Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Church, Chairs lead teams in first round
Turnovers are bad, especially when there are opponents with dynamic players who can take advantage of them.
Sundquist Church is such a player.
Church ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries to lead Fort Smith Northside to a 47-21 victory over Bentonville West in the first round of the Class 7A state playoffs at Wolverine Stadium.
For his effort, Church is the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Week for teams in the River Valley. Da’Shawn Chairs in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Week for teams in Northwest Arkansas.
Church combines with senior classmate Ty Massey to form one of the best running back tandems in the state.
Massey added 144 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries in the win at Bentonville West. But it was Church who punished the Wolverines most for the four first-half turnovers.
Northside (7-4) scored on five consecutive drives after West took a 7-6 lead with 3 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first quarter. On those five scoring drives over the final 15 minutes of the first half, Church piled up 168 of his 204 yards on 14 carries.
“Sundquist ran the ball very tough in very tough conditions,” Northside coach Mike Falleur said. “He is a pleasure to coach and he comes to work every day, always has a positive attitude. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
The win advanced Northside to a second-round matchup with Bryant, the three-time defending state champions who had a firstround bye.
The Elkins Elks needed a bounce-back game after losing at Prairie Grove the week before.
Da’Shawn Chairs made sure they got it.
The sophomore running back scored four touchdowns as Elkins bounced Dardanelle from the playoffs, 29-23. Chairs carried 26 times for 212 yards and scored on runs of 6, 13, 20, and 47 yards. He also caught four passes for 24 yards for Elkins, which advanced to a Class 4A second-round game at Stuttgart.
“Da’Shawn is a difference-maker and, if he keeps doing what he is doing, he will be one of the best running backs I have ever coached,” Elkins coach Zach Watson said.
“The great thing about Da’Shawn is if you were to ask him about his great game, he would tell you that it wouldn’t have been possible without his teammates out there blocking for him. His teammates bust their butts blocking for him because he is such a great teammate and hard worker.”