LITTLE ROCK — The 6A-South title will be decided tonight when Texarkana travels to Lake Hamilton.
No surprise there.
Both teams were expected to reach this point, thanks in part to talent and in part to a conference that features four teams with two victories or fewer. For Texarkana (7-0-1), a victory simply would be a continuation of success that began a year ago with both the 6A-South title and a state championship.
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Undefeated Lake Hamilton, meanwhile, is looking for its first perfect season since winning the state title in 1992.
Both teams' coaches said the final result likely will hinge on Lake Hamilton junior quarterback Phillip Butterfield.
Either Butterfield is going to pick apart Texarkana's defense by exploiting 1-on-1 matchups, or the Razorbacks will use their speed to keep the junior on his heels.
"It all starts with Phillip Butterfield," Texarkana Coach Bill Keopple said. "They've got a triggerman. It makes you cover the entire field."
Give Butterfield time, Lake Hamilton Coach Jerry Clay said, and the Wolves should be able to keep up with a Razorbacks offense that features one of the state's top rushing threats in senior tailback Dennis Johnson.
That goes double if Johnson is feeling the effects of a slight ankle sprain, which Keopple said was sustained in a Tuesday practice.
But if Texarkana chooses to blitz, and Lake Hamilton's running backs can't block the extra defenders, it could be a long night for Butterfield.
"Our biggest concern is their speed on defense," Clay said.
"I've never seen anything so fast."
Clay said his film study shows that the Razorbacks tend to blitz about 30 percent of the time.
But don't be surprised to see that number go up, especially if it leads to a few rushed, wobbly passes from Butterfield.
"You can see it on Sunday.
You can see it on Saturday," Keopple said. "If you can get pressure on him, it doesn't matter if it's Peyton Manning throwing the football." 7A-CENTRAL
Race comes to a close
Call it "separation Friday."
One way or another, the 7ACentral's playoff picture is going to come into much sharper focus by the time Saturday morning rolls around.
Three teams - Cabot, Little Rock Catholic and Little Rock Central - enter tonight with 3-2conference records, in a threeway tie for third place. That puts a lot of importance on Catholic's game at Central, especially since Catholic missed a prime opportunity by losing 28-14 at Russellville last week.
Cabot will host a winless but dangerous Pine Bluff team. The Zebras were blown out at home by Conway a week ago, but came within a point of beating Russellville at home the previous week.
Meanwhile, whether the conference title is won outright or shared is still up in the air.
Bryant has a 5-0 conference record, but the Hornets have looked beatable in their past two games, giving up first-half leads to Conway and Bryant.
Russellville, with a 4-1 conference record, lost to Bryant early in the season, but can grab at least a share of the 7A-Central title by winning out.
SHERIDAN Win and in
The drive was long, the weather was lousy once Sheridan got there, and the score was 40-0 in the other team's favor.
That was the Yellowjackets' first taste of the playoffs since 2000, a first-round shutout at Mountain Home last season.
Glamorous it wasn't, but it did light a fire that first-year Coach Benji White hopes will stay stoked as Sheridan fights for the fourth and final playoff spot in the 6A-South.
"They've got a taste of it," White said. "Now they're starving for more."
If the Yellowjackets (4-3-1) beat Watson Chapel (2-6) tonight, they'll be assured of at least a fourth seed in the Class 6A playoffs. That probably would mean a first-round trip to West Memphis, but it would still beat 2006, when the team snuck into the postseason with a 4-6 record.
"If we win this Friday, nobody can say anything about us," White said.
MARION In the mix
The Marion Patriots still haven't run out of chances.
"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot," Marion Coach MarkUhiren said. "We played well against Forrest City. Didn't win that game. We played decent against Sylvan Hills. Didn't win that game."
And yet the Patriots (4-4) still can grab a playoff spot if they win their last two games against Jonesboro and Jacksonville, which have a combined record of 5-11.
Uhiren has a 6A-East with three teams going a combined 4-19-1 to thank for that.
"We can't overlook anybody," Uhiren said.
Top performers
CLASS 7A
ANTHONY BLACKMON, Bentonville, rushed 46 times for 311 yards and 1 touchdown.
REED CARADINE, Little Rock Central, had five sacks and two pass breakups.
DAKOTA CORNETT, Conway, ran 23 times for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns.
AUSTIN GLASER, Springdale, completed 15 of 20 passes for 254 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed 15 times for 95 yards and 3 touchdowns.
ISAIAH JACKSON, Conway, rushed 20 times for 208 yards and 3 touchdowns.
BLAKE McDONALD, Fayetteville, completed 26 of 45 passes for 427 yards and 3 touchdowns.
ALVIN MEDLIN, Van Buren, caught 10 passes for 112 yards and 1 touchdown.
LOGAN PARKER, Bryant, completed 21 of 41 passes for 262 yards and 4 touchdowns.
CLASS 6A
BARRETT ASTIN, Forrest City, completed 8 of 19 passes for 197 yards and 4 touchdowns.
THOMAS BLADE, Jacksonville, completed 18 of 32 passes for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns.
PHILLIP BUTTERFIELD, Lake Hamilton, completed 15 of 27 passes for 254 yards and 1 touchdown and ran for 2 touchdowns.
BRYCE LUNDAY, Sheridan, ran for 177 yards and a touchdown.
NICK MASON, Jonesboro, had 5 receptions for 187 yards and 3 touchdowns.
HUNTER MILLER, Sylvan Hills, ran for 195 yards and three touchdowns.
DENNIS JOHNSON, Texarkana, ran 21 times for 270 yards and 5 touchdowns.
DEOPPOLIS SMITH, Marion, ran 25 times for 171 yards.
Sports, Pages 28 on 10/26/2007