PRAIRIE GROVE -- When fine-tuning the 2013 Prairie Grove offense there weren't many games when head football coach Danny Abshier received a five-eighths when asking for nine-sixteenths.
After an early season burp, losing a game they should have won against eventual 5A state champion Morrilton, 28-21, the Tigers reeled off nine straight wins, including a sweep of the 4A-1 for the second straight year prompting Hootens to place Abshier on their "Watch list" for Coach-of-the-Year honors.
Over the last three seasons, Abshier has guided Prairie Grove to a 30-7 record with three playoff qualifications, repeat league titles and an appearance in the 2012 state semifinals.
The 4A team only team able to throw a monkey wrench in what Prairie Grove wanted to accomplish was Valley View, which ended the Tigers' season, 14-12, in the second-round of the playoffs.
"The reason we didn't have a very good game against Valley View was because they were so stinking good," Abshier said.
"We felt the difference in depth this year," Abshier said. "We didn't have the depth we had last year. We did have a good year for losing a lot of seniors."
"We had some people questioning us early. We've been blessed enough to get two in a row. Some coaches never get a conference championship," Abshier said.
In 2012, Prairie Grove rushed for 3,546 yards with a 1,000 yard rusher in fullback Weston Bartholomew (Class of 2013). After the graduation of several starters and contributors to that offensive unit, including: Bartholomew, quarterback Cooper Winters, tight end Jared Murphy, and linemen; the 2013 Tigers exceeded that total with 3,921 yards rushing.
Abshier and offensive coordinator John Elder utilized a share the wealth policy with Logan Bartholomew (47 carries, 684 yards, 8 touchdowns) and J.D. Speed (87 carries, 702 yards, 6 touchdowns) sharing time at halfback in the Wing-T run-oriented offense. Nick Sugg, a premium defensive stopper in 2012, moved into the fullback role and led Prairie Grove with 871 yards rushing in 116 attempts, the most of any Tiger, scoring 14 touchdowns.
The Tigers put up 440 points in 12 games, averaging 36.7 points-per-contest.
Defensively, the Tigers were stingy, allowing 179 points for an average of 14.9 or just over two touchdowns per game.
Editor's Note: See Prairie Grove 2013 All-Conference and All-State football story and photos on page 3B.
Sports on 07/30/2014