With the departure of head coach Erik Munoz , Brookland managed to pluck Newport coach Mark Hindsley away from the Greyhounds . The Bearcats finished 5-5 last season and tied for 4 th place in the 5A East . The Bearcats lose a few key players from a season ago in David York , Ayden Stinnett , Cayden Matthews , Cole Tacker , and Aiden Roberson . The Bearcats return seven offensive starters and six on defense . The Bearcats will work out of the spread offense while looking to run the football first and foremost . That makes sense considering that they have an outstanding running back in Joseph Wright . He suffered a season ending calf injury early on in the season that threatened to end his career . The good news is that Wright is back and looking to make the most of his senior season . Junior Barrett Cunningham will return to start as the teams play caller . Sinquan Spratt is a breakaway receiver for Coach Hindsley . He caught a pair of touchdown passes last season . Spencer Wyatt and Connor Marshall are two other guys that will need to contribute in the pass game . There ’ s experience returning on the offensive line with senior center Clay Holland , senior left tackle Austin White , senior right guard Austin Patterson , and junior left guard Peyton Grimes . Look for the line to be a strength of the team in helping Wright find big holes for touchdowns . On defense the Bearcats have a few returning players and will usually go out of a 3-4 package ; although , there will be multiple looks for the varying opposing offenses to see . Wright will play linebacker and will be assisted by Josh Rose . Jude Rapert will work at inside linebacker . Rapert is one of the top defenders for the Bearcats and will be a difference maker for Brookland . Jackson Sweet is pegged as a secret weapon on special teams . He has a golden leg and will be used to kick and punt the football for Brookland . Coach Hindsley loves the potential that Brookland has as the district continues to grow , and he ’ s been welcomed with open arms . Expect the Bearcats to once again be in a dogfight with the other schools for the fourth and final spot in the 5A East . Could Brookland make the playoffs this year ? NEA Sports believes that they have a solid shot but they need to win the games that they are expected to win while upsetting at least one conference foe .
The Greene County Tech Eagles finished with a 5-6 record last season with their biggest victory coming on the road against the Batesville Pioneers . The team loses key players QB Christian Barber , OL J . B . Hoyer ,
Aug . 26 at Paragould Sept . 9 LR Catholic Sept . 16 at El Dorado Sept . 23 Marion Sept . 30 Jacksonville Oct . 7 at Benton Oct . 14 Searcy Oct . 21 at West Memphis Oct . 28 Sheridan Nov . 4 at Sylvan Hills
Clinton Tucker , Logan Simmons , LB / WR Devon Hensley , WR / DB Payne Greer , RB / DB Gage Snyder , and DT Scotty Aswell to graduation . Coach Nathan Morgan returns several key players which include : DE / RB Zion Brown , DE / WR Michael Traywick , OL / DT Parker Brown , OL / DT Xander Sapp , WR / DB Carter McBride , RB / DB Caleb Gerrish , LB / WR Levi Compton , QB / DB Camden Farmer , WR / DB Tysan Cartwright , and WR / DB Matthew Akins . The Eagles will run out of the spread offense . “ We like to take what the defense is giving us ,” told Coach Morgan . “ Our strength is our offensive line and biggest area of concern is replacing our two-year starter at quarterback . Key players will be QB Camden Farmer , WR Carter McBride , RB Caleb Gerrish , OL Parker Brown . GCT will play a hybrid 4-3 defense . “ Our strengths will be with our defensive line and biggest concern is replacing our all-state linebacker , Devon Hensley . Key players will be DE Zion Brown , DE Michael Traywick , LB Levi Compton , LB Brookes Reddick , and DB Carter McBride .” Tech has a huge void to fill at kicker as well since allstate kicker Reese Middleton graduated . The Eagles move up a classification to 6A which unfortunately could be a recipe for disaster . GCT started to find some success in the 5A East , but this move could prove to be a setback . NEA Sports projects the Eagles to struggle in 6A and miss the playoffs .