GIANT: New Facilities Level Playing Field

forethought to have a facility like this and it’s only going to make our school and our town continue to grow and prosper,” Penn said.

Long before the invention of football emerged, changing the social landscape and becoming a thriving business in the sports world, a devoted group of patriots created a culture where football could thrive.

Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence outlining the framework for a society based upon establishing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The distinct privileges American football fans enjoy gathering in capacity to fill the 2,500 seat home stands and 1,200 visitor bleachers while cheering at the top of their lungs at Cardinal Stadium, then read about the event in the local paper were won on the battlefield.

Jeff Oxford served on the Farmington school board throughout the planning and construction process. He couldn’t help but express gladness seeing the project come to fruition when the facility opened to the public Aug. 15.

“We started on this a long time ago. We had people tour several different places and kind of come together and brought what we thought were good from several different facilities,” Oxford said. “You look at the indoor facility, there’s 60 yards of practice surface in there. The weight room, it’s not only for football, the band can use it, there’s cheer, dance on the back, a soccer field. You know, it’s a long time coming. This is stuff that needed to be done here at Farmington.”

Strategy And Tactics

Veteran Farmington head football coach Mike Adams not only teaches History, he’s a student. The wall of Adams’ new office tucked into the heart of the fieldhouse features paintings of Waterloo and a British battle in Africa both fought in the 19th century. It’s not beyond the scope of imagination to envision Adams sitting down with George Washington generating a discussion about how to deal with a superior force.

“Strategic is something you plan all summer. You know how you’re going to approach this season based on the kids that you have. You’re going to have different weapons for different years, different seasons,” Adams said.

“Tactics, that’s the gameday adjustments. You’re going to make some adjustments each week. Those are things that are fun to come up with. We try and be pretty basic, but we want to throw a couple of wrinkles in there every week and that’s where the tactical side of it is. Overall, you’ve got to have a strategic plan for your year, using the talents you’ve got available and then you’ve got to refine those tactics each week for a different opponent.”

Level Playing Field

During the War for Independence the Colonial Army lacked cannons. That changed when Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys of Vermont accompanied by Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain on May 10, 1775. The captured artillery was hauled south and utilized by Washington to fortify Dorchester Heights making Boston indefensible by the British to the American elevated positions. The redcoats left town on March 17, 1776, and the siege ended with the Americans liberating an important port city.

In football terms, Adams got the components he wanted and the Cardinal program is now equipped to level the playing field when competing against other 5A schools.

“The only hold-up right now is our weight room. They haven’t got that furnished. That’s a big piece of the puzzle for us, but other than that as far as the locker facilities and the things for the coaches, particularly the indoor field it’s so beneficial for us,” Adams said.

“It’s beneficial for us right now with the heat we’ve had, but it’s going to pay more benefits for us when the weather gets bad and we don’t have to worry if there’s lightning in the area. We can come right in here and keep on practicing. Then, of course, in the off-season during the wintertime we’ll be able to get out there and do a lot of things we haven’t been able to do in the past. So, hopefully that’ll accelerate our development of our younger guys and help our program take another step forward.”

Multipurpose Facility

Local businessman Paul Williams took a tour accompanied by his wife, Melissa, during the open house.

“This facility is amazing, it’s amazing. Wish it would have happened years earlier, but it’s second to none,” Paul Williams said. “I don’t think anybody in northwest Arkansas can touch these facilities.”

Melissa Williams said she looks forward to the first track meet at Farmington and celebrates the dance studio noting the couple’s daughter, Rebekah, is a member of the dance team.

“I’ve wished for it (the track) for a very long time and looking forward to Rebecca running on it also,” Melissa Williams said, adding, “Go Cards.”

The jubilant culmination is something Benjamin Franklin would have enjoyed rushing to the printers and reporting to the masses through a free press.

Triumph is triumph in any generation and the Cardinal force has, in all practicality, established a plethora of resources, awakening a sleeping giant.