Are you ready for some football?
Though spring has arrived and the boys of summer are suited up for baseball, there is still a place one can go to scratch that ever-present football itch.
In their third season, the Arkansas Redhawks semi-pro football team is comprised of a 50-plus man roster of former high school and college talent that participates in the Texas United Football League. Utilizing Dollarway High School’s Cardinal Stadium as its home field, many of those players are graduates of Pine Bluff, Dollarway, Watson Chapel and White Hall high schools.
Redhawks head coach Dameian V. Lambert inherited the lead position this year after assisting for the last two.
“There was a group of individuals that decided they wanted to keep playing football,” Lambert said. “There were a couple of guys from Little Rock and a couple from Dollarway that started showing interest. I was not part of the original coaching staff. Through one of my friends I was told they needed some help and I know a little about football.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Redhawks will play against the East Texas Outlaws at 7 tonight at Dollarway. Arkansas is attempting this season to repeat as TUFL Far East Division champion. Arkansas compiled a 10-1 regular-season record before suffering a first-round playoff loss.
The Redhawks won the 2010 Elite Football League Superbowl Championship prior to making the transition to the TUFL.
“This is one of the top elite semi-professional leagues in the country,” Lambert said.
Lambert said that while some of the players use the league in an effort to stay around the game, others still have the potential to carry their talents to the next level.
“There were three or four scouts at games last year,” Lambert said. “You never know when someone is being looked at. It gives these guys an opportunity to still get to that level. If there is a scout, there, looking at someone else, they are actually watching you play defense or whatever.”
Martin Scott (aka DJ Smurf), plays mainly on special teams for the Redhawks, though he does serve time at linebacker when needed. Scott said the league is demanding.
“It’s not high school and it’s not college,” Scott said. “It’s tough. The main thing out here is you have to protect yourself. You can’t come out here all gung-ho. Things are different — the strength, the body movement, the speed — it’s all different. It wouldn’t take much for someone to put you out and you never play again.”
Tonight’s game against the Outlaws is designated as Senior Citizens Day (50 and over). Senior citizens need only to show their identification for free admission. Ticket prices for tonight’s game are $5 for adults and $3 for students with ID. Children 8 and under get in free.