SILOAM SPRINGS — Alma wasn’t going to let a points tiebreaker settle its postseason fate.
The Airedales punched their ticket to the Class 5A state playoffs on Friday with a 27-14 victory against Siloam Springs at Glenn W. Black Stadium.
The Airedales (7-2, 5-1) secured at least third place in the 5A-West and eliminated any chance of a three-way tie in the conference with Siloam Springs and Morrilton, who are both 3-3 after Friday’s games.
Alma can grab second place with a victory against Greenwood on Senior Night next week at Airedale Stadium and a Greenbrier loss at Vilonia.
“We’re in,” Alma coach Todd Dilbeck said. “Now it’s see where we’re at after next week to determine what seed we are. ... I tell you what, if we didn’t (win Friday), there was a chance we’d have been out of it.”
With Greenwood, Greenbrier and Alma already clinching playoff berths, the winner of next Friday’s game at Glenn W. Black Stadium between Morrilton and Siloam Springs takes the conference’s fourth playoff spot.
“Not too much mystery there,” Siloam Springs coach Bryan Ross said. “We’ve just got to find a way to win it. I’m sure our kids will come back ready to work.”
Alma scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns to go up 13-0 before the Panthers answered with a pair of scores in the second quarter to lead 14-13 at halftime.
But just like last season, when Siloam Springs led 7-6 at the break at Alma, the Airedales owned the second half.
“We talked about that exact same thing at halftime,” Dilbeck said. “Our kids did a great job of adjusting.”
After a big kickoff return to open the second half, Alma senior tailback Ryan Saunders took a draw 26 yards for a score on the third play of the third quarter to make it 19-14. Bradley then hit Josh Lohman for the two-point conversion to make it 21-14.
The Airedales set the final score when senior quarterback Brady Bradley threw a tunnel screen to Ethan Brewer, who then took it 44 yards for a score on the third play of the fourth quarter.
Bradley also had a 10-yard touchdown run for Alma’s first touchdown in the first quarter. He finished 21 of 37 for 261 yards.
Brewer caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Gage Jensen to make it 13-0. Brewer had a game-high 11 catches for 178 yards.
Siloam Springs quarterback Braden Pippin threw a pair of 9-yard touchdown passes to Austin Van Poucke in the second quarter, but the Panthers squandered three other scoring opportunities in the game.
Pippin, who didn’t play any offense last week against Huntsville, was stopped short on a fourth-and-one at the Alma 10-yard line on the opening drive of the game.
The Panthers got down to the 10-yard line again in the third quarter after Alma muffed a punt, but the drive stalled and Pippin was sacked back to the 22. Alejandro Dominguez missed a 39-yard field on the next play. Dominguez also had a 37-yard field blocked.
“We just didn’t play well enough in the second half to win,” Ross said. “You’ve got to find ways to make the plays and we just didn’t make enough tonight.”
Gamebreaker
Alma 27, Siloam Springs 14
Why The Airedales Won
Alma owned the second half of the 5A-West Conference game, scoring on its first possession after halftime and adding another score in the fourth quarter. The Airedales defense pitched a shutout in the second half after trailing 14-13 at halftime.
Why The Panthers Lost
The Panthers were only able to get a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter and blew several scoring opportunities, including twice in the red zone.