Air Force/Little Rock School District Team Up to Highlight Athletics/Academics

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If the football game Friday night between North Little Rock and Central wasn’t big enough, the U.S. Air Force upped the stakes.

The game is being dubbed the Capital City Rivalry Game. The winning team receives a trophy and T-shirts and hats. Plus, at a Wednesday press conference USAF officers announced the recipients of two $500 shcolarships.

The game is one of 96 the Air Force sponsors nationwide. Little Rock School District Athletic Director Johnny Johnson got a call from Air Force officials inquiring about an LRSD team playing host to the event. Johnson thought of the Central/North Little Rock game immediately.

“When you go back and look at the history of Little Rock Central football, they have played North Little Rock longer than anybody — all the way back to the 1950s,” Johnson said. “They used to finish up the season.”

The teams enter Friday night’s game at Quigley-Cox Stadium with 3-1 7A-6A-Central Conference records. They, along with Conway (3-1) sit behind undefeated Bryant.

Johnson said the series is a two-year deal and could go beyond if the Air Force has the funding. The USAF has spent $96,000 on games similar to the Capital City Rialry.

“This is a great opportunity to bring the Air Force to the people,” SGT Michael Whitten said. “Venues like the football game are a perfect to promote the Air Force. We are very excited (LRSD) has agreed to the partnership with us, and it makes sense with Little Rock Air Force Base here. We are looking forward to all of the opportunities that come with being apart of the program and are looking forward to an exciting game.”

Whitten and Shawn Reynolds presented scholarships to two players Wednesday at the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. The USAF awards a $500 scholarship to a  senior from each team with the highest GPA at each game they sponsor. Central quarterback Hayden Wynne and North Little Rock linebacker Deshon Landry were announced as the recipients.

“It’s great honor kids for what they do athletically, but it also important to recognize them for what they do academically,” Johnson said. “That is something really great the United States Air Force is doing.”

Landry is a standout at linebacker and has near a 4.0 GPA to lead the Charging Wildcats.

“Deshon is an outstanding young man with great character,” NLR coach Brad Bolding said. “They couldn’t have picked a better guy. We are really proud of him.”

Wynne, a Fordyce transfer, has earned the starting quarterback job throughout the season and paces the Tigers with a 4.1 GPA.

“He is a very intelligent man with great character,” Central coach Scooter Register said. “He has everything you look for in being a recipient for this award. He had a great game for us last week, and he hasn’t played football in over a year but he has come in and done a great job for us.”