Where are we?!

[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're watching the prep rally podcast. [00:00:07] Speaker B: Oh, hey there. We didn't expect to see you here, you know, after we announced that we'd be in some kind of gym. And guess what? We are not in Madison Square Garden, but we're in the second best place. [00:00:22] Speaker A: Where are we, Sydney? [00:00:24] Speaker B: We're in Bulldog arena here in Fayetteville, Arkansas. How does it feel to be in this beautiful arena, Graham, to start off. [00:00:34] Speaker A: Our show, I'm still kind of wondering how I got here. [00:00:37] Speaker B: I know. Can you believe it was $0 in our budget? We made it here. [00:00:42] Speaker A: You guys blindfolded me and told me you were taking me to Madison Square Garden and you know. [00:00:47] Speaker B: Well, you know, our budget is zero flat, so this is down the street, the best we could do. [00:00:53] Speaker A: Well, if that's the case, then I'm happy to be here. [00:00:55] Speaker B: Well, I'm glad you are. Well, let's get talking about some basketball since we're in a basketball court. But Harbor, Fayetteville was our big game of the week last week and you were there. So tell me a little bit about what you saw at that game. [00:01:09] Speaker A: Oh, gosh, Sydney, what a great day for harbor and what a tough day for Fayetteville. It was. [00:01:17] Speaker B: Kind of eerie. We're talking about it in their home gym, but it's fine. You know, tough, tough love. [00:01:23] Speaker A: Well, you know, we are accepting donations for, you know, hometown covered. I'm just kidding. So back to the games. You know, it was two really, really good games. Could have gone either way. You know, the Fayetteville, Fayetteville girls really, they got down really quickly, like 20 to 6. And I thought harbor was going to run away with it. They've got all the tools to just blow them out. And Fayetteville just kept fighting, clawing. They got back in the game and all of a sudden it was a battle, it was a scrap. And Harper made just a few more plays in the fourth quarter than Fayetteville did. Jasmine MacArthur hit a couple of three pointers right when Harper needed the most. Harper walks out there with a 54, 46 victory. But really well played basketball game. It was fun to watch and it was unfortunate that one team had to lose then on the boys side, Boy, another, just another great basketball game. Harbor got down. Fayetteville was in control, I would say for about two thirds of the game. And then harbor does what harbor does. They've got some really high end players that can really make plays like Cortland Muldrew and Marlee and Jabari Washington. And all of a sudden they are Back in the ball game and they take the lead, make a just, just like in the girls game, just a couple plays late that they made were the difference. [00:02:53] Speaker B: Do you think you saw a little bit of that spark back between the harbor players, especially the boys coming off of that harsh winning in Springdale? [00:03:02] Speaker A: Are the, you know, it's tough to say because they were on the third game of a three game week. They were, everybody was gassed and it was for the harbor boys, it was three very tough ball games. Like, you know, the girls, the harbor girls won pretty handily against Rogers. They won pretty handily against Bentonville west, had a tough game against Fayetteville. Harbor boys had to scrap against Rogers. They scrapped against Bentonville west, beat them by three in a really great game and had another battle with Fayetteville. So I think more than anything, I think they were just like they were grateful to have gotten out of the three game week with a 30 record and did so was the spark there? I'm not sure because they were just so tired. But there was definitely that fighting energy there. [00:03:52] Speaker B: Well, tough loss for Fayetteville in the end because it was 56 to 52. Now speaking of Fayetteville, what do you think this team needs to do to kind of push forward from those, especially going into playoffs first week of March? Because they have now lost to harbor twice and I know this team wants to rally up and wants to bounce back from that. So what do you think that they need to do in the next few weeks to get ready for that? [00:04:17] Speaker A: Well, you know, in Fayetteville, you know, they've got some challenges because they're not as big as your Springdale. They don't maybe have the high end scores like harbor does. They've just got to rally together. You know, they've got a good basketball team and they can be a part of this conversation and part of the mix. So maybe not change what you're doing, but just kind of stay the course. And on the girls side as well, they've got some unique talent at Fayetteville. Just keep doing what you're doing, keep on keeping on, keep holding on to the rope is what I would say. Now obviously