PREP FOOTBALL REPORT: Week 12

Jadon Jackson, left, and Tyrese Smallwood celebrate a touchdown in the Class 7A quarterfinals against Conway last week at Wolverine Stadium. The Wolverines won their first-ever home playoff game and will take on North Little Rock on Friday in the Class 7A state semifinals.
Jadon Jackson, left, and Tyrese Smallwood celebrate a touchdown in the Class 7A quarterfinals against Conway last week at Wolverine Stadium. The Wolverines won their first-ever home playoff game and will take on North Little Rock on Friday in the Class 7A state semifinals.

BENTONVILLE WEST

Ice, cold await Wolverines in mornings

With school not in session at Bentonville West this week, it allowed the Wolverines to conduct morning practices for the past three days.

That's nothing new for West, according to coach Bryan Pratt. What was different was the chilly temperatures and heavy frost covering the Wolverine Stadium turf during those morning sessions.

"We do everything early in the morning," Pratt said. "During the season, we're usually lifting weights two days a week, so the morning stuff doesn't bother our kids.

"The only thing that has bothered us is the cold. We try to come out here and go in the morning, and there's ice on the field. We've used our indoor facility a lot early this week, but (Wednesday) was a beautiful day. We were able to get out and throw a lot more."

Pratt said his team has responded well during practices this week. The Wolverines will turn things around today and have a 6 p.m. practice before heading out Friday to their Class 7A state semifinal game against North Little Rock.

"Any time you're practicing during Thanksgiving break, it's a big deal," he said. "It's fun for the kids because you know you're having a special year if it's happening.

"They know the task is going to be tough, and they know North Little Rock is a really good football team. But we feel like we're a good football team, too. The playoffs are about teams peaking at the right time, and hopefully that's what we are fixing to do."

-- Henry Apple • @NWAHenry

FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE

Grizzlies seeking redemption at Bryant

There are no storms in the weather forecast for Friday, and that's good news for the Grizzlies as they return to Bryant for a Class 7A state semifinal matchup.

The last time these teams met in the 7A-Central Conference opener on Sept. 21, they played less than a half before lightning and heavy rains brought the game to a stop with under a minute left in the first half with Bryant ahead 16-7.

After an almost two-hour delay, Northside coach Mike Falleur decided to call the game good, giving Bryant the win.

"We had three options when it started storming," Falleur said last week. "Stay there and wait it out, come back on Saturday or come back on Monday. We weren't going back on Saturday. Monday was an option, but we didn't feel like we were a dominant team that could go down there and play Bryant on Monday and turn around and know we're going to beat Little Rock Central (on Friday).

"We did not want to put that game in jeopardy, so we decided to wait it out. The last time they came to me, it was about 10:30 and they said it would be 12:30 to 1 a.m. before we restarted. Our kids had been sitting for about two and a half hours, so we just made the decision to go home and hopefully get a shot at them again. And it's worked out that way."

The Grizzlies (8-4) are riding the wave of a three-game win streak that started with a victory over crosstown Fort Smith Southside that locked down the No. 4 playoff seed from the Central. Northside blanked Van Buren 35-0 in round one, and earned a big 30-17 road win last Friday at Bentonville to set up the semifinal tilt at Bryant.

Northside's defense is playing like it did early in the season, Falleur said. The Grizzlies forced three huge Bentonville turnovers last week, and cashed all three in for touchdowns.

Bryant (9-2) is making its second consecutive 7A semifinal appearance and is seeking its first-ever appearance in a state title game.

-- Chip Souza • @NWAChip

GREENWOOD

Bulldog defense playing well at right time

After Greenwood's 35-0 shutout of Searcy in the 6A Quarterfinals last week, coach Rick Jones gave plenty of praise to his defense.

In the win, the defense allowed just 165 total yards, including minus-21 rushing yards, to go along with six sacks in the game.

"I was proud of the way our secondary guys played," Jones said after the game. "It was awesome to watch them compete for every single ball that was thrown. Our defensive linemen were constantly harassing the quarterback. It was a great defensive team effort."

