DAWSON NEARS FULL CIRCLE

If there is a modern version of the Arkansas Traveler, it is Billy Dawson -- he's been everywhere, man. Two years at Smackover, two years at Parkview Baptist in Louisiana, one year at Lonoke, two years at Sheridan, one year at Monroe (La.) Neville, one year at Siloam Springs, eight years at Nashville and two years at Russellville. Now, the former Bentonville High quarterback will come nearly full circle as the new head football coach of the Fayetteville Bulldogs. He was formally announced on Thursday during a school board meeting at Fayetteville High. "Even as a kid, Billy was a competitor and a winner," said John Flaherty, who coached Dawson his senior year in high school. "We had guys who could throw it better than Billy and guys who could run it better, but nobody could do the things to win games like he could. Fayetteville couldn't have done a better job than getting Billy as their head coach." Dawson arrives from Russellville, where he turned a losing program into a state champion in just two years. Before Dawson, Russellville claimed only one state championship in 1933 and none during the modern era that began with the playoffs in 1968. That changed on Dec. 3 when Russellville defeated Greenwood 37-23 for the Class 6A state championship at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Chad Harbison worked for Dawson as an assistant coach at Siloam Springs and Russellville before he took over at Elkins, where he led the Elks to a 9-3 record in his first year. "That is a great hire for Fayetteville, for sure," said Harbison, who was the offensive coordinator for the Cyclones in 2015. "He can talk to anybody and he does a great job with people inside and outside the school building. He's a winner and he does it the right way." Like many in the Arkansas media, I've known Billy Dawson and followed his career for a long time. I remember his father, Billy, Sr., when he was athletic director at Bentonville High. I remember Billy's younger brother, Charlie Dawson, who I watched hit home runs to left, center, and right field in a single game for the Tigers. Besides Bentonville, the Dawson family has strong ties to Southern Arkansas University, where Billy and Charlie each played baseball. A softball complex at the school was named Dawson Field last spring after family members donated a large sum of money to finish the project. Charlie is CEO of Geo-surfaces, which constructs and maintains sports turfs and sports lighting systems. Billy is also a preacher who left his career as a football coach for two years to go into the ministry full-time. "When I heard that, I told Billy the young people are going to miss your influence," said Ron Montgomery, a longtime friend of Dawson and former Bentonville assistant coach. "I said, 'Thoose kids, most of them anyway, are not going to see you in church.'" Dawson returned to coaching and he brings with him to Fayetteville an overall record of 175-56-1, which includes four state championships and seven conference championships. He replaces Bill Blankenship, who resigned and returned to the Tulsa area after leading the Bulldogs to a second consecutive state championship in Class 7A. "It's the best program in the state," Dawson said, "and, really, I think it's untapped in how big and how far this program can go." That's bad news for teams trying to surpass the Purple'Dogs, who've won four of the last six state championships. But Fayetteville must replace a strong senior class which included three players (Akial Byers/Alabama, Taylor Powell/Missouri, Ty Clary/Arkansas) headed to SEC schools. "I don't know who they've lost and I don't know who's coming back, and I don't care," Dawson said. "This program is going to be successful. We're going to go with what's here and we're going to roll." Welcome back, coach. It's going to be fun watching those Purple'Dogs play some "Billy Ball" this fall.

DAWSON NEARS FULL CIRCLE

Photo Credit: Jimmy Jones

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