there's gonna be adjustments made. We've got several weeks left in regular season. Everybody needs to stay healthy. But you know, they're not doing anything wrong. They're just needing to catch a break here and there. [00:05:08] Speaker B: And going further with that, who does Fayetteville truly need to beat in order to be competitive in the playoffs? [00:05:17] Speaker A: You know, in this conference they need to take care. They need to figure out a way to take care of Bentonville and Bentonville west and the teams that they should be. You know, Rogers, you know, they're going to be playing Fort Smith Northside here tonight on Tuesday night. They need to take care of Fort Smith Northside. On the girls side of that, that's going to be a real tough battle, too, because Fort Smith Northside is a really good team, you know, need to win the games you should win and maybe find a way to knock off a Springdale on the girls side. On the boys, I mean, it's similar deal. I don't know that anybody's gonna knock off Springdale boys, but take a good swing at them. I mean, you know, they put their pants on just like you and I do. They're just boys. So I'm a girl one leg at a time, right? Oh, my gosh. So. [00:06:15] Speaker B: Yes, I knew what you were saying. But looking at Northside 2, who are some of those key players that you think Fayetteville just really needs to look out for? Especially like you were saying, they need to rally up together to play Northside. So who are some of Northside's leading scorers that they need to watch out for defensively? [00:06:33] Speaker A: Well, on the girls side, it's Arianna Gooden. Hazely Grotejohn. Cameron Schmidt is another one. Cadence Fleming, Erica Gooden, the other twin sister. They've just got a lot of good players, and Fayetteville's got a lot of good players. On the girls side, you got Peyton Cottle, who's going to probably play Division 1 basketball, you got Whitney Brown, Saniya Coachman. Just a long list of kids that they depend on, so. And on the boys side, you know, Fayetteville's got to slow down Derek Shepherd. [00:07:15] Speaker B: And, you know, it's interesting because Derek shepherd, he's not really a big guy. He's a small kid, and yet he runs it around the court. And I think it's ironic because earlier you were talking about Fayetteville's size being smaller than everybody, but then they're going up against Derek Shepard, who's a lot smaller than they are. [00:07:32] Speaker A: Northside has put several young guys into the NBA here in the last few years, and they've been big, big, sizeable guys. This Northside team is a little bit different. They don't have that kind of size. They match up real well with Fayetteville. It'll be a real good battle between those two teams because they match up well. Derek Shepard, I'm sure, will See a lot of Xavier Brown and some of the smaller guards. [00:08:01] Speaker B: Do you think because of that it's going to be more. More defensive game, or do you think it's going to be more of a shootout? [00:08:08] Speaker A: I would say more of a shootout here. And I think Fayetteville will come out and play really well tonight. [00:08:16] Speaker B: Well, before we get going, we are going to play some basketball for you guys and then we'll see you after the break with this one in the River Valley with Leland for our top fives. I thought you were in China Sea. Can I make it? We will see. That's called I'll let y'all in a little secret. [00:08:54] Speaker A: Are you doing the tweets? [00:08:55] Speaker B: That's called being humble. [00:08:57] Speaker A: So you're the one that's tagging me. Somebody is tagging me. [00:09:03] Speaker C: Only on my name. [00:09:05] Speaker A: Oh, I thought, who does the school account? It's normally Coach Rose, huh? Yeah. Always look on the bright side of life. What are you looking at? [00:09:30] Speaker B: Oh, how times have changed. [00:09:34] Speaker A: My, how the turntables have turned. And we're back on the Prep Rally podcast, live from the Peak Innovation center in beautiful Fort Smith, Arkansas. Graham Thomas leaving Barclay here and in the same room, no less. We just wrapped up one of our Prep Rally sports club luncheons here in Fort Smith and just thought it'd be a great opportunity for us to give you the duo Gimme five for the week. So without any further ado, we'll turn it over to Leland for Gimme five. [00:10:13] Speaker C: In the River Valley live on location. Isn't that fun to say? This is. This is the top five performances of the past week in the River Valley for boys. Of course, we always start with number one. The River Valley Democratic is that Player of the year, Trenton Cooley, senior guard for van Buren and two wins last week for the Pointers. He scored 20 points against Siloam Springs and had 25 against Greenwood on Tuesday, including 15 in the fourth quarter as the Pointers closed the game away. Then on Tuesday