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Hope Bobcats Look Forward to Positive Season

By Jesse Evans

The Hope Bobcats are entering their second season under the leadership of Head Coach Phillip Turner, and according to Turner, the team has made huge strides since their 1-9 2018 season. When Coach Turner, a graduate of HHS and a former Bobcat Tight End, first took the helm as Head Coach in May 2018, the Cats were coming off back-to-back seasons without a single win. While a one win in a season isn’t something that anyone is pleased with, Coach Turner said that the Cats showedcontinuing improvement last season, and they were good enough to win more games if not for fundamental errors the

coaching staff has been working to help the players overcome. Turner said hissquad lost probably three games last year that they could have won but turnovers and small mental errors caused the Cats to give the ball away, allowing their op-ponents to clench the victory. One issue common when a team goes so long without winning is a loss of the confidence that they can win. Coach Turner said that they have worked to build that confidence back up in their players and he’s seen a big improvement in the players’ work ethic and attitude. He said that they come to practice and the weight room ready to work, that they are focused,

they aren’t dropping their heads and giving up and it’s paying dividends. Turner said that he has tried to lead by example and has worked to ingrain into the Bobcats that they need to respond to adversity positively on and off the field and push throughto the very end to overcome it. Coach Turner said that his players have bought into the new system, have learned it and are now able to react more instinctually and play faster, opening the game on a deeper level for them. “The kids are having fun now that they know and are comfort-able with our system,” Coach Turner said.

Continued on Page 4 2019 HOPE BOBCATS VARSITY

Hope Bobcats 2019 Football ScheduleSenior High Schedule:

Date

Sept. 6 @ 7:30 p.m.Sept. 13 @ 7:30 p.m.Sept. 20 @ 7:00 p.m.Sept. 27 @ 7:00 p.m.Oct. 4 @ 7:00 p.m.Oct. 11 @ 7:00 p.m.Oct. 18 @ 7:00 p.m.Oct. 25 @ 7:00 p.m.Nov. 1 @ 7:00 p.m.Nov. 8 @ 7:00 p.m.

Opponent

NashvilleAshdownPrescottDe QueenHot SpringMcClellanLakesideCamden FairviewArkansas HighMagnolia

Location

AwayAwayHomeHome (Homecoming)AwayHomeAwayHomeAwayHome

CheerleadersCheerleader Coach: Kirby Turner, Kirby Bradley

SeniorsAddie HerronAlaya PearsonAudrianna CollinsDianira GuerreroGracie GilbertMi-Yaunna PurifoyTrinity RogersChristian Lewis - mascot

JuniorsAnntaevia BriggsAshanti PhillipsBianca JuarezBrittney MartinezByreasia GulleyMichaela ClarkNa’Tyja WhiteZa’nautica BarkerNa’Khia Green - manager

SophomoresAhyanna GulleyAshlyn CourtneyDestiny PerkinsEsperanza CabrialesJordyn SimingtonKaylee JohnsonKhyianna SmithKyla Wyatt

Hope Bobcat Spors Management Team Hope Jr. High Cheerleaders

Hope Bobcat Cheerleades

Coach Turner said that they have been drilling the little things on and off the field to help instill the discipline in his players that will translate into fewer mistakes on the field. Along with the discipline, the coaching staff has been working on improvement in the players’ football fundamentals and ball handling. Coach Turner said the Cats are seeing huge results by his team in the weight room. “We have to continue to get bigger, stronger and faster,” Turner said. While a change in attitude and work ethic has made improve-ments in the individual athletes on the football team, they still have to come together on the field as a coherent unit on Friday nights. Coach Turner has implemented his system and after more than a year, it’s becoming second nature for the Cats, he said. Coach Turn-er said that we can expect to see the Bobcats in a spread offense with the goal of a balanced run and passing game where either option is always available. “It’s all a chess game,” Turner said, “and we want to try to keep the defense guessing.” The Bobcats lost some expe-rience and leadership in several important roles as seniors moved

