Former Bison, former Jackrabbit coach gives unique perspective on rivalry

Former Lonoke Jackrabbits assistant football coach Danny Hazelwood during the 1986 season. Hazelwood is a 1969 graduate of Carlisle High School. (Courtesy of Danny Hazelwood)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LONOKE — With the impending game between the Lonoke Jackrabbits and the Carlisle Bison next week in Lonoke, there are all kinds of associations between the two schools that exist. 

They include:

• New Bison coach Mark Uhiren coached at Lonoke for five years, including four years as head coach. He had an undefeated regular season in 2000. 

• Former Bison coach Jack Keith is now an assistant at Lonoke. 

• Junior Jackrabbits assistant Chris Bailey played on two state finalist teams at Carlisle in 89 and 91. 

• Lonoke superintendent Suzanne Bailey was Carlisle Elementary principal. 

• Carlisle assistant coach Mike King is the husband of new LHS principal Sandi King. 

• Lonoke assistant coach Taggart Moore was a junior high assistant under Uhiren at Marion. 

• Lonoke head coach Doug Bost was a junior high assistant under Uhiren at Lonoke. 

• Lonoke High School assistant principal David Landers played for the Bison in the early part of the 21st century. 

• This is the first matchup between the two teams since 1990 — a 16-6 win by the Bison.

However, one former Bison player and Jackrabbits assistant coach has a unique perspective on the rivalry.

Danny Hazelwood, a 1969 graduate of Carlisle High School, played against the Jackrabbits during his high school years. He was an assistant coach at Lonoke for 16 years during two stints in the 1970s and 1980s after a stellar playing career in both football and track at the University of Central Arkansas. 

During Hazelwood’s senior year at Carlisle — the 1968 season — the Bison tied the Jackrabbits 10-10. Lonoke had an outstanding athletic year as the Jackrabbits won state titles in both baseball and basketball.

“We tied 10-10 that year,” Hazelwood said. “Tom Ed Gooden was an 11th grader that year. I was a senior. We had a good team.” Gooden is one of three former Bison players to have their jersey numbers retired at the school. 

Hazelwood said when he was in high school, it was a different situation than it is now with the size of surrounding schools. 

“Lonoke, Carlisle, Cabot, Hazen, Des Arc and Clarendon were all about the same size schools,” he said. “We were all pretty competitive against each other. Brinkley was in our conference at that time. They had a good team. Lonoke had a good team. Hazen had played some good ball. 

“When you’re playing someone nine miles down the road, it was easy to get fired up for because you saw those people all the time. You competed against them in every sport, whether it be football, basketball or track. Everybody competed and everybody played. Everybody wanted the bragging rights.”

Hazelwood said when he became a coach at Lonoke, he was loyal to the Jackrabbits. 

“You’re loyal to the people who pay you, obviously,” he said with a laugh. “But it was always a tough challenge for me when we played Carlisle. I knew a lot of the people. I knew a lot of their sons that played. I wanted to win, obviously. But I liked to see Carlisle be successful too when I coached here.”

During his coaching tenure at Lonoke, Hazelwood worked for head coaches Bob Mathis and Ronnie Carter. His last year to coach before entering administration was the 1989-90 season. The Jackrabbits beat the Bison at James B. Abraham Stadium. 

As stated earlier, this year’s matchup between the Bison and the Jackrabbits is 26 years in the making. The series was stopped after the 1990 season. A year ago, the seeds were planted for a revival of sorts when Carlisle participated in a benefit scrimmage with Lonoke and Maumelle at James B. Abraham Stadium. 

Hazelwood said he thinks the atmosphere will be great next week. 

“It will be exciting for both communities,” he said. “When a 4A school plays a 2A school, it really shouldn’t be a battle or be close. But because it’s two close communities and the challenge to be successful against a bigger school, Carlisle will play its very best. And Lonoke can’t make mistakes because it will lose if they do.”

Kickoff at James B. Abraham Stadium is set for 7 p.m. The Lonoke Scholarship Foundation is hosting a King Kat fish fry from 5-7 p.m. at the LHS cafeteria, located adjacent to the Gina Cox Center. Tickets are $10 for kids ages 6-11 and $15 for adults. For more information or to purchase tickets, call Alps Laminating at (501) 676-0130. 

Danny Hazelwood as a junior football player at UCA in 1972 (Courtesy of Danny Hazelwood)

Bison getting ready for upcoming season under new coach, alumnus of CHS

Bison senior running back Devon Kendrick carries the ball during a drill Wednesday. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

CARLISLE — The Carlisle Bison have been working hard during the first week and a half of football practice, according to first-year coach Mark Uhiren. 

