LITTLE ROCK — Watson Chapel began the season ranked No. 1 in Class 5A.
Camden Fairview ended the regular season No. 1 in Class 5A.
Both still have a chance to finish No. 1 when it really counts.
The teams meet for the second time this season in the semifinals of the Class 5A playoffs Friday night at Wildcat Stadium in Pine Bluff.
Top-ranked Fairview (11-1) beat No. 3 Watson Chapel (9-3) 37-36 on Sept. 17 at Cardinal Stadium in Camden.
Watson Chapel hasn’t lost since.
“What it boils down to,” Fairview Coach Buck James said, “is they’re a very good football team.”
A victory would push Watson Chapel into its first final since 1996.
The Wildcats reached the Class 6A semifinals the past two seasons, but are competing in Class 5A during the 2010-2012 cycle.
“We’re not necessarily selling that ticket at all to our kids - it’s big, it’s big, it’s big,” Watson Chapel Coach George Shelton said. “It’s been bigsince day one for us, since game one. We’re trying to plant a different kind of seed in our kids. This is a great opportunity. We want to be in these type of situations.”
Fairview, last year’s Class 5A runner-up, has won 11 consecutive games since a season-opening 43-13 loss at El Dorado, No. 1 in Class 6A.
The streak includes a narrow nonconference victory over Watson Chapel, a game that featured more than 800 yards of offense and several noteworthy individual performances.
Fairview senior quarterback Brandon Keaton completed 17 of 19 passes for 218 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Two of Keaton’s touchdown passes were to his cousin, junior wide receiver Derek Keaton.
Watson Chapel senior halfback Aaron Lagrone ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Kyle Coleman ran for 127 yards and a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Mitch Lane.
Fairview led 28-22 at halftime and held on after leading 37-22 in the third quarter.
“We need to contain their explosive offense,” Shelton said. “Twenty-eight points in the first half is going to get you beat. I don’t care who you play.”
Brandon Keaton has gone to become the most prolific single-season passer in Fairview history.
He has completed 186 of 281 for 2,994 yards and 33 touchdowns.
Derek Keaton has caught 57 passes for 932 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver Dominique Reed has 48 receptions for 870 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Sedric Porchia has 45 receptions for 716 yards and 7 touchdowns.
“Those guys are instant touchdowns,” Shelton said. “That makes it tough on you.”
James said slowing Watson Chapel’s skill players will be a major challenge.
Lagrone has rushed for well over 1,000 yards this fall.
Coleman, the son of Arkansas-Pine Bluff football Coach Monte Coleman, is a major college recruiting prospect.
Lane is a three-year starter.
Senior wide receiver Sam Bass won the Class 6A 100-meter title last spring. He caught a 99-yard touchdown pass from Coleman in a firstround playoff victory over Hot Springs Lakeside.
“They’ve got four weapons that, I think, are better than average high school football players,” James said. “They’ve got some talented skill guys.They’ve gotten better. I think Coleman is on top of his game. I think they’re throwing and catching the ball better than the last time we played them.”
Fairview has never won a state championship recognized by the Arkansas Activities Association.
James won a Class A state championship as a player in 1981 at Jefferson Prep, a Pine Bluff private school that no longer exists.
Watson Chapel won the Class AAA state championship in 1996.
Shelton is trying to lead a third different school a state final, following Augusta (2001) and Pine Bluff Dollarway (2004 and 2007).
At a glance WHO Camden Fairview at Watson Chapel WHAT Class 5A semifinals WHEN 7:30 p.m. Friday WHERE Wildcat Stadium, Pine Bluff RECORDS Camden Fairview 11-1; Watson Chapel 9-3 RANKINGS Camden Fairview is No. 1 in Class 5A; Watson Chapel is No. 3 in Class 5A
Sports, Pages 32 on 11/25/2010