As the city of Brookland continues to expand at a rapid rate, so does growth within the school’s athletic programs.
The community located 10 miles northeast of Jonesboro has watched its population increase by 10% over the past few years with no signs of slowing down. Brookland has recently been among the state’s elite in fall sports, particularly golf and volleyball, while the football Bearcats look to keep taking steps forward under third-year coach Mark Hindsley this fall.
“Every year I have talked about growth,” Hindsley said. “Our superintendent [Brett Bunch] does not ever talk about winning championships or teams, he talks about programs and growth. That is kind of how I have set up everything I have ever done, too.
“What are you doing at the lowest level that you are a part of? How are your feeder teams? What are you doing with your mindset all the way down to your lowest grade and how are you building a program? That is the thing I hope for most in Year 3 is people starting to understand who we are and what we are.”
Brookland is still a young football program, fielding its first team just over a decade ago, and has not won more than five games in a season. However, the most recent five-win campaign was last fall when the Bearcats finished the season on a high note by winning their final three contests following a 2-5 start and narrowly missed clinching the program’s first postseason playoff berth (they went to the postseason during the 2020 COVID-ridden season when everyone qualified).
“We put ourselves in a position on learning how to finish and get what we want,” Hindsley said. “I am almost positive it was the first time we beat Batesville, now we are just trying to keep showing the guys that they do belong and can compete. Our goal is to make the playoffs and we’re fighting for four spots in a very heavy conference. In my mind we were three plays away from being in the playoffs last year.
“My whole push during the offseason is we are right there, so what is that one thing that springboards us into what we want?
Success Breeds Success
Previous Bearcats head coach Eric Munoz left the program on respectable footing before taking the same job at Class 7A Rogers Heritage in 2022, but Hindsley still faced an uphill climb when he came to Craighead County.
Hindsley, 41, is no stranger to taking on challenges having climbed the coaching ranks from an intern at Rogers to leading Newport for seven years, eight counting one season in an interim role, including his final year in 2021 when he led the Greyhounds to a 3A state quarterfinal run.
Senior quarterback Hayden Elder has played under center for Brookland since his sophomore season and will be the key voice for a team that now understands the program standards that have been set.
“I will speak on Hayden as much as I will on the whole team because we are all starting to talk the same language,” Hindsley said. “The things that I am saying now they have heard for two years. We now know what to expect from each other and I think that is where we are going to turn the corner.”
Still in the ongoing rebuild with his Bearcats squad, Hindsley has had a front row seat while other fall sports excelled.
Nancy Rodriguez has built a juggernaut on the volleyball court, leading the Lady Bearcats to Class 4A state championships the past two seasons following three consecutive runner-up finishes. In golf, the girls team has won state titles in four of the past five seasons, while the boys are current back-to-back defending champions.
“When you have teams that continue to be successful and win championships, it grows such a competitive spirit within our school,” Hindsley said. “That success in other sports drives you in football.”
Onward and Upward
When Hindsley accepted his current position in May of 2022, along with the desire to be at a place familiar to where he grew up, his mindset was focused on what Brookland football could become as opposed to where it stood.
“This place has a big school, but a small town feel and that is what I am,” said Hindsley, who grew up in Marvell. “The other thing I saw was potential. I kept my eye on a lot of places, but I saw Brookland and knew they had a young program with not a lot of consistent success.
“I just saw that as a challenge to see where this could go.”
Fighting for a playoff spot in the 5A-East is certainly a challenge.
The league still features back-to-back conference champion Valley View, Wynne in Year 2 under living legend Clay Totty, plus defending Class 4A state champion and annual powerhouse Harding Academy was added to the mix. With those three expected by most to compete for the top 3 playoff seeds, Brookland will likely fight for the final spot with Nettleton and Batesville.
Hindsley understands his team is not in a position to overlook anyone, particularly a foe who has returned to the league for this cycle.
“We picked up Greene County Tech, a lot of people are overlooking them and I don’t,” Hindsley said. “It is a rivalry for us, but they also bump down from 6A. Our schedule did not get any easier. There is a lot of tradition-rich teams, as soon as that conference schedule starts then it is on.”
Distance will work in Brookland’s favor this fall as all 10 of the Bearcats’ regular season games will be within their own region, the longest trips being to Bald Knob, Batesville and Harding Academy (Searcy), each about a one and a half hour drive. Their conference opener will be at home against Wynne on Sept. 27 before they hit the road for their first two matchups in October.
“Our ultimate goal is to make the playoffs,” Hindsley said. “I always say that if we get to the playoffs then anything can happen. That is our first step and if we can start building that way then it makes it an achievable goal that our kids can build a foundation on not just making the playoffs, but how do we build a tradition of doing that?
“If we take those little baby steps and show that growth, then we are going to eventually reach our goals and it will be that much sweeter.”
(Cover photo by Kevin Turbeville/Jonesboro Sun)
Kyle Sutherland is a journalist and podcast host (Arkansas Preps Weekly) for The Natural State Sports Network. His written work has been featured in outlets including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Best of Arkansas Sports and Hooten’s Arkansas Football. He is also the color commentator for 103.7 The Buzz’s high school football Game of the Week. Email Kyle at kyle@naturalstatesports.com.