This story was written by Sports Editor Mark Buffalo. Photo caption: Hazen School Board member Cody Snider and his son Luke Snider hold the Battle of the Prairie trophy after the Hornets beat Des Arc on Friday night.

For the first time since 2022, the Battle of the Prairie belongs to the Hazen Hornets. 

Hazen opened the 2026 season with a 28-16 win over the Des Arc Eagles on Friday night at Dorris and Betty Greenwalt Field.

“I was very proud of the kids,” first-year Hazen coach Clay Totty said. “We overcame a lot. There’s the conditioning part of it. The kids fought through a lot of that. It was a big win for us. I was proud for our community, the band, the cheerleaders. It was a good win for our community. I hope everyone feels like they contributed to it.”

Hazen led 8-0 after one quarter and 21-8 at halftime.

Each team had the ball once in the third quarter. Hazen had a goal-line stand in the third quarter to keep the score at 21-8. 

“We had seven different people involved on tackles or assists on those four plays,” Totty said. “I am very proud of that because we were playing team defense.”

Noah Adkins led the Hornets with 155 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 14 carries. Quarterback Morgan Berg had 61 yards rushing and 52 yards passing. 

Adkins led the Hornet defense with 17 tackles. Jamel Paris had 10. Mandrell Humbert had nine. 

For Des Arc, Hudson Goodman and CJ Willhite each scored touchdowns. 

Des Arc coach Nick Smith gave credit to Totty and the Hornets. 

“You have to tip your cap to them,” Smith said. “They came out, fired up to play. They did everything right. For my ball club, we just didn’t execute to the level it took to win the ballgame.”

Hazen plays at Marshall on Thursday night. The game was originally scheduled for Aug. 28 but postponed because of the norovirus hitting Searcy County.

Des Arc hosts Carlisle on Friday night.