The Greenwood Bulldogs have been the gold standard in Class 6A.
They've won the past two Class 6A state championships and have played in four consecutive title games.
But for Coach Rick Jones, it's all about the present and not what has happened in the past.
"The truth of the matter is that we're trying to have a great practice on Monday," Jones said Friday, one day after his team scrimmaged against Class 7A Fayetteville. "Our next practice is on Monday. Our first game is two weeks from [Friday].
"[Alabama Coach] Nick Saban once said that teams talking about championships is like having your kids in the car asking you, 'Are we there yet?' We take it one mile marker at a time. That's the way it is."
Jones joked that the only similarity between him and Saban is that they are football coaches. But they're both the active leaders in championships won in their respective levels -- Jones having won eight state championships at Greenwood and Saban with six national championships at the NCAA FBS level (one at LSU, five at Alabama).
"When you look at teams that are constantly good, they have a mentality that, No. 1, they're never satisfied," Jones said. "They can always do better. They'll never let an individual split them apart.
"Saban uses the word process. That's what we try to do."
West Memphis Coach Billy Elmore, a former Greenwood assistant under Ronnie Peacock, said the tradition of the football program in Greenwood is valued by the community.
"I tell people, they don't do anything halfway," Elmore said. "They take it very seriously. You go to a game there and you look at their fans, their administration and their players and their coaches. More than anything, the community expects to win. The kids expect to win, and they show up to do whatever needs to be done."
Greenwood, which won its ninth state championship overall last season with a victory over Benton in the Class 6A title game, will be guided by senior quarterback Jace Presley.
Presley is in his first season as the Bulldogs' starter, but he was the junior varsity quarterback the past two seasons and backed up Peyton Holt a year ago. Jones has been pleased with how well Presley has adapted to being the No. 1 signal-caller.
"The good thing is that he's had a lot of time in the system," Jones said. "He took a ton of first-team reps last year when Peyton was in baseball. He's had a lot of reps. The mental aspect, he's getting better at. He's doing the things you want your quarterback to do."
The Bulldogs return junior running back Hunter Wilkinson, who rushed for 750 yards and 17 touchdowns on 136 carries, and also caught 25 passes for 359 yards and 5 scores a year ago.
Benton, a 10-win team in 2018, returns senior wide receiver Gavin Wells. The Panthers have played in the Class 6A state championship game twice since 2014, losing to Pine Bluff in 2014 and Greenwood last season.
West Memphis won the 6A-East Conference last season, but lost to Benton in the semifinals at home. The Blue Devils are searching for their first state championship in school history, and Elmore said he believes this year's team is in position to achieve that feat.
"The big thing is just winning it," Elmore said. "We don't run from it. We don't hide from it. We're proud of winning conference championships, but our overall goal is to win the big one.
"We feel like we're knocking on the door. What do you do to take that next step? You just keep pounding on it until you kick it in.
"We feel like we're doing things the right way. It's just a matter of some breaks or not running into the best teams that somebody has had in years. We've had some things go against us. Hopefully, those breaks go for you the next year. That's where we're at."
Jones said West Memphis, El Dorado and Russellville are among teams that could contend in Class 6A.
"There's plenty of competition," Jones said.
Greenwood has an opportunity to win a third consecutive state championship for the third time in program history. The Bulldogs won three titles in a row n 2005-07 and 2010-12.
True to his form, Jones doesn't mention the possibility of a three-peat with his players.
"You can ask any kid that was part of those three-peats," Jones said. "We never said a word about it. The reporters or the guy at the downtown coffee shop will say something about it."
Sports on 08/24/2019