night, he came back with 18 points, including 14 in the third quarter in a loss to Russellville at home. Number two, Miles Kendrick, senior for Alma, had 15 points against Greenwood on Tuesday night and a 5750 win, including three rebounds. He had two threes in the third quarter as Alma wiped out a halftime deficit and then opened the fourth quarter with consecutive three pointers for the Airedales as they pulled away for a key five a West victory on Tuesday night. Number three, Court 10, Cleave of Paris scored 29 points on Tuesday night in a 61 to 59 win over Boonville. Number four, Cota Terrell, the 696 foot 9 big Indian from Percola, had 1500 points, went over the 1500 point mark in his career this past week. And Pecola, the Indians opened district play on Friday night. And then number five, the Ozark Hillbillies have been on a roll lately. In a win on Tuesday night, Caleb Lyons had 25 points, Cooper Dewar had 23 points, Dean Culver had 13 and Kobe Wilbanks had 12. That's the third time in the past two weeks that they've had at least two players score 20 points. These are the top five performances for the girls in the River Valley for the past week. Of course. Number one, the River Valley Democrat Gazette Player of the week, Corey Sanders, a senior guard for Lamar. In three wins last week for the Lamar Warriors Lady warriors, she had 25 points in a big win over Mansfield early in the week that solidified Lamar's top seed in the conference. [00:12:40] Speaker A: That was a heck of a win too because Mansfield had been on a roll lately. [00:12:44] Speaker C: Well, and that was the key. That was the key game in the conference. And like I said, that gives them a three game cushion. Now they're going to be the number one seed. She had four threes in that game, 25 points plus four rebounds. In another win on Thursday, she had seven points and then 18 points against Cedarville on Friday night. And again this week, the Lamar Warriors, lady warriors and warriors come back with three games again this week before district tournament play starts. Number two, Hasley Grotejohn, senior for Northside, had 11 key points for Northside in that 5651 win over Fayetteville on Tuesday night. A key road win for the Lady Bears. Number three. In a revenge game against Harrison on Friday night, the Greenwood senior scored 15 points, all on three pointers. Harrison was still within 39:35 in the third quarter when Pitts hit consecutive three pointers and the Lady Bulldogs went ahead and pulled away for a 6149 win. And then on Tuesday in a win over rival alma, she added 12 points and also had four steals to go along with the dynamic duo of Kyla Piercey and Izzy Smith, who combined for 41 points. And we were able to catch up with her after that Harrison victory and talk to the senior after that win. [00:14:19] Speaker D: The last time it was really important. We had our heads down kind of after like losing when we should have won and then this game really meant like it helps us stay locked in that two seed and puts us a step further so winning that game really, like, helped us a lot, our ecosystem. [00:14:36] Speaker C: You know, they play a zone defense, was it kind of talked about that y'all were gonna have to hit some shots from outside. And you were able to do that. [00:14:44] Speaker D: Yeah, we struggled that last time, making shots and then cutting in. But once we, like, went over and practiced multiple days, worked hard on that zone defense, we got it figured out, kicked out people, got shots. [00:14:55] Speaker C: How did the two threes that you hit, because they came back and they pulled in four points late in the third quarter. You hit back to back threes. How did those feel? [00:15:03] Speaker E: It felt amazing. [00:15:04] Speaker D: I was getting a little nervous because they were coming back so close, but I was like, okay, I just got to shoot it. And then I shot it. I was like, oh, they went in. So it was really awesome. [00:15:13] Speaker C: Number four, Van Buren, Sr. A.J. mcDonald against Russellville on Tuesday night in a 59 to 38 win. Fourteen points and 15 rebounds. And coach Kendall Ruff called it maybe, or probably the best team effort of the season all year for the Lady Pointers as they stay in contention for a state tournament berth. We also talked to McDonald after that game at Claire Bates arena on Tuesday night. Closed the first quarter well, and you had the third quarter run. How big were those? [00:15:44] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, we just talked about, like, in halftime that we're going to come out. And like, we always emphasize the first three minutes are the most important. And we kind of talked about that in our timeout of the first quarter. And I mean, it's halftime. We were like, let's just go out there and, like, finish the game within the third quarter. And we did. We came out hot and we just