Uhiren, a 1977 graduate of Carlisle High School, comes to Carlisle after a long stint as head coach at Marion. He got out of coaching for a few years and was a Dean of Students in Marion. 

“Right now, we’re trying to be like everybody else … we’re just trying to make sure they survive the heat,” Uhiren said. “We’re trying to do it the best way we can but still get work out of them. It’s hard. Nobody has shut it down yet.”

The Bison currently has 22 players on their roster.

Uhiren previously coached as an assistant under Don Campbell at Wynne. He was head coach at Hoxie and Lonoke, where he was promoted from assistant under Billy Dawson to head coach. 

Uhiren said coming to Carlisle was something “you always dream about in the back of your mind.”

“It was just something you liked when you were here, and boy, it was something I definitely liked when I was here,” he said. “It was important to me. It was something that directed me in my life’s ambition. I was wanting to be a coach. I was a coach for a lot of reasons. A lot of them started here at Carlisle. A lot of them started out there on that football field [Fred C. Hardke Field] with my coaches and believing in what they did and seeing how they handled things. I think that got me spurred in the right direction.”

Uhiren played for former CHS coach and teacher Joe Gasaway in the 11th and 12th grades.  Uhiren was a junior on the Bison’s playoff team in 1976, the last time they played in the playoffs before James Clayton became head coach in 1989.

After getting out of coaching and going into administration at Marion, Uhiren said the allure of the Bison head job got him back into coaching.

“I told my wife [Cindy] that I wasn’t going to be back into it unless it was the right spot,” he said. “She told me I should have stayed in it. 

“Everything works out for the best anyway. I think it gave me some time to back up and look at it a little bit. As you get older, you see things differently.”

Uhiren said he almost didn’t apply for the Carlisle job this time.

“If my health stays good, I’m looking at six or seven more years of teaching,” said Uhiren, who is starting his 35th year of teaching. “Ideally, I’d like to coach as long as I can like Coach Campbell. 

“Realistically, I know it’s a different game these days. The demands are extreme. And coming home, it’s a different set of demands. You acquire the junior high and the senior high and upkeep of the fields and teach class too.”

The Bison open the 2016 season against the Lonoke Jackrabbits on Sept. 2 at James B. Abraham Stadium in Lonoke. The two teams have not played in 26 years. The last time they met, the Bison beat the Jackrabbits 16-6 in 1990.

Carlisle will scrimmage the Bald Knob Bulldogs on Aug. 22 at Bald Knob.

Uhiren will be assisted this year by Lonnie Roberson, Mike King, Phillip Bernhardt and Logan Prince. King is the husband of new Lonoke High School principal Sandi King. 

New Bison coach Mark Uhiren talks to his offensive linemen. 

Jackrabbits finish first week of football practice

The 2016 Lonoke Jackrabbits football team (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LONOKE — The Lonoke Jackrabbits football team completed its first week of practice Friday.

“I thought it went real good,” said eighth-year Doug Bost. “We went from 7:30 to 10:30 this week. That is three hours in which we got a lot of teaching in. 

“We started off back at the basics, going over everything and we gotten a lot of good drill work and technique in this week.”

Bost said he is expecting around 35 players for this year’s squad. 

“We’ve had some gone to church camp, which we knew about,” he said. “We’ve got a couple banged up right now that had not been practicing.

“We’ve usually been around 40.”

The Jackrabbits will adjust their practice times next week with the start of teacher inservice in the district. 

“We’re going to go from 3-6 p.m.; the kids are going to have to get adjusted to that,” Bost said. “When school starts, that’s about the time we’re out there. Going at 7:30, it’s been a little bit cooler, which is good. At the same time, we do have to go in the afternoons. We expect it to be hot at 3 o’clock Monday. But we’ll get through it.”

The Jackrabbits, which finished 5-6 a year ago, qualified for the playoffs with a late-season run. During Bost’s tenure, Lonoke has made the playoffs six of seven seasons. 

Bost’s assistants this year are Taggart Moore, Tyler Tarrant and Jack Keith. The junior high coaches will also be helping again this year. They include head coach Nick Smith, Tyler Shaw, Chris Foor and Chris Bailey. 

The Jackrabbits will play Maumelle in benefit scrimmage game Aug. 22 at Maumelle. They will host the Carlisle Bison in the regular-season opener Sept. 2 at James B. Abraham Stadium. This will mark the first time the two teams have met on the gridiron since 1990 — a 16-6 win by the Bison at Fred C. Hardke Field. 

