Talking turf, esports and scores galore

The sports carousel is swirling way too fast with games in football and volleyball to state tournaments in golf and tennis for me to stay focused on a single topic.

That’s my excuse for a segmented version of our weekly rendezvous.

TURNING TO TURF

The sight of Prairie Grove football Coach Danny Abshier on a lawn mower in late summer at Tiger Stadium has been a sure-fire signal for over 30 years that high school football is near.

Abshier takes great pride in maintaining the lush green grass field at Tiger Stadium. But that work will end soon for Abshier after the Prairie Grove School Board voted to approve an artificial surface for Tiger Stadium. The transformation is expected to begin after the football season and be ready in the spring for other activities like soccer.

Abshier attended the board meeting and agreed that a turf field would benefit more than just football at Prairie Grove.

“It’s a positive for all of us,” Abshier said. “I think that’s what we need to do.”

I get that adding a multi-purpose artificial surface will benefit other sports at all schools that can afford it. Still, the sight of a football coach getting a grass field ready for another season will disappear into history like single-bar helmets and high school games on Thanksgiving day.

Kinda of sad, actually.

THE BIG REVEAL

Did you hear about the big reveal, where Northwest Arkansas Community College announced a second sports program to go along with cross country for men and women?

Ta-da!: Esports.

That’s right, esports, which will allow full-time students at the school to compete in video games against students from other schools. NWACC officials cited the growing popularity of esports, the low cost of implementing such a program, and student inclusion for its decision.

“It allows all students to have the opportunity to participate,” NWACC President Dennis Rittle said. “It expands that opportunity to all students, and that is very gratifying on so many levels because we want folks to understand that athletics is not about excluding people, it’s about including people.”

Inclusion is wonderful but wouldn’t you want to add a sport that encourages young people especially to get out of their seats, put down their cell phones, and move away from video games? Something that might require walking, running or jumping?

Maybe next time and NWACC will likely follow with a more traditional sport, perhaps as soon as in the spring.

Oh, and if you want to accuse me of being a Neanderthal on the subject, I’ll help you out. I’m in my 60s and I haven’t played anything close to a video game since the early 1980s when I worked in a pool hall and occasionally played the pinball machines.

So I welcome your response. Just remember, no cussin’.

SCORES GALORE

After months of anticipation, we’ve moved past the halftime mark in high school football for teams that don’t make the playoffs. Hard to believe, for sure.

So, what do we know six games into the regular season? Not much, especially if you’ve watched NWA Democrat-Gazette Sports Editor Graham Thomas and I try to pick winners for our weekly Prep Rally videos.

But I do know the 7A-West Conference race will clear up substantially Friday when Bentonville (4-2, 3-0) challenges Fayetteville (6-0, 3-0) at Harmon Field. The showdown gained steam when Fayetteville won 45-31 at Fort Smith Southside and Bentonville trampled Rogers Heritage 84-0 last Friday at Tiger Stadium.

That’s right, 84-0, and Bentonville cleared the bench in the second half.

I also know the game of football has evolved so much the rule could be changed to “First to 50” wins the game. The statistics are staggering with Fayetteville, Elkins and Greenwood from our coverage area averaging more than 50 points per game. Still, no team wins a state championship without some defense and Class 7A champion Bryant and 2A champion Hazen each held their opponents to a single touchdown last year in the finals at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

It’s an exciting time for high school football, especially for athletes who get to throw and catch repeatedly like they did as kids playing pick-up games in the backyard. I can’t wait to see what the second half of the season brings, starting with the confrontation between Fayetteville and Bentonville.