Sylvan Hills High School - Bruin Yearbook (Sherwood, AR)

Page 68 text:

Bears prove tough on defense In the initial contest with Jack- sonville, the Red Devils capitalized on a Bear fumble and drove 55 yards to score first, but the PAT failed. The Bears duplicated the feat by recovering a Red Devil fumble and Ricky Duhon scored to tie. In a play that later proved significant, Larry Clement's PAT was erased by a penalty, and a two point try was no good. The Red Devils almost brought it off with a fourth quarter field goal try, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out. Bears 6, Devils 6. The tie with a school almost twice as large was a moral victory. Benton's Panthers rebounded from an opening loss to Northeast to down the Bears 14-0, despite a rugged Bear defense that denied several Panther attempts. Actual scores came on two quick and unusual plays: A 68-yard punt return brought the first, and Benton's sec- ond and final score in the closing seconds of the first half. Jimmy Summers intercepted a Panther pass at the SH goal. Scrambling out, Summers was abruptly hit, and fumbled. A Panther plucked tlie ball out of the air and fell into the end zone. ABOVE: A Mills player attempts to get into the play above the shoulder of 75, Don Blakely, as Eddie Bartley rushes for short yard- age. ABOVE RIGHT: Two Bears up-end a Russellville running back. Good pursuit and gang tackling were characteristic of the tough defen- sive unit. RIGHT: A Benton re- ceiver is hit by Chris Anderson as he catches a pass for a moderate gain. Benton's 22 proved to be troublesome all night. 64

Page 67 text:

New coach brings toughness, pride and victory A new head coach, a new atti- tude, new feelings . . . These fragments of the 1971 Bear’s foot- ball season don’t tell the whole story, but they are a part. Billy Bock came to Sylvan Hills with a reputation as a tough coach. Three summer practices daily, excruciating concentration on fundamentals a consuming de- mand for dedication and discipline quickly indicated the reasons for his reputation. The Bears rose to the challenge. They began to pay in sweat and pain for a new feeling of pride. Pride in themselves; for being able to take it; pride in their team, which began to infect a student body accustomed to losing teams. Scoreboards are impersonal, paint and lights don’t tell of breaks , of mistakes that belie work that has gone before. Still, the 4-4-1 season record was the best in cur- rent history, with the exception of 1968's 6-4-2.

Page 69 text:

Dad's Night was established at the Bear's opening home game against Wilbur Mills as the Bears won their first conference game 14-0. Joe Kyzer plunged from two yards out for the first score, but the PAT failed. In the fourth quarter, Jimmy Venable blocked a Comet punt and tackled the kick- er trying to run it out of the Comet end zone for a two - point safety. Eddie Bartley completed the Bear's scoring from one yard out, and the try for two extra points failed. The major scoring threat from Mills was stopped on the Bear one yard line on the fourth down. Russellville avenged last year’s 16-0 loss to the Bears by shutting out the Sylvan Hills squad 17-0 at home. Despite a brilliant first- half defensive performance which held on the Cyclones to nine yards, the Bears trailed 7-0 as the second half began. The Bears missed their only real opportunity to score when Larry Clements field goal try went wide. Russellville added a touch- down and a field goal. LEFT: Joe Kyzer tries for a first down on a rough third-and-five situation. BELOW: Players cover the ground as two Bears stack up a Cyclone. 65