By John R. Schirmer
News-Leader staff
Seniors Tyler Hanson and Dominick Kight were named Most Valuable Players Saturday night, Jan. 27, during the Rotary Football Banquet at the Nashville High School.
For his senior season, Hanson completed 193 of 324 passes for 3,162 yards and 30 touchdowns. In his two years as a starter, Hanson completed 337 of 534 passes for 5,713 yards and 62 touchdowns.
Along with the Rotary honor, Hanson was named the Scrappers Offensive Back of the Year.
Finley was named Wide Receiver of the Year. He received All-State honors and was selected for the Arkansas All-Star game.
Rotary Club president Carol Murray and vice president Larry Dunaway made the MVP presentation at the conclusion of the banquet.
Coach Mike Volarvich announced the Permanent Team Captains, saying the recognition goes to players who are “always doing it the right way. They’re enjoyable to coach. They’re on time. They encourage other players. They’re respected by their teammates.”
The selections include Hanson, Kailus Hughes and Garrett Lance.
The presentations capped a night of recognition for the Scrappers, who were 8-4 on the season and advanced to the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
Recipients included the following:
Defensive back – Jordan White. The junior was the leading tackler for the Scrappers.
Linebacker – Isaac Johnson. A sophomore, Johnson was the second-leading tackler.
Defensive lineman – Dalton Potter. The senior recorded 57 tackles for the season.
Special teams – Kicker Jhonny Pioquinto, a sophomore, made 59 of 69 PATs and 8 of 8 field goals during the season.
Wide receiver – Dominick Kight
Offensive lineman – The award was presented to sophomore Ryan Brown.
Offensive back – Tyler Hanson
Practice awards – Trey Maroon and Colton Patterson, defense; John Grace and Armani Hatchett, offense.
Before the awards presentation, Volarvich reviewed the Scrappers’ season.
He thanked the school, community and Scrapper Moms for their support of the team. He also introduced the junior high and high school coaches and their wives. “I always say there’s a special place in heaven for coaches’ wives,” Volarvich said.
The Scrapper seniors are “a special group for me. This was my first group to coach all the way through. They came across the bridge [from junior high] as 14-year-olds. I saw them grow up.”
Volarvich was offensive coordinator at Henderson State before coming to Nashville three years ago. “I’d never worked with 14-18-year-old young men since I was that age,” he said.
During their three years of high school football, the seniors won two conference championships and one state Class 4A championship. Their overall record was 34-5.
The seniors include J.J. King, Dominick Kight, Ty Pettway, Trent Harris, Kailus Hughes, C.J. Adams, Davion Holmes, Jhalon Finley, Tyler Hanson, J.R. Middleton, John Grace, John Hardin, Tyae Harris, Taurell Swopes, Chris Waldrop, Shun Childress, Garrett Lance, Dalton Potter and Jesse Davis.
For the season, the Scrapper defense allowed 309 yards par game. Defenders posted 22 takeaways. They had 69 tackles for losses. “That’s a lot over 12 games, Volarvich said.
On offense, the Scrappers were fourth in the state with an average of 517 yards per game. They averaged 43 points per game.
Volarvich and the coaching staff introduced the players and presented certificates.
Athletic Director James “Bunch” Nichols welcomed the crowd to the banquet. Scrapper cheerleaders led the NHS “Alma Mater.”
Volarvich introduced the cheerleaders and Homecoming royalty.