on to the next stage in their lives. Coach Turner is looking for some of the younger players to step up to take theplace of the four offensive lineman and two linebackers who graduated in the spring. Coach Turner said that the Cats will rely heavily on the experience and leadership of their dual-threat quarterback and the deep wide receiver roster, which he said is deep with playmakers. Coach Turner knows that there is no such thing as an easy sched-ule with stiff conference compe-tition and traditional non-con-ference rivals like Nashville and Prescott but he is confident that if the Bobcats can average about 400 overall yards per game, avoid turnovers and keep their mental focus, the Hope fans should see a much improved team on the field this season. While Coach Turner is pleased with the attitude and progress of his team, he can’t overlook thecommunity and fans who he said have been very positive and supportive of him and the team since he’s been Head Coach. Turner said that he regularly gets comments from people he meets in the community who have seen the changes in the young men on

on the Bobcat football team and the positive feedback has been encouraging. The Cats kickoff the regular season on Friday, September 6 with a trip north to take on the Nashville Scrappers. Coach Turner said his squad will have to force the Scrappers into passing situations, which he said won’t be easy. Turner and his staff scouted the Scrappers during their scrim-mage with Arkadelphia and the Scrapper running game, behind an aggressive and agile offensive line will be the biggest offensive threat they have to deal with. If you are unable to travel for the Bobcats’ game against the Scrappers, you can get real-time score updates and post-game stats at our site. Visit SWARK.Today for all your Bobcat football news.

.....Hope vs Nashville Scrappers

@ NashvilleFriday, September 6

@ 7:30 p.m. The Cats face off against their traditional opening rivalry game with the Nashville Scrappers on the Scrappers’ home field. The Scrappers have had their

way with the Bobcats in recent years, defeating the Cats 63-6 in the 2018 opener. The Scrappers ended the 2018 season with a record of 10-3 overall and 5-2 in conference. They made it to the 4A State Tournament quarterfinals where their season was endedby Shiloh Christian with a final score of 40-21.

.....Hope vs Ashdown Panthers

@ AshdownFriday, September 13

@ 7:30 p.m. In week 2, the Cats continue their early season road trip as they head to Ashdown to take on thePanthers. The Panthers came to Hope and defeated the Bobcats 49-14 in 2018. The Panthers fin-ished the season 3-7 overall and 1-6 in conference.

.....Hope vs Prescott Curley Wolves

@ HopeFriday, September 20

@ 7 p.m. The Cats make their 2019 home debut in week 3, playing host to long-time local rival the Prescott Curley Wolves. In 2018, the Curley Wolves hosted the Bobcats and defeated them by a

Photo By: Madison Adams, student Sheila Hopson, teacher of HHS Yearbook Staffscore of 46-13. Prescott went on to finish the season with a 12-2 overall record and a 6-1 conference record. Prescott made it all the way to the 3A State Tournament Semifinals where they lost to eventual 3A Champs Booneville by only a field goal with a final score of 34-31.

.....Hope vs De Queen @ Hope Leopards (Homecoming)

Friday, September 27 @ 7 p.m. The Bobcats remain at home in week 4 when they will celebrate Homecoming against the De Queen Leopards. The game starts at 7 p.m. but Homecoming festivities will take place prior to kick-off. The game got away from

the Cats when the two squads met in 2018. They ended regulation tied and went into overtime with a chance for their first win in three years but the Leopards were able to edge out the Cats with a final score of 21-14. It was the only win of the season for the Leopards who finished 1-9 overall and 1-6 in conference.

.....Hope vs Hot Springs Trojans

@ Hot SpringsFriday, October 4 @ 7 p.m.

The Cats are back on the road in their 5 th week of football to take on the Hot Springs Trojans. The 2018 game against the Tro-jans resulted in the Cats’ first and only win in three years. Hope was

# Name1 Ammorrion Dempsey2 Davion Durden3 Corey Lewis4 LaDarius Watson5 Ca’Vontae Young6 Mehki Henderson7 Hunter Hellums9 McKinsey Davis10 Kenya Wesley11 Emanuel Lawson12 Ragee Lawson13 Kearon Brown14 Deigo Ortiz15 Bryan Morrison16 Erik Haynie17 Oscar Bruno18 Tavion Davis19 Javarous Solomon20 KeJuan Booker22 Montavious Easton25 Kobe Conway26 Timothy Rowe28 Jimmy Parades30 Jarod Hamilton35 Chris Torres40 Zackery Woeckner 44 LaDarius Allen48 Andre Dafney52 Kia Hamilton55 Au’Vion Horton56 Oscar Ward59 Roosevelt Wyatt60 Oathis Ward62 Duwon Nsonso64 Nathaniel English66 Ommarrion Watson72 Darton Davis75 Jose Salgado76 Gregory Burton78 Derrick Patterson87 Joshua Elsenbarth

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2019 Hope Bobcat Roster

Lance & Associates Feed the Hope Bobcats

Watermelon

Hope Bobcats enjoyed some delicious Hope Watermlon provided by Lance & Asso-ciates. The team has been prepar-ing for the season and couldn’t do it without the community. Show your support for them by cheering them on at the upcoming games this season! The first game will be Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Nashville.

able to finish out the game with a 26-20 victory. The Trojans finished their season 1-9 over-all and 1-6 in conferenceplay.

