LINCOLN -- The architect of Newport's Nov. 9, 2012, 46-40, state football playoff victory over Farmington is coming to Lincoln.
The hiring of Don Harrison, who was Newport's offensive coordinator in 2011-2012 before taking over as head coach in 2013, as Lincoln's new head football coach at Monday's school board meeting is a sign of Lincoln's commitment to excellence in re-establishing Wolves' football as a competitive program.
Wonders have already accompanied Harrison's relatively short career as a coach. From 2006-2009, he compiled a 36-2-1 record as head coach of Greenwood's junior high program with four consecutive River Valley championships. After a year at Mena as offensive coordinator, he went to Newport in the same capacity. Another wonder was the 2012 playoff win over Farmington with Harrison trading wits against one of the great innovators in Arkansas high school football, veteran Farmington coach Mike Adams, who guided Farmington to the state 4A semifinals in 2011. Adams had successfully utilized defensive tackle Brennan Warren by letting the athletic technician play off the line of scrimmage with the Cardinals lining up in Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys' 4-3 flex defense.
The strategy paid big dividends with Warren wreaking havoc in 2011 playoff road wins at Heber Springs (28-12) and McGehee (26-23). As a senior he was doing more of the same as spiritual leader on the field, yet, injuries played a role in Harrison's success against Farmington with Warren lost early in the game with a torn ACL. Still, Farmington had a potent offense with standout runningback Spencer Boudrey, plus sophomores Keaton Austin (quarterback) and Michael Ingram (receiver) and Adams' secret weapon, freshman runningback Justice Hobbs moved up to varsity for short-yardage situations.
Not long into the game, Harrison realized his offense was going to have to outscore Farmington. Boudrey rushed 25 times for 317 yards, caught 4 passes for 151 yards, totaling 468 yards of offense alone. Five times Boudrey scored a Farmington touchdown and each time the Cardinals scored a 2-point conversion. Hobbs, a power, downhill runner carried the ball over the goal line four times on conversion runs. On the fifth attempt, Adams crossed up Newport's defense by calling a halfback option which Hobbs executed successfully.
Sports on 05/20/2015