Wet, perhaps wild, clash
Yellowjackets give Bruins different look
It could be a wet Class 5A state championship game between Wynne and Pulas- ki Academy today at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
In preparation for today’s noon game, Wynne Coach Chris Hill had his team dunk footballs in Gatorade buckets.
“We didn’t really have any problems with it,” Hill said. “So we hope that gives them confidence going into Saturday [today].”
Today’s forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of rain with temperatures near 50 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
“We really haven’t played in rain all year long,” Hill said. “Whichever team handles the elements the best will increase their chances of winning.”
Wynne primarily runs the football in its flexbone offense while Pulaski Academy is a pass-first offense. Even though Wynne runs the football, Hill plays down any advantage his team could have against the Bruins.
“We’ve got a center-quarterback exchange, a quarterback-fullback exchange and
a quarterback-slot exchange. So we’ve got a lot more exchanges than a passing team does,” Hill said.
Wynne (13-0) has averaged 430.7 yards on the ground this season, led by running back Ta’von Hicks (1,765 yards, 25 touchdowns) and slotback Devontai Pounds (938 yards, 11 touchdowns). The Yellowjackets switched from the Spread offense — used in 2014 by quarterback Ross Trail, now with Cincinnati — to the flexbone in 2015.
Pulaski Academy Coach Kevin Kelley, whose Bruins defeated the Yellowjackets in the 2014 Class 5A state championship game, acknowledges Wynne’s offense could present problems for his team’s 3-4 defense.
“You don’t see it any other time of the year,” Kelley said. “Everybody’s running the Spread now. They make you play assignment football. In a lot of their plays, there’s three different guys who can have the ball at any moment. We teach our guys to run to the football. But you can’t just run to the football because they’ll pull it out of his stomach and pitch it to somebody else. That guy is running without anybody guarding, and he’s 70 yards down the field.
“We’re a super aggressive defense by design, and they use that aggression against you.”
Wynne has been one of the few Arkansas teams that has been able to compete with Pulaski Academy (12-1) since 2014. The Yellowjackets had a 21-7 halftime lead against the Bruins in Week 2 last season but lost 35-21.
Pulaski Academy has not lost to an Arkansas team since the 2013 Class 5A second round to eventual state champion Morrilton, a fact Hill pointed out Thursday after his team’s practice at War Memorial Stadium.
“Our kids have confidence that they can play with them,” Hill said. “A lot of teams may be beat before they get on the field when they play PA, because they’ve won so many games. So we certainly have our work cut out for us. But I think our kids are excited, and I think we’ll get great effort on Saturday.”
The Bruins have an opportunity to win a third consecutive state title, something that hasn’t been done since Greenwood from 2010-12.
“I want them to be glad that they put in all of those hours. It’s one of the rewards that comes with that,” Kelley said. “This group of seniors has a chance to leave a little different legacy. We always talk about building what the other guys before you have built. You don’t want to be the guy who takes a step back. This is their chance to add on to what those guys have done and they take that seriously.”