Wildcats to enter playoffs on a high note after victory
El Dorado will enter the 6A state football playoffs on a high note after winning at Little Rock Hall 38-0 on Friday. The Wildcats improved to 5-5 on the season and will host Pine Bluff next week in the first round of the playoffs.
Due to injuries, El Dorado, the fourth seed out of the 6A West, started its third quarterback against the Warriors. Senior Wanya Frazier made his first career varsity start and threw for a touchdown and ran for two more.
“I'm really proud of Wanya and all of our kids. They really did a great job,” said El Dorado coach Scott Reed. “I'm more than proud of the effort and the way they hung together.
“On offense, we're missing some guys, obviously. But, I was proud of our group for the way they rallied around Wanya. Every kid was pleased for him. He did a good job executing. I thought our offensive line did a good job because they brought some blitz stuff. We handled it in protection. He made some nice throws down field. Shun made some really nice plays. It was also good to get Eli Shepherd in with the first group and he had a touchdown pass. He threw a strike to Derek Jobe.”
Frazier completed 3-of-6 passes for 125 yards. The Wildcats totaled 321 yards of offense.
Defensively, El Dorado held the Warriors to just 24 yards before the game was called with 11:25 left in the fourth quarter.
“Our defense has gotten better the last couple of weeks. We've gotten our two ends back. That's really good to see,” said Reed. “You take the three-game stretch of Russellville, Siloam Springs and Hall, our defense has played well. That's good to see this late in the year.”
El Dorado, which led 38-0 at the half, scored in six consecutive possessions. Keonte Larry carried for 15 yards to the 2 with Frazier scoring on the next play. Greysen Hubbard kicked the PAT with 9:45 left in the first.
After a 9-yard punt by Hall, Frazier connected with Shun Levingston on a 26-yard touchdown pass. Hubbard‘s kick pushed the margin to 14-0 with 7:01 left in the first.
Hubbard‘s 24-yard field with 11:17 left in the second built a 17-0 cushion. Frazier followed with a 3-yard touchdown run with 6:23 left in the half.
After Calab Scott recovered a Hall fumble, Larry cashed it in with a 3-yard touchdown run as the lead swelled to 31-0 with 3:33 left in the second.
El Dorado’s final score came with a minute left in the half. Sophomore Eli Shepherd hooked up with Derek Jobe on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Hall lost fumbles on four of its seven first half possessions.
Levingston, who had two receptions for 115 yards, left the game with a foot injury and did not return.
“The hits just keep coming as far as that goes,” Reed said. “It may be a broken foot. It's not the ankle. It's the outside of his foot. Right now, it doesn't look good. We should know something for sure, I would guess, Monday or so.”
El Dorado's depth has already been stretched thin. More younger players might be forced into action.
“We work a lot of kids anyway. The only real issue we have is at wide receiver. Unfortunately, we've been hit hard there,” said Reed. “With (Steven) Tollette and Shun and (Hunter) Dear has been out. Devunte Kidd has got a knee bothering him. We've got to do some work there. And, obviously we're playing the third quarterback that has started a ball game.”
Ironically, moving Frazier to quarterback further weakened the receiving corps.
“He can't play both. That's the bad thing,” Reed said. “We have our work cut out for us. But, this group has been resilient. They have.”
The Wildcats know as well anyone, the playoffs is a different season. Strange things can happen. And, renewing acquaintances with an old foe makes things even more intriguing.
“Pine Bluff is faster than us, I think. And, they have a really good wide receiver. The last few weeks they've played well. They almost beat West Memphis, who is undefeated. They've played a couple games that were close against a couple of the good teams in the East and barely lost. We'll have our hands full,” said Reed. “I think it's awesome that we're playing Pine Bluff again. I wish we had a healthy group to play them. But, they've got some injuries, too. They were a preseason pick to win their conference. He lost his quarterback earlier. He lost a safety-wide receiver guy that's a really good player. He's lost a number of guys that has really changed his team.
“But, we're going to get to play Pine Bluff again, which is awesome. I really hated it when we got moved to different conferences. That's been a long-time rivalry for our town. I'm fired up about getting to play 'em.”