.....Hope vs McClellan Crimson

Lions @ HopeFriday, October 11 @ 7 p.m.

Week 6 sees the Cats return home to take on the Crimson Lions. The Crimson Lions defeated the Bobcats con-vincingly in 2018 during their Homecoming game with a final score of 62-15. McClellan had a strong season, finishing 10-2 overall and 6-1 in conference. McClellan fell to Pulaski Academy in the 2nd round of the 2018 5A State Tournament by a score of 58-8.

.....Hope vs Lakeside Rams

@ LakesideFriday, October 18 @ 7 p.m.

The Cats travel to Lakeside in week 7 to take the field against the Rams. In 2018 Lakeside defeated the Bobcats at home with a score of 49-28. Lakeside closed out the season with a record of 5-6 overall and4-3 in conference. The Rams were eliminated in the first round of the 5A State Tourna-ment by Blytheville with a final score of 41-27.

Hope vs Camden Fairview Cardinals @ Hope

Friday, October 25 @ 7 p.m. The Bobcats are back home in their 8 th week to host the Car-dinals. The Cardinals dominated the Cats in 2018, defeating Hope 63-9. The Cardinals finished 6-5 overall and 5-2 in conference. They made it into the post season but were eliminated in round 1 of the 5A State Tournament 10-6 by Wynne.

.....Hope vs Arkansas High Razor-

backs @ TexarkanaFriday, November 1 @ 7 p.m.

The Cats hit I-30 to Texar-kana in week 9 to take on the Razorbacks. In their 2018 contest, the Razorbacks defeated Hope by a final of 45-7. The Razorbacks went 10-2 overall and 7-0 in conference play in 2018 and

were conference play in 2018 and were eliminat-ed in the second round of the 5A State Tournament by eventual 5A State Champ Little Rock Christian Academy.

Hope vs Magnolia Panthers @ Hope

Friday, November 8 @ 7 p.m.

The Bobcats close out the regular season at home in week 10 as they host the Panthers. The Cats’ trouble taking care of the ball helped the Panthers claim a dominant 48-19 victory. Magnolia did not make it into the post season and finished with a record of 6-4 overall and 3-4 in conference.

Check out the Hope Bobcat Marching Band this year at halftime with their production of Machine.

New Spring Hill Coach Determined to Bring Change

By Jesse Evans

2018 was a rough season for the Spring Hill Bears football team, only getting one win in non-conference play, but with the hiring of new coach Greg Smith the team has a chance for a fresh start in a new direction. The process won’t be easy and with a roster with fewer than 20 players, much will be demanded of each and every one of the Spring Hill Bears in the 2019 sea-son. Winning is important, but it takes time and Coach Smith asks the fans to be patient and continue to support the Bears’ student athletes as they learn, compete and grow over the course of the season. Coach Smith, who was the head coach the last seven years at Dover and coached on the staff at

Prescott before that, said that he has been pleased with the progress of his players through summer practice as they have worked on conditioning, football knowledge, fundamentals and getting on the same page with the new lingo and philosophy he is implementing. Coach Smith said

that progress may appear slowat times, but will be steady throughout the season as he and his staff work to ingrain basic standards of behavior, how to practice effectively and safely, how to move on the field and expectations of them on the field. Coach Smith expects a marked

difference in the attitude and effort of the players, their football knowledge and a better level of communication between the play-ers and coaches by the end ofthe season. Coach Smith said that they aren’t just training up football players, they’re training up students and young men that will sooner rather than later leave high school behind and continue their course through life. He said that a core part of his philosophy as a coach is to use sports to teach life lessons. “In football,” Coach Smith said, “a lot of obstacles

that the players will face parallel what they will have to deal with in life.” One of the primary goals for Coach Smith is to help mold the young men he coaches into men who will be accountable, dependable contributors to their community and good husbands and fathers in their adult life. Coach Smith has been very happy and grateful for the support the community has shown him and his players since he arrived. Whether it’s been at fundraisers or other public events, Coach Smith said he has been impressed with how Spring Hill has rallied

behind the football team. He encourages everyone to come out every game night to bring that Bears spirit to help encourage and cheer on his team. We will have live score updates and post-game stats throughout the season on our website atSWARK.Today.

