Fayetteville senior Noah Janski focused on two goals: An undefeated season and a state championship
Fayetteville senior Noah Janski has his sights set on a few future goals he wants to attain.
He eventually wants to attend law school and be an attorney, fighting his battles in the court of law. But his short-term goals are much simpler and include battles on the gridiron – and he’s hoping to make history along the way.
“If we finish off the regular season unbeaten, then get things rolling in the playoffs, we could go down as the best Bulldogs team in history,” he said. “It could really end like that if we can just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Fayetteville's Noah Janksi leads the Bulldogs in tackles. (Photo by Steve Andrews)
The 6-foot, 165-pound nickel back for Fayetteville’s undefeated football team has been a defensive stalwart for the Bulldogs since his sophomore season. Now, as an upperclassman he has become one of the state’s biggest playmakers, and is a big reason for the Bulldogs’ success.
Whether it’s picking off a pass late in the game to beat Rogers three weeks ago, or pouncing on a fumble in the Bulldogs’ win over Fort Smith Southside two weeks ago, Janski is always in the middle of the action.
He currently leads the team with 26 tackles and has totaled 7 tackles for loss and 2 sacks this season. He also has eight QB hurries, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, 2 pass breakups and an interception. He has amassed 130 career tackles and 5.5 sacks.
“When you put on the tape you see him, and he’s always around the ball,” Fayetteville head coach Casey Dick said. “He’s either causing a turnover, picking up a turnover, or making a big hit. He does a lot of valuable things for us.”
Janski is following in the footsteps of his brother, Luke, who was a part of the Fayetteville squad that made it to the state title game in 2021. Now, Noah is trying to continue that legacy, and take it a step farther.
“I played as a sophomore during my brother’s senior year, along with Kaiden Turner, Cade Fields, and those guys,” Janski said. “They just helped show me the ropes and how things are done. Their intensity was just super, and I try to play with it, the same way.”
He also credits former teammate Brooks Yurachek for teaching him the details of preparation. Yurachek, the son of Arkansas Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek, was an All-State linebacker at Fayetteville in 2022 and is now playing at Wake Forest.
“Brooks would study the game, watch film all the time,” Janski said. “So, we kind of taught us what it was like to be a true student of the game. He was a huge influence to all of us.”
Noah Janski watches film with his dad, Steve, who served on the University of Arkansas football coaching staff and was head coach at Heber Springs High School before becoming the FHS athletic director. (Photo by Steve Andrews)
The Janski brothers also grew up on the football field, as their father Steve is a former college and high school coach, and is now in his 10th year as the athletics director at FHS. Dad is usually roaming the sideline during games, trying to control his emotions as he watches his son perform.
“It’s amazing, because I get to experience it, first and foremost as a father, and also get to experience it as an athletic director,” said Steve Janski, who served as a graduate assistant under Houston Nutt at Arkansas, from 2000-03. “I’ve very blessed and it’s a unique experience. I couldn’t be more proud of Noah and Luke. And I’m really proud of our coaches and the type of program my kids get to go through.”
Noah feels he has benefitted immensely, growing up in a football family, particularly the son of a coach.
“Dad knows the game a lot and is always trying to watch film with me,” Noah said. “He also knows how good we can be, and we are really starting to lock in.”
With that distinction, also come the claims of favoritism, but those are things the younger Janski takes in stride and uses for motivation.
“I’ve always heard, ‘He’s just the AD’s son,’ all the time, all the time,” Noah said. “Well, it’s AD’s son until I come and hit you. I think I have proven myself, so I just let the hits talk for me. I love it.”
Janski credits defensive coach Derek Davis with preparing the team each week with a hard-hitting game plan, and making sure his troops are prepared for battle.
“Coach Davis has prepared everybody,” he said. “He makes sure we have a scouting report and we study it. So, before we play a game, I just play a little country music and read over my scouting report, then just go out there and play.”
Davis and Dick also make sure the team is in top physical condition, which enables them to play four full quarters with absolute intensity.
“It helps that we do a lot of conditioning, so we stay outside a lot and do workouts in the heat – Bulldog weather, that’s what everybody calls it,” Janski added with a smile.
Fayetteville (7-0, 4-0) sits alone atop the 7A-West standings, with just three regular-season games ahead of them. All three against teams in the bottom half of the conference. After that, it’s another trip to the state playoffs, and possibly an eventual showdown with either 5-time defending state champ Bryant or surging Conway, who are both unbeaten in the 7A-Central.
Noah Janski is hoping to lead Fayetteville to an undefeated 7A-West Conference title.
The only other time Fayetteville has finished a season undefeated was 1957, when the Bulldogs went 10-0 and Little Rock Central finished 12-0. That was before a state playoff system was in place, so there was no definitive winner for the state championship.
Fayetteville will travel to play Springdale (2-5, 1-3) on Friday at Jerrell Williams Stadium. The Bulldogs finish the slate with a trip to play Rogers Heritage (1-6, 0-4) and a home date with Springdale Har-Ber (2-5, 2-2).
“We’ve got a chance to make history,” Janski said. “We just have to stay focused and keep playing our brand of football. I’m pumped up.”
