Beavers face familiar foe, go on the road against Charleston
The Glen Rose Beavers are facing a familiar foe for week 13 of Arkansas High School Football. The Beavers will be traveling to Charleston to face the Tigers in round three of the Class 3A State Playoffs.
The Beavers and Tigers have history, especially in the playoffs. In 2007 the Beavers defeated the Tigers 41-13 in the semifinals. In 2013 the Tigers defeated the Beavers in the 2013 3A State Championship, 42-19. In their last meeting, in the 2016 playoff semifinals, the Tigers once again defeated the Beavers 45-13.
The Beavers’ focus is on the present though and not what happened in the past. The Beavers bounced back last week after falling to Prescott in the final regular season game by getting the win over West Fork in the second round of the playoffs. The Beavers defeated West Fork 47-14.
The win for the Beavers boosted them to a 9-2 overall record. In their game against West Fork, the Beavers were missing 10 starters due to COVID-19 and quarantine restrictions. The Beavers will be fully loaded as they travel to Charleston as the quarantine restrictions are no longer in place.
Despite having to rely on fresh faces, the underclassmen didn’t disappoint. Freshman running back Heath Ballance rushed 15 times for 156 yards and two touchdowns while freshman Draven McSpadden caught one touchdown pass and intercepted a West Fork pass.
Charleston presents tougher competition for the Beavers than West Fork. The Tigers will be the second team the Beavers have faced in the playoffs from the 1-3A. The difference between Charleston and West Fork though is
Charleston was the 1-3A conference championship with an undefeated conference record.
The Tigers are also on an eight game win streak with their last loss coming in non-conference play to 4A school Ozark, 54-21. Last week, the Tigers defeated 4-3A school Mayflower 38-8. The Tigers led 35-0 at halftime after scoring on all five of their first half
possessions.
The Tigers are led by sophomore quarterback Brandon Scott who went 8 of 9 passing
for 85 yards and touchdown against Mayflower. In the run game, the Tiger are paced by senior Breckon Ketter who ran 10 times for 64 yards and two touchdowns against Mayflower.
The key for the Beavers to defeat the Tigers though is to limit turnovers while on offense and to not give up big plays defensively. The Beavers will rely on their senior playmakers, quarterback Wesley Launius, who had 125 passing yards with two touchdowns against West Fork, and senior receiver Noah Wright, who had 67 receiving yards and two touchdowns in last week’s game. Defensively, the Beavers will rely on the strength of their defensive line led by senior Andrew Weatherford.
Kickoff between the Beavers and the Tigers is set for 7 p.m. at Alumni Field in Charleston.