Asst. Coach, Austin Kidd; Head Coach, Greg Smith; Asst. Coach, Nick Smith

Senior High Schedule: Junior High Schedule:Date

Aug. 30 @ 7 p.m.Sept. 6 @ 7 p.m.Sept. 13 @ 7 p.m.Sept. 20 @ 7 p.m.Sept. 27 @ 7 p.m.Oct. 4 @ 7 p.m.Oct. 11 @ 7 p.m.Oct. 18 @ 7 p.m.Oct. 25 @ 7 p.m.Nov. 1 @ 7 p.m.Nov. 7 @ 7 p.m.

Opponent

BeardenConway ChristianHackettGenoa CentralForemanLafayette CountyMount IdaGurdonMurfreesboroDierksMineral Springs

Location

HomeAwayAwayHomeAwayHomeHomeAwayHomeHomeAway

Date

Aug. 29Sept. 12Sept. 19Sept. 26Oct. 3Oct. 10Oct. 17Oct. 24Oct. 31

Opponent

Lafayette Co.HopeCenterpointFoukeBismarckSmackoverGenoa CentralHoratioCamden H.G.

Location

AwayHomeHomeAwayAwayHomeHomeAwayAway

Spring Hill vs Bearden Bears @ Spring Hill

Friday, August 30 @ 7 p.m. Spring Hill’s opener will be the team’s first contest against fellow 2A conference Bearden Bears. Spring Hill hosts Bearden on their home field. Bearden finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 3-7 and a conference re-cord of 2-3. The game will be the first opportunity to see the Bears under Coach Smith’s leadership.

.....Spring Hill vs Conway Chris-

tian Eagles @ ConwayFriday, September 6 @ 7 p.m.

Conway Christian will host the Bears as they continue conference play during the second week of the season. Conway Christian is picked in the preseason to be in the top 5 in the 2A Conference and will be a tough test for the Bears early in the season. The Eagles defeated the Bears last season with a final score of 41-6. The team finished with an overall record of 10-3 and a conference record of 7-0. The ConwayChristian squad was eliminated by only 2 points in the 2018 2A State Tournament in a nail-biter against Mount Ida. The final score was 50-48.

.....Spring Hill vs Hackett Hornets

@ HackettFriday, September 13 @ 7 p.m.

The Bears continue conference play on the road in the third week. This will be the first time the twoteams meet. Hackett finished with an overall record of 4-6 and con-ference record of 3-3 in 2018. TheHornets made it into the first round of the 2A State Tourna-ment but were knocked out by Mountain Pine with a final score of 35-26.

.....Spring Hill vs Genoa Central

Dragons @ Spring HillFriday, September 20 @ 7 p.m.

Spring Hill returns home for

week 4 as they host the Genoa Central Dragons. The Bears achieved their only victory in 2018 against the dragons in the early part of the season, winning with a final score of 16-6. Genoa Central struggled in 2018, winning just one game against Lafayette County. The Dragonsoverall 2018 season record was 1-9 and their conference record was 0-7.

.....Spring Hill vs Foreman Gators

@ ForemanFriday, September 27 @ 7 p.m.

The Bears hit the road again in week 5 for another tough test as

they travel to Foreman to face off against the Gators. Foreman shut out the Bears in 2018 with a final score of 39-0. The gators went on to finish with an overall record of 10-2 and a conference record of 6-1. Foreman made it to the semifinals in the 2018 2A State Tournament where they lost to the eventual State Champion Junction City by a finalscore of 40-20.

.....Spring Hill vs Lafayette County

Cougars @ Spring HillFriday, October 4 @ 7 p.m.

The Bears return home in week 6 to host the Lafayette County

Cougars. The Bears had a chance to defeat the Cougars in 2018, finishing regulation tied but the Cougars managed to edge out the Bears in overtime with a final score of 20-12. That was the first and last win of the season for the Cougars who finished out the 2018 season with a 1-9 overall and a 1-6 conference record.

.....Spring Hill vs Mount Ida Lions

@ Spring HillFriday, October 11 @ 7 p.m.

