Bucks, Dragons advance in playoffs.
In the playoffs, even the smallest details matter. Smackover's offense was explosive Friday in its 49-35 victory over Danville. But, the Buckaroos' attention to details was just as important.
Danville opened the game with an onsides kick. It was recovered by Smackover's Breylon Love at midfield. The Little Johns used an assortment of kickoff strategies, onsides kicks, pooch kicks, sky kicks and squib kicks.
Smackover recovered them all with Jackson Cook and K.J. King both coming up with the ball in big moments.
“We work on that more than anybody. We really prepare for that,” said Smackover coach Brian Brown. “We don't want to give anybody the ball on the 50-yard line and we want it there. We've really prepared and done a great job. We've had a couple other teams do that to us this year. We've got guys up there who can handle the ball.”
Also on special teams, Smackover's Harley Williams was good on all seven extra points.
But, a low snap on a punt by the Bucks led to a touchdown by Danville in a disastrous third quarter. The Little Johns held Smackover without a first down in the third and cut a 35-14 halftime lead to 35-28 going into the fourth.
“I don't know what it was. I think it was just getting too confident,” said Smackover quarterback Roshard
Boone. “But, we've got to fix that for next week.”
“Part of it, I think we came out maybe a little bit flat in the third quarter,” said Brown. “You just can't do that against good teams in the playoffs.
“They had some stuff they hadn't done before that kind of fooled us early. We didn't play particularly well in the secondary. That's what happens when you get deeper in the playoffs. You're gong to have some of those struggles. Overcoming it and getting to the next game, that's what it's all about.”
It was Cook who fielded Danville's
treacherous sky kick to set up the Bucks at the 48. Smackover used three plays to answer the Little Johns, scoring on Boone's 45-yard touchdown pass to Jaqueze Modica to push the lead back to two scores.
Danville cut the margin to a touchdown midway in the fourth. King recovered the onsides kick at the 47. Boone hit Greg Turner for the 41-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to put the game away.
Smackover wasn't perfect in the victory. But, the Bucks did enough of the little things and they added up to a berth in the 3A quarterfinals.
“We're thankful for the win,” said Turner. “We're just ready for the next game.”