In fact, the Bulldog defense has been downright stingy in the last two weeks.

Greenwood (10-1) has shutout its last two opponents -- Lake Hamilton on Nov. 2 and Searcy Nov. 16. In seven 11 games this season, the defense has allowed 14 points or less.

This was against a Searcy team that was 9-2 coming in was averaging 37.7 points per game.

"Our guys had a great plan on defense and executed it well," Jones said. "They worked tireless for hours and hours on the plan. They did a great job."

Offensively, Greenwood continues to roll, averaging 43 points per game. Quarterback Peyton Holt, who was one of the best wide receivers in 2017, has made the conversion to quarterback seem easy. The senior has thrown for 2,608 yards and 20 touchdowns with just one interceptions in 288 pass attempts. Holt has also rushed for 768 yards and 17 touchdowns.

"I know when we have No. 3 (Holt), we have a chance," Jones said. "When Holt has the ball in his hands, he makes great things happen."

The Bulldogs finished with 514 yards in the game -- 277 passing and 237 rushing. Jones said the balance of running and passing put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses.

"Our offensive line got after them. We sorta got physical with them and they were moving them backwards" Jones added. "Searcy's defensive is like everyone's defense in that you don't want to face teams that can run and throw it. Once we were able to establish we could run it, it made a huge difference."

-- Walter Woodie • Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette

HARRISON

Goblins relish another shot at PA

Harrison gets the chance it's been waiting almost a year for on Friday night.

The Goblins (12-0) finally get another crack at four-time defending state champion Pulaski Academy.

The Bruins (11-1) ended Harrison's season a year ago in the Class 5A state quarterfinals, handing the Goblins a 57-20 loss en route to another state title.

Harrison coach Joel Wells acknowledged his team has wanted another crack at Pulaski Academy.

"There's no question," Wells said. "They ended our season a year ago, and now we get an opportunity to get another shot at them. Last year, we kinda limped into that game."

Limped could be an understatement as the Goblins played without running back Gabe Huskey, who suffered a separated shoulder in Harrison's first-round win a week earlier. But he wasn't the only one.

"Our quarterback had a foot problem and a bad shoulder," Well said. "We had three or four guys beat up going into that game. This year, we're pretty healthy."

Huskey, a junior is 100 percent healthy and has terrorized opposing defenses this season to the tune of 1,957 yards rushing on only 240 carries (8.2 avg.) and 30 touchdowns. He also has 24 receptions for a team-high 656 yards, averaging 27.3 yards per catch and six more TDs.

The Goblins have improved their defense from a year ago by committing to put more speed on that side of the ball, Wells said.

"I feel like we're better defensively and I think we're more prepared," Wells said. "If you want to go deep in the playoffs, you've got to be good on defense."

Juniors Brooks Both and Colton Shaver have come up big on defense. Both leads the team with 112 tackles, while Shaver has 44 tackles, five interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Wells said the Bruins are a little bit different team from a year ago, too.

"Last year, they had a great quarterback, who threw a good deep ball," Wells said. "This year they do more intermediate and short stuff throwing the football. He's a good runner and it looks like he's progressed and just gotten better and better."

-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB

OZARK

Hillbillies hope to limit Robinson's big plays

Hillbillies coach Jeremie Burns knows just how serious the threat is of going up against a Joe T. Robinson (10-2) team and trying to match the Senators' speed and athleticism.

But that's what he and the rest of the Hillbillies (9-2) will have to figure out before Ozarks' quarterfinal home matchup with Robinson on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.

"Friday is going to be one of our biggest challenges all year," Burns said. "They're very talented on both sides of the ball. They got a lot of great size on the offensive and defensive line, and their skill guys are so talented."

The Hillbillies blanketed Lonoke, 34-0, in their second-round matchup while Robinson handily defeated Hamburg, 49-29, even after the Senators let the Lions outscore them in the second half.