Spring Hill remains at home in week 7 as they welcome the Mount Ida Lions to town. Mount Ida shut out the Bears in 2018

with a final score of 49-0. The Li-ons finished 2018 with an overall record of 11-3 and a conference record of 5-2. The team won their way to the semifinals in the 2018 State Tournament where they were shut out 42-0 by Hazen.

.....Spring Hill vs Gurdon

Go-DevilsFriday, October 18 @ 7 p.m.

It’s back on the road in week 8 as Spring Hill heads to Gurdon to play the Go-Devils. Gurdon wentundefeated on their home field in 2018 and claimed a dominant victory over the Bears in Spring Hill with a final of 56-22. The

The Go-Devils finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 9-3 and a conferencerecord of 6-1. Gurdon faced Hazen in Round 2 of the 2018 2A State Tournament but were shut out 46-0.

Continued on Page 11

Spring Hill Jr. High Cheerleaders

Sr. High Cheerleaders

Lance & Associates serving Watermelon after practice in support of the Spring Hill Bears.

Spring Hill Football Roster# Name1 Trent Tipton2 Cody Wright3 Da’Viunta Purifoy4 Justin Letcher5 Jake Grimmett8 Dalton Gammage12 Rusty Orr21 Hunter Brown22 Michael Flournoy33 Hayden Brown49 Josh Baker55 Chaydon Breeding58 Nick Yates65 Scott Ezell68 Johnathan Zacarias70 Dawson Ghormley72 Wyatt Tyler77 Wyatt Bailey?? Ronin Alvarez

# Name1 Landen Brown3 Jackson Lewis4 Westin Barnett6 Josh Grimmett7 Cade Watson9 Trent McGuire10 Will Applegate12 Levin McGuire15 TJ Tipton21 Brice Brown22 Dalton Glover30 Carson Oller40 Tucker Runion55 Corbin Overton58 Brooks Lee62 Justin Loe63 Derby Leonard64 Max Sinyard66 Trace Clements67 Jesse Ohmart68 Braxton Brown74 Kasen Korenek75 Cole Newton78 Blane Tuttle80 Labe Hartley

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Spring Hill Jr. High Roster 7th Grade Roster# Name1 Draxton Mediano5 Payton White6 Drey Para8 Maddock Crocker10 Landon Garrison16 Jacob Combs20 Layton Hughes22 Russell Rook24 Hayden Covington26 Jacob Baggett28 Xain Eby30 Landen Meador32 CJ Hogins33 Riley Brannon35 Gavin Gunter50 Briar Young52 Terry Crowe53 Austin Larue55 Hudson Metz56 Gage Fisher62 Andrew Spainhour73 Dawson Walker76 Ethan Smith81 Chandler Scott

Spring Hill vs Murfreesboro Rattlers @ Spring Hill

Friday, October 25 @ 7 p.m. In week 9 the Bears return home to face the Murfreesboro Rattlers. The Bears lost in Mur-freesboro in 2018 by a final score of 16-8. That win was one of only 3 total wins for the Rattlers in 2018. The squad ended the season with an overall record of 3-7 and a conference record of 2-5, failing to make the state tournament.

Spring Hill vs Dierks Outlaws @ Spring Hill

Friday, November 1 @ 7 p.m. The Bears welcome the Dierks Outlaws to town for their last reg-ular season home game in week 10. Dierks defeated the Bears in 2018 with a final score of 40-6. Dierks finished 2018 with an overall record of 3-8 and a confer-ence record of 3-4. The Outlaws made it into the first round of the 2018 2A State Tournament but

were dominated by Salem in the 62-7 game.

.....Spring Hill vs Mineral Springs

Hornets @ Mineral SpringsThursday, November 7 @ 7

p.m. The Bears travel to Mineral Springs to face the Hornets for their final regular season game in week 11. In their 2018 face-off the Hornets came to Spring Hill and shut the Bears out with a final score of 38-0. The Hornets had a strong 2018 season, finishing 9-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play. The Mineral Springs squad made it into the 2 nd round of the 2A State Tournament where they lost 54-14 to Hampton.

Bears in Action! Jr. and Sr. High Bears serving ice cold melon at the 42nd Annual Watermelon Festival over the summer. Coaches have been encouraging the team to go out and give back to their community by picking up trash, cleaning up around the campus and churches and lending a helping hand to community members when needed.