Badgers, Senators in early showdown
It’s the first Friday of October and that usually means one thing in the 4A-7 Conference. Things are about to heat up. “It’s about that time of the year,” Joe T. Robinson Coach Todd Eskola said. “Of course, we get murderer’s row with Arkadelphia, Nashville and Malvern back-to-back-to-back. And then we’ve got some other big ones on the horizon after that. But we all know that it is what it is.
“If you play good, you’re going to have a good chance to win. If you don’t, then you’re gonna get beat.”
Winning will be squarely on the minds of Robinson (31, 1-0) today in the first of a month’s worth of showdowns when it welcomes Arkadelphia (2-2, 1-0) to Charlie George Stadium for a game that’ll go a long way in helping determine who wins a league title.
Last year’s game was canceled because of covid-19 protocols at Arkadelphia, but prior to that, the teams split the previous six meetings. The last time the Badgers played at Robinson, they came away with a 28-27 victory in 2020 after blocking an extra-point attempt late in the fourth quarter. Arkadelphia also forced four turnovers in that game, two of which led directly to touchdowns.
This season, the Badgers have been just as opportunistic, but they’ve also been methodical with the way they operate offensively by moving the chains effectively through the air or on the ground.
Arkadelphia quarterback Donovan Whitten has completed 41 of 82 passes for 963 yards and 12 touchdowns. The junior threw for 236 yards and three scores in last week’s 4214 victory over Nashville. Also, running back Jaishon Davis has rushed for 422 yards and scored eight total touchdowns over the past three games for the Badgers.
“That first game against Camden Fairview, most of our starters mainly played one half, and we didn’t have them the second half,” said Arkadelphia Coach Trey Schucker, in reference to the Badgers’ 41-21 loss in the season’s first game. “Since then, things have been different. We’ve just naturally progressed and gotten better at what we do. We had a good nonconference schedule to battle test us, and that’s gotten us ready for conference play.
“We’ve just fine-tuned things here and there with our blocking up front, our execution of the offense, our tackling on defense and our play recognition. So it’s been just fine-tuning those little aspects to allow the kids to be in better position to be successful, and for the most part, we have.”
Those tweaks have certainly caught Eskola’s eye, although he’s not surprised by anything the Badgers have been able to do.
“It’s Arkadelphia,” he explained. “They’re always going to be big, they’re always going to be fast. [Davis] is the real deal, and they’re quarterback is much improved. He does a great job of running an offense that’s very explosive. And defensively, they’re a lot like us.
“They take a lot of gambles, a lot of risks, and try to make big plays and get turnovers. And they’re a team that I think is going to go a long way in the state playoffs.”
Robinson intends to be right there with Arkadelphia in terms of making an extended postseason run, especially after the way it’s played since a season-opening loss to Class 5A No. 1 Pulaski Academy. The Senators have reeled off three straight victories and got off to a quick start in the 4A-7 by beating Fountain Lake 48-25 in a hotly contested battle.
“That was a case of being on the road and having a lot of adversity,” Eskola said of last week’s game. “The kids did a great job of controlling their emotions. There was a lot of things going on in that game that our guys handled well. You’re talking about going into an environment that’s not always conducive for your best performance. But for a young team, they handled it well to get a very convincing win over a Fountain Lake team that’s better than most people realize.”
Schucker noted that Robinson’s size and physicality jump out at him, and he believes that allows the Senators to play they way they’re able to.
“They’re fast, too,” Schucker said. “Their skill players are very fast and get after it. But for us, we’ve got to take care of the ball and make some explosive plays ourselves while limiting theirs. There’s going to be playmakers all over that field, and the team that turns it over the least and makes the most plays will probably win it.”
Eskola felt that his group would improve and mature as the season goes along, and according to him, they’ve done just that. He’s going to need them to continue that trend against Arkadelphia.
“It’s a game where we don’t have to be our perfect self to beat them,” Eskola said. “But we’ve got to be better than them. Arkadelphia is a good enough team that if we don’t play well, they’re probably going to win. That’s why you play the game though, to play really good people.”