Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
On to Kansas
Bentonville Coach Jody Grant (above) and the Tigers will travel Friday to Shawnee, Kan., for an impromptu nonconference game against Mill Valley. Bentonville and Mill Valley arranged the game after the Tigers’ season opener was called off by Liberty (Mo.) North, whose conference voted to not have games against out-of-state competition this fall.
Bentonville coach Jody Grant said his only recollection of Kansas high school football before this season started was when his team played Derby in a 7-on-7 tournament.
Now the Tigers (2-0) will travel Friday to Shawnee for their impromptu nonconference game against Mill Valley. Bentonville and Mill Valley arranged the game after the Tigers’ season opener was called off by Liberty (Mo.) North, whose conference voted to not have games against out-of-state competition this fall.
It didn’t take much from the Jaguars (2-0), the defending Class 5A champion in that state, to catch Grant’s attention. Mill Valley is currently ranked 34th nationally by MaxPreps.
“They are a very established program,” Grant said. “I think their coaches do a great job, and they’re very well-coached. They have really good football players across the board that know what they are doing.
“This year they have played two games and won both of them very handily against good programs. They played Derby in week one and Derby is a Kansas powerhouse, from what I know about Kansas football. I’m impressed with them and heard great things about them from a number of people.”
Meanwhile, Grant likes what he has seen from his team following victories over Conway and Kansas City Rockhurst in the past two weeks. However, this now becomes Bentonville’s final tuneup game before starting 7A-West Conference play next week against Springdale Har-Ber.
“I think we have a chance to be a really good football team,” Grant said. “I think we have to clean some stuff up. I think we need to be more consistent offensively and be able to run the football effectively.
“We have to tackle better on defense, but you’re talking about a group that flies to the football and makes plays then they get there. They’re fast; they’re sudden. We also need to make improvements in the kicking game, which we will.”