ROGERS — Fayetteville Woodland coach Bobby Crockett has coached a lot of good running backs and coached against many more during his tenure with the school.

But the Cowboys coach said Fayetteville Ramay’s Brice Gahagans is the best he has seen. Woodland and Crockett will get one more look at the speedy running back when the Cowboys meet the Indians tonight at Harmon Field.

Gahagans has rushed for almost 1,600 yards in nine games and is averaging 175 yards a game. In a 26-13 victory last week against Springdale George, Gahagans rushed for 223 yards after having five runs of 23 yards or more.

“(Gahagans) is the best running back that I have seen in my 15 years at Woodland,” Crockett said.

Title Matches

Defending conference champion Bentonville Gold nine-time Northwest Arkansas Conference champion Springdale Central are tied for first place in the and both can claim a share of the championship with victories tonight.

Gold (8-1, 6-1 NWAC) plays Bentonville Black (6-3, 5-2),while Central (8-1, 6-1) takes on Springdale Southwest (4-5, 2-5) tonight.

Gold defeated Black 6-0 in the season opener, which was a nonconference game.

Black is allowing 10.3 points per game and has recorded three shutouts. Quarterback Kaleb Haney has passed for 629 yards and rushed for 416. Gavin Shadrick has 20 catches for 498 yards, while running back Ramiro Valencia has almost 300 yards.

Cowboy Celebration

Woodland is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the school will recognize former football players and students before the game with crosstown rival Ramay tonight

An honorary team captain will be selected from those former players that attend.

“The honorary captain will be the oldest at thegame,” Crockett said. “It’s the 50th anniversary of our school and everybody that attended Woodland will be recognized at the game.”

Woodland and Ramay are both tied for second place in the league, but Crockett said catching league leaders Central and Gold is not at the top of his priority list.

“It’s an outside chance, but two teams (Central and Gold) that are heavy favorites to win have to get beat,” Crockett said. “We just have to be ready to play a very good Ramay team. That is what we are focused on.”

Woodland is led by quarterback Austin Allen, who has passed for more than 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Allen did not play in the second half of two lopsided Woodland victories this year.

“Austin Allen is a phenomenal athlete, a phenomenal quarterback,” Crockett said. “(Allen) has made me look smart with his athleticism and his playmaking abilities.”

Sports, Pages 8 on 11/05/2009

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