New Traditions, New Team – Hendrix College Football Fun

 

Hendrix College Football Fun Starts with New Traditions

By J. Frank Parnell

I checked the ESPN website about 6 p.m. Saturday to see how the Hendrix College Warriors vs. Westminster Blue Jays football game turned out. Funny, it was listed under the Division II/III games but there was no score, despite a 1 p.m. start.

No big deal, this was just the Warriors’ first football game in 53 years. Most attention in the state was south on Interstate 40 at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium, where the Arkansas Razorbacks were tussling with a surprisingly tough Samford Bulldogs squad.

The real story here? Heat. Even Saturday morning in Conway, it was miserable. The new football complex on the Hendrix campus will be terrific eventually, but right now it’s still surrounded by construction — a mishmash of fresh asphalt, gravel and dust. But it’s easy to see the potential, especially for tailgating.

All those construction sites reflected the late-summer sun but didn’t seem to deter the crowd, which began to grow about 11 a.m. By noon, the student tailgate section, a scant 50 yards from the field on fresh, steaming asphalt, was rocking. Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” appeared to be the official student song.

In a spot of shade under a tent, three Hendrix cheerleaders were chatting. We asked about the tailgating situation.

“I think they want the student section close to the field,” said Becca Morgan, a graduate of Conway High School. “I think it’s sort of trial and error right now.”

It sounded like the same’s true of cheerleading at football games instead of other sports. Football is new territory for the cheerleading squad.

“We’re trying to come up with new stuff,” Morgan said. “You can’t use basketball cheers.”

“This is a different crowd,” said Vvdaul Holloway, a Little Rock Central High School graduate. “They’re gonna enjoy it. We come from central Arkansas schools where football is big.”

We also spotted a group of tallish tailgaters. A little conversation revealed this was the Hendrix basketball team, supporting their colleagues.

“The sports teams here do things together,” one of them said between Baggo tosses. “The football team’s almost all freshman so we saw them at orientation. But I think they’re going to be alright.”

“It’s like we’re starting a new tradition,” said another. “It sure makes Saturdays more fun.”

On the other side of Young-Wise Memorial Stadium, which will be dedicated at halftime of the Rhodes College game Nov. 9, about 50 tailgate tents had popped up on an uncomfortable gravel parking lot. One included a mix of University of Central Arkansas purple and Hendrix orange, where we talked to a few alums who were “thrilled” to see football back on campus. Others fired-up grills and set out lavish spreads of cupcakes, sandwiches, snacks and plenty of drinks.

Even with a crew of freshmen and a smothering afternoon, the Warrirors put a cherry on top at the end of the day. This was the Hollywood script: On the last play of the game, Steven Crenshaw punched through a 25-yard field goal to end a see-saw affair in favor of Hendrix, 46-44, sending about 3,000 fans home happy.

Next up? The Warriors play Birmingham Southern in Alabama Sept. 14. Southwestern of Texas comes to Conway for a noon game Sept. 28.

As the weather cools, afternoons on the Hendrix turf are likely to be worthy of watching, regardless of where you went to school.

And down the road in Little Rock, broadcaster Keith Jackson gave a pat on the back to the Warriors as the clock rolled under 2 minutes in the Hogs’ 31-21 victory over Samford.

“It’s not going to be an easy road, but enjoy that victory,” Jackson said.