Burns said Ozark has to do three things if the Hillbillies want to win: keep the ball out of Robinson's hands, limit the big plays to a minimum on defense and kick away from Robinson's returners on special teams.

Ozark senior quarterback Dawson Dietz will look to continue his impressive season after throwing 19 touchdown passes on the year and rushing for six more. He'll have to face a Senator's defense that has only given up about 17 points per game on the season and has University of Arkansas commit Zach Williams who leads the team with 13 sacks and 23 tackles for loss.

"He needs to have a good game, but he has players surrounding him that can help," Burns said. "He's done a great job taking care of the football and making good decisions. It's going to be his biggest test of the year."

-- Alex Nicoll • Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette

LAMAR

Warriors face stern test in Rison

There's plenty of reasons Rison is undefeated this season, including the collective surge of its offensive line.

"They absolutely fire off the ball low and hard," Lamar coach Josh Jones said. "They get after it and they're extremely disciplined. If they had a fumble this year, I didn't see it."

Lamar (10-2) will receive a close up encounter of the Wildcats (12-0) in a Class 3A semifinals game Friday at Rison. Rison is ranked No. 5 in Class 3A and the Wildcats have scored at least 50 points in six games this season.

The Warriors are in the quarterfinals for the first time in three years after their 32-13 victory last week over Harding Academy. Lamar controlled the game with its defense and the play of junior quarterback Ike Pelts, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for 133 yards.

"That was (Pelts') best game by far," Jones said. "They had more yards than us, but we kept their passes in front of us and didn't give up any long plays. Our stat guy had them with 32 yards rushing, so that's a good job by our defense."

Lamar is a dominant run team that completed only one pass in its 50-19 victory over Hoxie to begin the playoffs in Class 3A. The Wildcats poured it on again with over 400 yards rushing in a 62-20 victory over Mayflower last week. Running back Malik Chavis, who is committed to the University of Arkansas, leads the powerful running game with over 1,500 yards on the season.

-- Rick Fires • @NWARick

BOONEVILLE

Bearcats happy to be at home

The Booneville playoff push in the Class 3A state playoffs will continue this week at home with the help of an upset victory.

Camden Harmony Grove, a No. 3 seed, was able to pull away with a 47-28 victory against a No. 1 seed Glen Rose in a second-round matchup. That set up a quarterfinals meeting Friday back in Bearcat Stadium instead of Booneville (12-0) needing to potentially travel.

"It was big for us," Booneville coach Scott Hyatt said. "If you can stay at home in the playoffs, it's a huge advantage. The kids get to stay in their routine. This is a special town, and it's tough to play here as well. The atmosphere is great and the support is awesome."

Harmony Grove (9-3) will look to test the Booneville defense that has three shutouts and is just averaging 11 points allowed per game this season. The Hornets are averaging 39 points on offense this year and scored 62 and 47 points in playoff wins against Barton and Glen Rose respectively.

"They like to run the ball," Hyatt said. "They have a lot of speed. They're big play people. That's been there forte all season. We are going to have to try to keep them away from making big plays. We need to keep the football out of their hands and control the clock."

Harmony Grove has earned plenty of playoff experience in the past two seasons. The Hornets were able make it to the semifinals in both 2016 and 2017 in the Class 2A tournament.

"This will be a good game no doubt we'll see their best," Hyatt said. "Once you get to the quarterfinals, everybody is good. You have to play your best game Friday night. If you don't, you are going home."

The ground game found success early and often for Booneville in a 41-13 victory against Walnut Ridge in the second round. Junior quarterback Evan Schlinker got the offense going early scoring the first of five rushing touchdowns for the Bearcats.

Schlinker finished with just five touches but had 55 yards including the score to help guide the offense. He also had a touchdown run called back because of a penalty.

"We knew we'd get him more involved as we get into this playoff run," Hyatt said. "We have been trying to protect him this year. But when it gets down to it, we'll have to use him a lot more."

-- Harold McIlvain II • Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette

Sports on 11/22/2018

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