Sandi King is new Lonoke High School principal; brings varied background to Arkansas

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LONOKE — Sandi King is the new Lonoke High School principal as she was hired by the Lonoke School Board during a meeting last month. She replaces Marc Sherrell, who is the new director of support services and athletic director.

King comes to Lonoke from Gladewather High School in east Texas where she was the high school principal.

“My husband Mike and I were wanting to come to Arkansas,” King said of how she became interested in the LHS job. “Lonoke is the size town be both like. It is close enough to Little Rock but still in a rural area, which we like. We love the smaller-town atmosphere where the community has more of a family feel. The school district is the perfect size.”

King said she was impressed with everyone she came in contact with, including secretary Vickie Moore and the interview committee.

“All seemed very sincere, warm and welcoming,” King said. “I knew this was the place I wanted to be. I prayed that God would send me where I was supposed to be and everything just fell into place for me here. So I feel there is at least one someone out there who needs me or perhaps there is someone in Lonoke who God needs placed in my life. Either way, I know something positive will come of my being here.”

During her career, King has done many things in education. She’s been a teacher and coach and her husband has also been a coach. She’s taught health, physical education, gifted and talented, theater, future problem solving, mock United Nations and her last eight years in a classroom, she worked in special education. 

During her coaching tenure, she’s been a head basketball and track coach. She’s assisted in volleyball and softball. For the last six years, King has been in administration, including two years as an assistant principal in San Felipe Del Rio, which is on the Mexico board. 

King received her bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin University and her master’s degree in Educational Leadership at Texas A&M at Texarkana. 

King said she’s excited about coming to Lonoke.

“Every district has its hare of challenges and we all want continuous improvement,” she said. “However, I do not believe in change simply for the same of change. I play on doing a lot of observing and assessing both the strengths and weaknesses of the campus. We must be focused on what is best for our students; not what is best of good test results.

“My main objective is to meet the needs of the students, to guide them, help them, discipline them when necessary and encourage them no matter what the situation.”

King and her husband Mike have two grown sons and daughter “in heart.”

Their oldest son is an officer in the Air Force. He and his wife live in Georgia. Their youngest son is a branch manager for Enterprise in Oklahoma.

“I can’t forget my two girls — Bella, our 7-year-old French bulldog and Taza, our fierce and might 15-year-old three-pound Chihuahua,” King said. 

Smith promoted to Junior Jackrabbits head football coach

Nick Smith, helping with Jackrabbits spring football practice, was hired as the new Junior Jackrabbits football coach this week. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LONOKE — Nick Smith is the new Lonoke Junior Jackrabbits football coach.

Smith, 25, was hired by the Lonoke School Board on Wednesday night to replace Darrick Lowery, who resigned in the spring. Smith was coming off his first year at Lonoke as an assistant coach for the Junior Jackrabbits squad.

"It's an amazing opportunity," Smith said Thursday night. "Under the circumstances that the job came open, I wasn't expecting that.  But once I saw that opportunity, I felt it was the Lord's Will telling me that I needed to jump on that. With my aspirations to be a head football coach, I know this will give me some really good experience."

Smith already has some head-coaching experience. Following Lowery's resignation as both junior high football and head baseball coach, Smith took over the reigns as baseball coach and led them to an appearance in the Class 4A state tournament. 

Smith said he's bonded with the eighth graders this year after running the offseason program during the spring. 

"I made a really good connection with them," he said. "The seventh graders went undefeated last season. I think they had seven or eight games. They are a good group that is moving up. The potential is there. We're looking to have a really good year in Jackrabbits football from seventh grade through senior high."

Smith will be assisted by Tyler Shaw, Chris Foor and Chris Bailey. Shaw and Bailey return this fall. Foor was hired as an assistant coach and head baseball coach Wednesday night.

"We're just looking to get these guys ready, to motivate them, get them in shape," Smith said, referring to his staff working with the players. "I know these guys [coaches] are going to work hard. We're really going to push those junior high kids."

Smith said he and his staff will do whatever the high school staff, including head coach Doug Bost and assistants Taggart Moore, Jack Keith and Tyler Tarrant, needs them to do. 

"Whether is be water boy, taping ankles, up in the booth — we're going to do whatever we can to ensure that the senior high program has success. But we're going to attack that junior high season to go undefeated and win the conference championship."

Lonoke opens the season Sept. 1 at home against Beebe. 

