His team finished 2-7 in 2021, and is hoping returning seven starts on offense and six on defense will lead to a playoff appearance. It will likely be an uphill battle for the Bulldogs, who finished 0-8 in 8-man play in 2021.ĭecatur will open conference play against the Magazine Rattlers, led by third-year head coach Ryan Chambers, who is a Magazine alumnus and won a state title in 2010 as a player. It means shorter bus rides and hopefully a chance to be competitive against some different competition.' We're bumping back up to 11-man because of it-we've played 8-man for the last four years-so we're excited about that. 'As Centerton continues to move west, Decatur continues to grow. 'Decatur is a growing place,' Denzer said. Bulldogs Coach Jake Denzer cited the area's growth along with school improvements for making the change. The transition for Decatur also includes a leap from the 8-man ranks back to 11-man.

Mountainburg is accompanied by other local teams Decatur, Johnson County Westside and Magazine making the move to the revamped 2A-1 in 2022. You can't just bench someone for another athlete sitting behind them, because sometimes you don't have that option.' 'That's the thing with 2A football, you've got to be able to adjust quickly. One thing Tom has taught me in my eight or nine years I've been with him, the main thing I learned is you have to play to your personnel. 'I'm a spread guy, so I'd love to bring a spread aspect to our offense, but I'm also a guy who plays to our strengths. 'We're going to load up and run behind our offensive line,' Dean said. They bring back an experienced offensive line. The Dragons finished 4-6 a season ago, a fourth-place finish in the 2A-4. There's going to be a lot of similarities between Tom and I, but there's going to be some differences as well.' I don't want people coming in thinking I'm going to run things the exact same way he did. 'Stepping into his shoes hasn't been too difficult, the transition's been pretty smooth since I've been there for nearly 10 years,' Dean said. He was the longest-tenured active head coach at a single school in Arkansas before announcing 2021 was his final year.ĭean is confident he has what it takes to lead Mountainburg to success.

Mountainburg Coach Zach Dean knows taking his team to new heights in Class 2A football will come alongside a unique one.ĭean is taking over a program that hasn't seen a new coach in over three decades, replacing legendary coach Tom Harrell, who stepped down in December after 32 years leading the Dragons. Being a first-time head coach always poses challenges.

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