Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

8/23/2010 at 12:00am

Image by Jackie Wilson

Rick Russell returns to Jacksonville this season where postseason expectations are high after a disappointing 2-8 season in 2009. The Red Devils will get a chance to see just how much they’ve improved in the Aug. 30 opener against Cabot at War Memorial.

Jacksonville football may not be the beast it once was, but the Red Devils remain relevant and more to everyone from Redmond Road to McArthur Drive and beyond.

North Pulaski County is home to three Pulaski County district programs — Jacksonville, North Pulaski and Sylvan Hills. But once you get north of the bean field on U.S. Highway 67-167 and until you cross the county line into Cabot, you’re in Red Devil country. And those Red Devils fans will help fill a big chunk of War Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night, Aug. 31, when Jacksonville opens in the 2010 Kickoff Classic against archrival and next-door neighbor Cabot.

Cabot’s growth the past 20 years has helped fuel its recent dominance in the series that has been staged regularly since 1987 — it is perhaps the state’s most underappreciated rivalry. Jacksonville is a traditional playoff team, though its last state title came in 1981 under Coach Bill Reed, who also guided the Red Devils to the 1978 crown. Since the ’80s and early ’90s, however, the Devils have been a factor on the state scene with decreasing frequency.

Sure, there have been playoff berths (it helps when six of eight in the state’s top two classifications qualify), but no real relevancy for a while.

But change is in the air at Jacksonville. Rick Russell, the longtime Red Devils assistant who left to take over neighboring North Pulaski for one season, returns as head coach and brings with him his promising Spread attack.

Mark Whatley abruptly resigned the Jacksonville coaching job in June to become offensive coordinator at Springdale High. Russell may not be a hometown boy and alumnus, as was Whatley, but his 14-year stint on the JHS staff makes him the next best thing. And the Devils ran the Spread for several years under Whatley.

Optimism abounds in Jacksonville that Russell can greatly improve on a disappointing 2-8 season in 2009. Of course, like a certain Southeastern Conference coach with Little Rock roots, and a penchant for straw hats and walking into gold mines, Russell inherits a team poised to do much better in 2010.

“I’m looking forward to a very successful season,” he said.

As well he should. The resources at Jacksonville are much more bountiful on Linda Lane than they are on Harris Road, on the edge of town at North Pulaski High. (The whole saga of NP, with its makeup and inherent struggles on the football field, is a story for another time.)

The Devils return 17 starters from a competitive albeit two-win squad — among them senior quarterback Logan Perry, who will be starting for his third year; junior safety and all-star candidate Jacarius Jordan; senior offensive guard/linebacker Rhakeem James, and junior linebacker Don Crutchfield.

Cabot, which opens as ArkansasSports360.com’s No. 4 team overall, took a convincing 35-6 opening win last year at Panther Stadium. But the Red Devils are an older and more experienced group in 2010 with some new blood at the top. Tuesday night will go a long way in determining if Jacksonville is ready to take its show out of north Pulaski County and once again into statewide prominence.

Tagged: Springdale Bulldogs, Jacksonville Red Devils, Don Crutchfield, Rhakeem James, Cabot Panthers, Mark Whatley, Bill Reed, Rick Russell, North Pulaski Falcons