Smith is a 2009 graduate of Prescott High School. He earned a football scholarship to Arkansas Tech University in Russellville but decided to play at NCAA Division III East Texas Baptist University  in Marshall, Texas. After one year of playing football, he transferred to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, where he received his bachelor's degree. Smith also did an internship at Fountain Lake High School under coach Tommy Gilleran. Lonoke is his first full-time job. 

Smith and his wife Trisha live in Lonoke. 

Swiney returns to Lonoke as Lady Jackrabbits basketball coach

New Lonoke girls coach Heath Swiney, right, congratulates Lonoke's Haven Hunter during a boys' game during the 2014-15 season. (Photo by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LONOKE — Lonoke's new Lady Jackrabbits basketball coach is familiar one to the program.

Former Junior Jackrabbits coach and current Newport boys basketball coach Heath Swiney was hired to replace Nathan Morris during Monday night's Lonoke School Board meeting. Swiney was the Lonoke junior boys coach for five years before spending one season at Newport. Morris was hired as the superintendent of the Two Rivers School District. 

"This is a great opportunity," Swiney said during an interview Tuesday night. "The tradition has been there in both girls and basketball. You don't get an opportunity to get a job like that every day.

"I can go back to Coach [Mark] Hobson, Coach [Daryl] Fimple and Coach Morris."

Swiney coached four years at Bradford before coming to Lonoke for the 2010-11 school year.

This is Swiney's first girls head-coaching job. He does have experience as an assistant for both boys and girls at Bradford during his first season. He also was an assistant coach Lady Jackrabbits softball team.

"I have coached girls basketball," Swiney said. 

Swiney said there will be some things he wants to do different from the previous coach. 

"Every coach does things differently," he said. "Coach Morris has done a great job of getting kids to work. It doesn't matter what kind of offense or defense we run, if the kids don't work, nothing else is going to pan out for you. The kids here are already used to working. I just want to get over there and continue that."

Swiney said Morris had already set up June activities for the team. 

"I'm working on July's schedule," he said. "I want to meet with the kids and talk to them to see what they've got planned. I don't want to play something for a week if I've got 15 kids that are going to be gone that week."

Swiney said he planned to meet the players today. However, unlike most new coaches, he knows most of the players through basketball or having taught them physical education at the middle school. 

"It's basically getting reacquainted with them and see what is going to go on," he said. "With the relationship, I think it's easier to get things going with the girls and Coach [Angela Watson]."

Watson is the girls assistant coach and Junior Lady Jackrabbits head coach. 

"Even though I wasn't on the girls staff, we were both junior high coaches," Swiney said. "We worked together a lot."

Swiney and his wife Courtney, who previous taught at Lonoke Middle School, have two children. Sophie will be in the third grade next year; Anna will be in the first grade. 

Lonoke's Martin hits for cycle as Jackrabbits win third-place game

Lonoke's Casey Martin, batting against Gosnell, hit for the cycle in the Jackrabbits' win over Jonesboro Westside in the third-place game of the regional tournament Saturday. (Photos by Mark Buffalo)

By Mark Buffalo

Staff Writer

@markbuffalo

LONOKE — The Lonoke Jackrabbits rallied from a 7-3 deficit to beat Jonesboro Westside 11-9 in the third-place game of the Class 4A East Region Tournament on Saturday at the Lonoke Ball Park.

With the win, Lonoke will play Hamburg, the third seed from the South region in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament Thursday at 10 a.m. 

If Lonoke beats Hamburg on Thursday, it will play Shiloh Christian in the second round Friday at 10 a.m.

In the win over Westside, Lonoke's Casey Martin, who has verbally committed to play for the Arkansas Razorbacks, hit for the cycle. His three-run homer in the top of the sixth tied the game at 7-7. Also scoring on the play were Caleb Horton and Haven Hunter, who both singled to start the rally. 

Martin had a triple in the first inning, a double in the third and a single in the fourth. He was 4 for 5 at the plate with three runs scored and four RBIs. 

Lonoke broke the 7-7 tie with four runs in the top of the seventh. Scoring were Gabe Rooney, Keith Lingo, Brayden Hardy and Kameron Cole. 

Hunter went 3 for 4 at the plate with three runs scored. Savonte Rountree and Lingo both had two hits. Also getting hits were Horton and Kade Stuart. 

Lonoke lost to Gosnell 3-0 in the semifinals of the regional Friday. 

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth when the Pirates plated three runs — two unearned — off starter Rountree, who gave up only five hits in 5 1/3 innings. 

Lonoke had only two hits in the game, both by Rountree. 

Lonoke first baseman Keith Lingo tags out a Gosnell runner. Backing up the play is Savonte Rountree.