Kelly Carson, Rachel Smith, Hannah Schmidt.

Dianna Guerrero and Morrea Kleck. Pick your poison.

The Southside Mavericks were already an offensive juggernaut last spring when Kyla Crawford signed on to play for coach Jeremy Davis’ squad. A year later, the 7A-Central champion Mavs have finished one of the most promising seasons of all time.

Crawford and the Mavericks (15-6) face Fayetteville today at 2 p.m. at Rogers High School in the 7A quarterfinals.

The Mavericks, who dropped a 5-0 decision to Conway in their regular season finale Monday, though they rested their regulars,

With Crawford in the mix, the Mavericks’ mantra might as well be the more the merrier.

“We’ve got the Hagens (Lydia and Maddison) and Mo and Rudy (Kaitlyn Cline) in the back,” Crawford said. “We’ve got such a strong midfield; there are just so many players — there are no weak spots.

“It’s just fun.”

Winning cures all ills, for sure.


“We appreciate each other’s work ethic,” Crawford said. “It means a lot. It’s just a group I can go to at school and they’ll always be there for me.”

The Mavericks started slow, losing four of their first five matches.

But when Carson, Schmidt and keeper Melanie Rice came over from basketball, the team picked up momentum. The team opened conference with 10 straight wins.

Carson and Smith lead the team in scoring, but don’t sleep on Crawford. She has eight goals for the Mavericks.

“I’ve just been playing with them since last year, but it feels longer,” Crawford said. “We have to stay humble and keep our work ethic up.”

The Crawford’s Kenneth and Michele, were living in Frisco, Texas, when Kenneth took a job in Fort Smith with USA Truck.

But he and the family won’t be staying. Kenneth and Michele are moving to Minnesota later this month.


“We’re moving the day after graduation (May 18),” Crawford said.

“Moving here, with this soccer family, it’s really helped me gain friends,” Crawford said. “I really appreciate the family and the camaraderie we have here.

“They all just took me in.”

Crawford plans to attend Utah Valley State, to be near her brother, Scott, at Brigham Young University.
