Airedales set for rival Van Buren  

By Kevin Taylor

Alma Schools 

Alma Coach Rusty Bush has played in and coached in some of the bigger rival games in Arkansas. 

Then, there’s the “Battle of the Bone” slugfest. 

“We’ve got to figure out where we are and get our kids ready, but it doesn’t take a lot of motivation for Van Buren,” Bush said. “For a guy like me, who has been blessed to see so many rivals, it’s special. I coached in Northside and Southside; I played in Fordyce against Rison; I coached in El Dorado-Camden and El Dorado-Texarkana, and I coached in Benton-Bryant. 

“For me, I love that the kids get to experience it; it’s something that I’ve never forgotten — whether I played or coached in them.”

Alma and Van Buren will line up against one another for the 78th time; a rivalry that dates back to the 1930s.

“To be able to bring these kids out in an electric atmosphere like the Alma-Van Buren game, with the great facilities that we have, the student bodies and community is fired up,” Bush said. “I’m excited for our kids and for our coaches too, to be able to experience something like that.”

Alma came out strong during its scrimmage with Fort Smith Southside last week, erupting for 16 early points and a 26-14 victory. Quarterback Michael Taylor engineered two early touchdown drives, with Israel Towns-Robinson dashing 69 yards for a TD on the game’s third play, and heaving a 59-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Dollard. 

Taylor will start against the Pointers, but Bush expects sophomore Chase Parker to get some time as well. 

“We’re going to start Michael Taylor and see where it goes, (but) they’ve both done very well,” Bush said. “We just feel like Michael. Seeing how we performed as a football team, I think he did the best. But we feel good about Chase, too. If we need him to go in there; there are a lot of years you go into with one quarterback, and you feel like if he gets hurt, you’re really in trouble. 

“But we don’t feel that way.”

Regardless, both Taylor and Parker will see action on defense, too. 

“We’re going to be about as old-school football as you can be,” Bush said. “Our quarterback is going to play some defense, and we’re going to play at least nine legit two-way players. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but we’ll see where the chips fall.”

Locklan Flanagan will anchor the offensive line at center, with Noah Ingle and Jayden Parker starting at the guard positions. Easton Daily (left tackle) and Jackson Mitchell will flank the guards at tackle.

“We feel good about those guys, with several returning, and some others (Daily, Ingle, and Mitchell) will see significant playing time on defense, too,” Bush said. “We’re not very deep on the line, so those guys are going to have to be in shape and you’re going to see some toughness out of them over the next 10 weeks.”

Alma’s home opener means Airedale fans won’t have the luxury of rooting on their team at home until October. Alma’s next three opponents — Siloam Springs, Hot Springs, and Harrison — are road games. 

The Airedales’ next home opponent is set for Oct. 4 against Morrilton.