Bulldogs, Trojans to collide
If history is any indication, tonight’s 8-2A showdown between Union County rivals Parkers Chapel and Strong will be filled with plenty of drama.
Two years ago, the Bulldogs stunned the Trojans 22-20 on Javonte Newton’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Lavonte Washington with 15.5 seconds left, snapping a three-game winning streak by the road team in the series.
A year ago, Caleb Jacobs threw for four scores and ran for another in the Trojans’ 30-22 win that wasn’t decided until a fourth-down pass to the end zone was broken up by Jacobs and the Trojans
were able to run out the clock thanks to picking up a first down on a fake punt.
Now the rivals meet again with their respective playoff hopes at stake.
The Trojans (1-6, 0-3) have lost five straight since downing Lafayette County nearly two months ago, while the Bulldogs (1-7, 0-3) snapped a six-game losing streak two weeks ago by topping Johnson County Westside before falling to Clinton last week.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. from Jerry Burson Field.
If the Bulldogs win, they clinch a playoff spot and their game at Bearden next week would be for the 8-2A’s No. 4 seed.
If the Trojans win, they would be in control of their postseason fate going into the final week of the season, but there is also the possibility of a threeway tie for the last two playoff spots depending on how things shake out over the next week.
Parkers Chapel coach Jacob Midyett was the Trojans’ quarterback when they beat Strong for the first time, and he made it clear that tonight’s game will determine whether or not the Trojans will get the chance to go to the postseason for the sixth straight year.
“We understand what’s at stake here,” Midyett said. “We know that if we want to move forward, we have to take care of business Friday night. I hope we’re ready to go. We know they’re going to be amped up just like we will. We’re probably both saying the same things.
“We’re both saying, ‘You can’t look at the record. They’ve played just as good of competition as you have.’ They’re a couple of plays away from having a different record as well. We know what we’re expecting when we get over there.”
The road team has won eight of the 12 meetings, including seven of eight in one stretch, but the home team has won the last two. Six of the games have been decided by eight points or less with five coming in the last seven years.
Although now back in the rivalry as Parkers Chapel’s coach, Midyett said he never felt he was a part of it as a player.
“I kind of missed the rivalry part of it,” Midyett said. “We never beat them until my senior year, so it really wasn’t really a rivalry I guess until after that game when we finally showed up because the first two were kind of blowouts. They’ve played closer since I’ve left, but I was never really a part of it as a player.”
For Strong coach Sirl Wright, this is his first taste of the rivalry between the Bulldogs and Trojans, and he said he immediately picked up on the intensity from his team.
“I could pick it up right off as soon as I put the film on so the kids could watch,” Wright said. “Instantly, the kids either knew their names or they knew of the kids from pee wee all the way up. You could feel there was a change from playing certain teams that were further away. They were in tune with who was the player and what they could do. It’s s lot more intense between those teams than other teams.”
A year ago, Jacobs accounted for 338 yards of total offense in the Trojans’ win over the Bulldogs, and Wright said his defense will have its hands full.
“He’s definitely a dual threat,” Wright said. “I think he’s most dangerous when he improvises, so when he gets rushed a certain way, he’s very shifty. Once he gets out of the pocket and away from that rush, he’s most dangerous there. I’m going to emphasize more so to try and keep him in the pocket and contain him.”
But while the Bulldogs will have to contend with the Trojans’ junior standout quarterback, Parkers Chapel faces a one-two punch in the backfield with seniors LeAndrew Greer and X-Zavier McHenry.
Greer had 85 yards on 21 carries against the Trojans last year, and Midyett said his defense must find a way to slow the duo down.
“They’re very athletic,” Midyett said. “They look to lean on their two seniors McHenry and Greer. We saw a lot of Greer last year, and I really like him. I like the way he plays. They’re very explosive at times. They’re athletic enough that at any point in time, they can make a big play, so we’ve really got to stay disciplined and stay in our lanes and make sure tackles. If we don’t tackle well, it’s going to be a long night.”
Although each school has only one win to its credit, both could have improved on those numbers.
Three of the Trojans’ six losses have come by five points, while the Bulldogs could muster only six points in a 20-6 loss to Lake Village earlier this season, and Midyett said this is a game where the records can be thrown out.
“Absolutely,” Midyett said. “We’ve talked about it in practice. We’re three plays away from being 4-3 right now. We’ve lost three games by five points, so that’s one play. We lost to Fouke 26-21, and you can look at two or three plays that were a big difference in that game, but if we score a touchdown, we win.
“It’s the same thing with Bearden and last week (a 26-21 loss at Pine Bluff Dollarway). We’re one play in three ballgames and that changes us from 1-6 to 4-3 and you feel a whole lot different about your season. We’ve just got to execute. We’ve talked about that and making sure we’re focused on ourselves and not really worrying about what they do and what they’re going to give us. We feel like if we can execute, we’re going to put ourselves in a good position to win.”
Although it has rained in Union County for a good portion of the week, dry conditions are expected for tonight’s game, which will give the offenses more options after rain hindered them a week ago.
“We played pretty well and then the rain kind of down-poured on us, and that hurts us offensively with what we try to do,” Midyett said. “We played better at times, but at times, we didn’t. It was kind of the same old story.”
“They handled it pretty well, but it shut off our passing attack,” Wright said. “We’re not a major passing team, but when we did want to throw it or had to throw it, we couldn’t really put that pressure on them as we would’ve liked to.”
If there is one area in particular that could decide the game, it’s turnovers and who can capitalize on them. The Trojans were successful in getting several turnovers last week at Pine Bluff Dollarway, but couldn’t cash in.
“They absolutely did (play well), especially with as many formations as Dollarway threw at us,” Midyett said of his defense. “They went from wishbone to the empty to the I and back and forth. Strong doesn’t run quite as many formations, but they do throw a lot at you. We did a good job of being on their side of the field for the majority of the second half, but we could never get any momentum going.
“We missed a field goal, had a bad snap here or a missed block here to get ourselves out of field goal position again. We could never get over the hump, so we’ve got to continue doing what we’re doing defensively and then being able to punch it in offensively. We’ve got to lock down on Greer and McHenry. We’ve got to force them to do something they don’t want to do and capitalize when we get opportunities.”
Wright said his team must avoid miscues if they are to upend the Trojans.
“We’ve got to make sure we take care of the ball,” Wright said. “When we tend to take care of the ball, good things happen. When we played (Johnson County) Westside and Lake Village and some other teams, we didn’t turn the ball over so much. We can’t feed that monster and give them an opportunity to be opportunistic. We need to execute as far as blocking, controlling the line of scrimmage, having fun and playing fast.”