played together as a team and got ourselves on a good run. [00:16:02] Speaker C: You had a really good third quarter, nine points. You seemed really, I guess, energized and determined in the third quarter. [00:16:10] Speaker E: Yeah, I knew I had started slow, and I struggled. I mean, I had gotten a few rebounds for us, but I just struggled to get going offensively. So at halftime I was like, I'm going to go in there and do what my team needs me to do. And some opportunities opened up for me, and I just started posting a little bit harder, and I got myself some. [00:16:25] Speaker C: Good looks, but a really balanced effort. You know, Coach Rush said maybe the best team effort of the season. So that was also nice, wasn't it? [00:16:33] Speaker E: Yes, we had. I think this is the best ball movement we've had, like, all season. I mean, everyone was just kicking it. We were finding all the open shooters, and just like, I couldn't do without my teammates. They gave me so many good passes and just lead me right to where I need to go. [00:16:47] Speaker C: Number five. In a very, very rare occurrence, Boonville just had seven players available on Tuesday night. Dressed out. They played all five starters the entire game, all 32 minutes in a 46 to 37 win at Paris Tempe. Terry had 16 points, Haley Taylor had 15 and Bailey Parnell had 12 points to lead that victory. And that's the top five for the girls in the River Valley over the last week. [00:17:20] Speaker A: I bet those lady Bearcats slept well that night. [00:17:22] Speaker C: I bet they did. [00:17:23] Speaker A: That's after a full night's work. [00:17:25] Speaker C: I don't know. I don't think I've ever covered a game where that's happened and I. I don't remember that ever happening. You know, maybe on a small school level, but still for the five players, first of all, you can't get in foul trouble. And then of course, just to, you know, to. I guess they had seven players available, two on the bench. But I think it was a case of. According to. From what I understand that, you know, things were going well, why change it? [00:17:50] Speaker A: Yeah, the closest I've ever seen on that. Just as a side note, in the state championship game last year, Greenwood vs. Valonia, Clay Reeves did not substitute until sometime in the fourth quarter only because Kyla Piercey fouled out. He was. He was sticking with that fight as long as he could. Alright, well, thank you, Leland. We're going to move into the top five for Northwest Arkansas for the week. And we'll also start with the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette boys player of the week, Duke Bowman. What a week this guy had. He had 15 points as he led the resurgent Saints to a close win at Huntsville on February 4th. That win basically clinched the conference title for them. Then he had 21 points in a win at Gentry the following Friday. Not to top it off, but Bowman went for 21 points and an overtime win against Pea Ridge on Monday. Rare Monday night basketball game. The Saints are 130 heading into their regular season finale after starting the season 1 10. What a turnaround they have had. [00:18:58] Speaker C: You know, I saw them at the bank of Ozk tournament in December and they played Prairie Grove in the championship game. And I just had a feeling after watching them that they were going to have a pretty good year. I'm not sure how many people envision them to be undefeated in conference play because Prairie Grove is very good too. But it was. Obviously they have a good team. [00:19:20] Speaker A: Definitely a tremendous turnaround for Them, the Springdale harbor boys went 40 in their last four games. They defeated. Well, they had a three game week the previous week. They beat Rogers. They found a way to win against Bentonville West. Then they found another way to win against Fayetteville. And then on Tuesday night, Cortland Muldrew scored 31 points at Bentonville and they kind of pulled away and it wasn't really maybe as close as we thought it was. So Springdale harbor starting to gear up. Looking to take another shot at Springdale here in a couple weeks. This time it'll be at Wild Catarina. Speaking of Springdale boys, they just keep rolling. They have won 15 in a row now after beating Rogers Heritage on Tuesday. Cy Bates had 21 points in the win. The Bulldogs, the Red Dogs are 12 oh in league play. Providence Academy, Maurice Starks, 17 points in a win at Elkins on Monday night. Our guy Henry Apple was there who labeled it the signature win the Patriots have been looking for. You know, this is their first year competing in the Arkansas Activities association and the Patriots have more than held their own. I believe they're tied for third place in the league. Certainly a team to be reckoned with coming up in district and regional. Hopefully for them. Number five, we have the Bergman Panthers. What a job they did. Big