
Shiloh Christian was 12-1 when it was scheduled to host a Friday night semifinal playoff game against defending state champion Arkadelphia. The Saints had pounded Star City, Mena and Nashville in successive weeks, but the game was postponed by a day because of weather, moving the game to Saturday.
Hours before the rescheduled game, star running back Jaret Russ was hospitalized with appendicitis and underwent surgery to remove his appendix. Arkadelphia went on to a 30-17 win and claimed its second straight 4A state title the following week. Had the game been played as originally scheduled on Friday, the outcome could have been different.
“Our conference is tough top-to-bottom. I think several teams from our conference have a chance to compete deep in the playoffs.” — Jeremie Burns, Ozark head football coach