Reason for optimism

Is this the year that Carroll County’s two high school football teams turn the corner and become legitimate playoff contenders? It’s too early to make that kind of declaration, but fans of the Berryville Bobcats and the Green Forest Tigers have to be thrilled with what their teams accomplished last week.

Both teams were impressive in picking up road victories against nonconference opponents. Berryville scored 40 points in the second half to beat Mountain View 40-28, while Green Forest whipped West Fork 28-6.

More impressive than the final scores, though, was how the two local teams looked.

The Bobcats and Tigers dominated at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. That’s where football games are won and lost, and it was encouraging to see Berryville and Green Forest play with a smashmouth attitude.

While the fans have to be thrilled, so do Berryville coach Macklin Chermak and Green Forest coach Dalton Ewing. Coach Mack is in his third season at Berryville, and it hasn’t been an easy road. Hats off to the entire coaching staff for continuing to work hard and set an example for the players.

Speaking of examples, the old adage is that a football team is a reflection of its head coach. That seems to be the case at Green Forest, where Ewing has promised to bring the same physical style that he demonstrated as an all-conference player for the Tigers. Green Forest is going to play hard under Ewing, without a doubt.

It’s no secret that Berryville and Green Forest have struggled to compete in the 4A-1. There are a lot of factors at play there, among them the local teams’ relative lack of depth compared with their conference opponents. It’s not uncommon to see the Bobcats and Tigers with numerous players taking key roles on both offense and defense, especially on the offensive and defensive lines. That lack of depth shows up in conference play. But one way to build a successful program is to make football attractive to younger athletes, and there’s not much more attractive to an athlete than winning. How many grade school kids were watching on Friday night and thinking about suiting up one day? Success breeds success, and winning football games leads to winning more football games.

As I said, it’s early. Conference play is a different matter entirely and the Bobcats and Tigers still have a lot to prove. For now, though, the season looks promising. And that’s good news for local football fans.