Playoff Countdown Comes Full Circle

COACHING LEGACY CONFRONTS LAIRD FAMILY

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER The scoreboard at Prairie Grove’s Tiger Den Stadium will light up Friday when the Tigers host a second-round playoff game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER The scoreboard at Prairie Grove’s Tiger Den Stadium will light up Friday when the Tigers host a second-round playoff game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

PRAIRIE GROVE -- Just prior to the 2015 football season, Bill Laird, father of Prairie Grove assistant coach Craig Laird and grandfather of Zeke Laird, passed away Aug. 13.

The family's strong Christian faith enabled them to process that event and on the surface, Prairie Grove never skipped a beat, reeling off a school-record 14 consecutive wins to reach the state finals. Craig, as defensive coordinator, and Zeke, starter on defense, each played key roles in the achievement. But the Tigers came up a half-game short of accomplishing every high school football team's dream. Leading 20-19 at halftime, they suffered injuries to key players, went scoreless in the second half and lost the 2015 state finals to Nashville, 39-20.

4A-1 SCORES

Prairie Grove 42, Pea Ridge 21

Huntsville 36, Lincoln 34

Shiloh Christian 36, Gentry 7

Gravette 33, Berryville 14

5A-WEST SCORES

Farmington 22, Vilonia 13

Alma 35, Clarksville 0

Greenbrier 48, Harrison 43

Morrilton 53, Maumelle 21

As returning seniors, Zeke Laird and his classmates dedicated themselves to taking their season to another level in pursuit of the 2016 Arkansas Class 4A state football championship. Zeke Laird won the starting quarterback job and has led Prairie Grove to a 10-0 regular season, 4A-1 Conference championship and first-round bye. Some of the emotions of that historic journey may quietly confront the Laird family this week with Prairie Grove hosting Central Arkansas Christian Friday in the Tigers' first playoff game of 2016.

Bill Laird served eight seasons as head football coach at CAC, compiling a 36-45-1 record and twice reaching the state playoffs. An ordained minister, Bill Laird taught Bible and Science along with coaching high school football plus track and field and the same sports at the junior high level at CAC. He coached the track and field team to two district runner-up finishes and won four consecutive district titles, placing fifth and third at state. These achievements inspired CAC to construct an 8-lane track with the first meet held there in the spring of 1994.

In his fifth season coaching football, the Mustangs beat Pulaski Academy and future Texas Longhorn runningback Donta Womack. In Bill Laird's best season the team went 8-2 but didn't qualify for the playoffs. A milestone was CAC's first-ever victory over Bauxite, during which they successfully executed a fake field goal attempt and turned the play into a touchdown. In his book, The Life of a Cotton Picking Coaching Preacher, published in 2012 by Friesen Press, Bill Laird recalled developing pneumonia in latter part of October during his next to last season as head football coach at CAC due to what he described as an excessive cough and virtually losing his voice until January.

"I was, however, able to continue coaching and will never forget that year and the joy those boys experienced finally being able to play in the state playoffs," Bill Laird wrote.

Craig Laird was a senior in high school preparing to graduate when his dad took the CAC head coaching position in football and track and field. Craig Laird remembers the excitement of joining his dad on the CAC staff a few years later.

"My dad was the first head coach I ever worked under," Craig Laird said. "After college I was hired as the head seventh grade football coach, junior high defensive coordinator and high school runningbacks coach."

Craig Laird left two years later to become a graduate assistant at Henderson State. Shortly, after his brother Jerry Laird, now an assistant football coach and head softball coach at Harding Academy, graduated from college and was hired as an assistant at CAC.

"[It was] pretty awesome that both sons had the opportunity to coach with our dad," Craig Laird said.

Craig and Zeke Laird will strive to honor Bill Laird's coaching legacy Friday as they come full circle with the family football heritage.

Sports on 11/16/2016