win at rival Valley Springs last Friday. We will start with Dylan friend who had 27 points of five rebounds, four assists. Sawyer Schubert, double double machine, 24 points, 11 rebounds and teammate Zion Fultz with 13 assists. And winning at Valley Springs. I mean, that's a huge rivalry, Bergman and Valley Springs. So good job by the Bergman Panthers coach Bo Martin and the boys. As a bonus on the boys side, I'm going to give it to the Rogers Heritage boys wrestling team winning dual state championship by defeating Bentonville on the Tigers home floor last Saturday in the dual state championship. Still not a sanctioned sport or a sanctioned event by the Arkansas Activities association, but they think they're getting there. And when it does, the sport of wrestling will continue to grow. Big win in that dual state championship. Ben Smith for Rogers Heritage with a semifinal win over a state champion and Dane Reddick of Bentonville West. All right, now we're going to move into the top five for the girls in Northwest Arkansas and we're going to start with our Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette girls player of the week. McKinley Campbell had a big week in leading Springdale harbor to three wins over Rogers west and Fayetteville, where she averaged 18.6 points per game. Then she had a nice game Tuesday night. As Springdale harbor picked up a road win at Bentonville. McKinley Campbell, everybody knows that her and her twin sister Madison, they're quite a force for Springdale harbor, and they're going to have a say in the matter coming up in the state tournament here in a few weeks. How about number two, Easton McCullough for Farmington. Freshman went for 34 points last night at Harrison. You know, nothing phases this freshman girl. She can fill up the basket and does a great job for the Cardinals. They've won 52 conference games in a row. They're just having another unbelievable year and poised to repeat as state champions again. How about the Shiloh Christian Lady Saints? This is our number three. Went over to Pea Ridge on Monday night. Now, Pea Ridge could have clinched the 4A1 title outright with a win. Lady Saints said, uh, we want us a piece. And held off that celebration of at least for a night by handing Pea Ridge its first loss. Katie Ditch. Lauren McCready, Hadley Carnes, Avery Beers. Coach Heath Petton. Just doing a great job. What a resurgent year it's been for the Lady Saints. Number four. We'll go back to Bergman at Valley Springs. McKinnessee with a layup late helps Bergman win at Valley Springs. Brinley Collins had 15 points, and Bergman's one of those teams that got a lot of players involved there that, you know, they're going to be tough to beat down the stretch. You know, defending state champions in Class 3A, you know, looking to make another run. Number five, Kristen Miller at Huntsville had a putback as time expired to lift Huntsville to a 52 to 51 win against Berryville last week. You know, it's never too late to get rolling, and big wins like that can give you a lot of confidence going into district and regional play. Just a couple of bonus notes. I know I'm big on the bonuses. Rogers Lady Mounties win duel state for wrestling and beating Springdale harbor in the finals. Coach Willie Wright, one of the top wrestlers, Anna Ducks. What a great, great team they have. They're defending state champions. There's not a senior in their lineup, Leland. So, you know, that's gotta spell trouble for the rest of the league when it comes to girls wrestling. And finally, how about in the state bowling meet at Ozark Lanes in Fayetteville yesterday? Abby Heinzelman of Fayetteville wins the individual state bowling championship for Fayetteville. I just can't even think of what a cooler thing. I can't bowl worth a lick. [00:24:51] Speaker C: I saw her score. She had a really good day. [00:24:53] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a great day. So that's going to wrap us up for the top five of the week. We've got another busy week in store for Prep Rally. As you know, Leland's going to his games and I'm going to mine, and we're just. We're just happy to keep on doing it. [00:25:12] Speaker C: Well, you know, this is the last week of the regular season for the small schools, so by this time next week, there will be teams that are finished for the season. [00:25:24] Speaker A: Just pack you a lunch. Well, you're not going to need a lunch because you're going to go to the district or the regional site and there's going to be the. [00:25:30] Speaker C: The best part's the hospitality, hospitality rooms and homemade coconut cream pie. [00:25:36] Speaker A: Where do you get that at? [00:25:37] Speaker C: At about all of them. [00:25:38] Speaker A: Oh, man. All right. Well, folks, for Leland Barclay, I'm Graham Thomas signing off. Sydney, hope you're doing well up wherever you are. We'll see you next time.