Bohannon leads Gravette into Class 4A-1 showdown at fellow unbeaten Elkins

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

The biggest high school football game in Arkansas this weekend is arguably the Class 4A-1 battle between a pair of unbeatens.

Defending league champion Elkins (8-0, 5-0) will host challenger Gravette (8-0, 5-0) Friday night in a 7 p.m. clash

An Elks win will clinch the conference’s top playoff seed while the Lions can grab that honor with a win this week and a victory against visiting Gentry (7-1, 4-1) in its regular season finale.

It’s rarified air for Gravette and head coach Kolby Bohannon, whose rebuilding program won 15 total games from 2018-2022, but have won 14 in the last two seasons.

“First and foremost, I think every bit of credit should go to this group of seniors that we have on this football team,” Bohannon said. “We took over in 2019 and they were seventh graders just coming into school ball and really the foundation of what we wanted to build.

“They bought in and really sold out to what we wanted to do and like I said every bit of credit goes to those guys.

“I am really proud of our guys and I think we will go and play well and hopefully it will be a good, entertaining football game with two really good football teams.”

Gravette’s fan base is an excited group right now according to Bohannon, whose team has scored 370 points and given up 87.

“We didn’t have as much success as we wanted when we first got here, but the community has been patient as we built it up,” Bohannon said. “Now our success on the field is felt around the community and its been fun and we are really happy to be a part of it.”

Elks coach Zach Watson, 39-6 in his time at Elkins, and Bohannon have great respect for each other and their respective teams.

“There is a lot of respect there and I will call Coach Bohannon a good friend,” Watson said. “…He became a head coach and I became a head coach about the same time.

“…His kids are always really well-coached, do the right things and play the game the right way and I think that leads to mutual respect.”

Bohannon shared the same sentiments about Watson and his program.

“I have got to be pretty good buddies with Coach Watson over there and golly he’s done a terrific job with those kids,” Bohannon said. “They have a really talented football team on both sides of the ball. They are big, strong and fast and obviously well-coached. They are a huge problem for everybody in 4A-1, that’s for sure.”

Elkins lost quarterback Dizzy Dean and tailback DeShawn Chairs off last season’s 13-1 squad that fell to eventually state champion Harding Academy in a state playoff semifinal.

But it has outscored its foes 410-54 this season, including its last three 158-0, with Ben Napier taking over at quarterback.

“I think it is a testament to our kids and our assistant coaches throughout not only the season, but the offseason as well,” Watson said. “They have put in the time and effort to get better. We have had a lot of guys step up to replace Dizzy and DeShawn and a bunch of other guys like the great offensive linemen we lost.

“I have been real proud of Ben Napier. We lose our starting quarterback three days before our (benefit) scrimmage. We knew Ben was going to be good and he has went to work and got a lot better really quickly.”

Gravette relies a lot on tailback Gabe Holmes, who has scored 27 touchdowns this season.

“That’s Gabe Holmes for us,” Bohannon said. “We have really prided ourselves one running the football and he has been the guy back there toting it. He has been a big part of what we have done since his sophomore year.

“I think he led us in receiving yards as a sophomore and then played a little quarterback and receiver last season and ended up stepping into the quarterback role after our quarterback broke his arm in week five.

“That would not happen with those guys up front,” Bohannon said. “We have a veteran offensive line, start four seniors there and they deserve a ton of credit as well.”

The Gravette defense has also been solid all year.

“That was a bit of a question mark coming into the season,” Bohannon said. “We knew we could score some points and move the ball on the ground, but we had lost some key players up front.

“We lost three seniors on the defensive line and we have some juniors that have really stepped up. We have three senior linebackers and another two seniors in the secondary. All those guys have really stepped up.”

Bohannon realizes taking down Elkins will require a great effort.

“For us, it is going to be able to try and run the football and try to get some takeaways,” Bohannon said. “They do so many things well and can be so explosive on offense and we have got to be where we need to be on offense.

“We have to pick up some first downs and keep those guys over on the sidelines and defensively try to steal some possessions. They are so good on both sides.”

Watson notes his team has to match that effort.

“They are a very physical football team that has a lot of kids back on defense from last year,” Watson said. “…They just present problems, they are going to be sound and they are going to be where they are supposed to be at end of plays is so it is going one of those nights where you mark sure you are sound yourself and play to the whistle.”

Photo courtesy of Gravette Athlectics