Arkansas has produced its fair share of exceptional athletes over the years, those who dominated fields and courts all over the Natural State. In fact, more teenage phenoms take the stage these daze than ever. Countless aspiring jocks burst onto the scene as high school freshmen/sophomores, annually, and take their shows on the road to play for colleges all over the country upon graduating.
Used to be that most of the best talent hailed from central (Little Rock) or south (the Delta) Arkansas, but with the current population explosion, the tide has turned and NWA is now the new home of countless more studs than ever before.
Allow me to present and discuss a few of my favorite high school athletes.
As a proud member of the 1985 class of Little Rock Catholic High School, I was a senior when the Rockets won their first of back-to-back state football titles. My home boy, Drew May, operated its wishbone offense to perfection from his QB position.
As one of the strongest, fastest and baddest members of the team, he brought the wood every time he turned the corner and was always a threat to break one and go the distance. He also had a large stable of running backs, led by Alan Crook and Billy Hartnedy. This constant, punishing attack of run, run and run it again wore teams down and tested their mettle and character every Friday night. Many times, late in the second half, opponents grew weary of getting whipped all over the field and would mail in the rest of the game.
This championship team was anchored by a ruthless defense staffed fulla Italians, Poles, Irishmen and the like – most were good Catholic lads with angry dispositions come gameday. Guys like Tony Mariani, John Duce, Kyle Lamb, James Kita, Frank Strozyk, Mike Berry, Darrin Wiwers, Chuck Dougan, Robert Raff, Les Taylor, Bill Fletcher who would/could/did knock opponents into next week, week after week.
But the best and by far most intimidating high school team was Little Rock Parkview (class of ‘84), led by the one and only Keith Jackson, a man-child who went on to win a Natty and become an all-American tight end for the Oklahoma Sooners. He then parlayed that talent into all-Pro status as a Philadelphia Eagle and Green Bay Packer, eventually winning some Super Bowl rings, while catching passes from the great (but as it turns out rather shady) Brett Favre.
While at Parkview, the fleet-of-foot, 6’4” and 240 lb. Jackson could run like the wind and was surrounded by other major college talent, such as Rickey Williams, Anthony Chambers and James Rouse – all former Razorbacks and all SWC performers. They demolished Catholic High my junior year, and Jackson creamed and thus concussed two Rockets from his free safety position that night at Quigley Field down in the Rockpile. Snap!
Then there was Eric Mitchell. As QB for the always-loaded Pine Bluff Zebras, he would rarely be tackled by the opposition, despite constantly being corralled every time he dropped back to pass. Not to mention he had a cannon for an arm and could fling the pigskin 50 yards on a dime – no sweat.
He, like Jackson, also took the Sooner bait (free sports car) and signed on to play for the University of Oklahoma, where they both earned NC2A National Championship rings. Barry Switzer, in his book Bootlegger’s Boy, admitted that Mitchell was probably the best athlete he ever coached, but he seemed to always be in his doghouse due to a prolonged case of fumbleitis.
And just when we thought we’d seen the best our state had to offer, the Great Basil Shabbaz erupted onto the scene in 1990 and soon snatched the title of Baddest High School Playa Ever and ran with it, literally. Freakishly big and fast, he came from a long line of studs, hailing from Jefferson County and took the state by storm. Unfortunately, Shabbaz was offered decent money to play baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals straight outta high school and never really played football collegiately. His potential was other-worldly, just like his wheels. If only he coulda been a Hog.
Razorback football kicks off a week from Saturday, and poor Alabama A&M is first up on the chopping block.
WooPig!!