Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Turn on the lights: PA hosts Parkway
Pulaski Academy will be the last team from the state of Arkansas to kick off today.
The Bruins will be playing host to Bossier City (La.) Parkway at 9 p.m. today on ESPNU, as part of the network’s high school football showcase, at Joe B. Hatcher Stadium in Little Rock, which holds 5,000.
The late kickoff time is because ESPNU is airing a college football game, Massachusetts-Temple, at 6 p.m. Central.
Coach Kevin Kelley said neither he nor the Bruins (2-0) are concerned with kicking off two hours later than a typical high school football game in the state.
“We’re making it a positive,” Kelley said. “They’re living the college life this week. They like the difference that it is.”
Kelley said ESPNU’s crew will have temporary lights on Pulaski Academy’s practice field behind the south side of the stadium as well as have scissor lifts with cameras behind the end zones.
Today’s game was to be a matchup featuring Parkway quarterback Justin Rogers and wide receiver Terrace Marshall, going up against Arkansas’ three-time defending Class 5A state champions.
But injuries to Rogers and Marshall, two of the nation’s top players, have changed Parkway (1-1).
According to the Shreveport Times, Rogers tore his right ACL on Sept. 1 against Shreveport Washington while Marshall fractured his small fibula on the outside of his left foot one week ago against Pearl, Miss. Rogers is out for the season and Marshall is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
One of the reasons why ESPNU scheduled Parkway, coached by Neil May, was because of Rogers and Marshall’s possible collegiate futures. Both are in their senior seasons.
Marshall, the nation’s top wide receiver prospect, according to ESPN, has narrowed his top five schools to Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Texas and Texas A&M. ESPN has Rogers, a TCU verbal commitment, as the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the country.
Parkway still has senior safety Israel Mukuamu, a Florida State verbal commitment, and Kelley said he understands the Panthers are still one of the most talented teams from Louisiana and in the South.
“I said to the guys [the Bruins], ‘Guys, if we lost our quarterback and top receiver, would y’all go, ‘We’re going to be easy to play for Parkway. Parkway is going to mow us down.’” Kelley said. “They said, ‘No, Coach, we’ll find a way to win.’
“That’s what they’re thinking, too. It is. They’re not going to come in here thinking they’re any less prepared because those two guys are down. There’s 20 other guys that are starting without them. They got some guys who can flatout play some football.
“They’re a great football team. They’re extremely well-coached. They’re a big school down there, so it’s not tough to find a lot of speed and a lot of talent. It’s next man up for them.”
Pulaski Academy senior quarterback Layne Hatcher praised Parkway’s talent, but he added that the Bruins will be ready to play.
“They’re better athletes than us, for sure,” Hatcher said. “It’s unreal. They’re going to be fast and strong. But if we run our system right and if we’re smart and we do our things that we need to do to stay disciplined, we’ll be fine.”
Hatcher, who is 29-1 as the Bruins’ starting quarterback since the beginning of the 2015 season, has completed 63 of 84 passes (75.0 percent) for 780 yards with 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He was 23 of 29 passing for 295 yards and 5 touchdowns — all in the first half — in the Bruins’ 56-20 victory over Memphis Ridgeway on Friday at home.
Hatcher, No. 5 on the state’s alltime passing list (10,484 yards) has been helped by one of the state’s top receiving groups, with senior wide receivers Brett Lynch and Tra Johnson and Hudson Henry, a junior tight end. Henry has a teamhigh 4 touchdowns while Lynch has 3 and Johnson 2.
Pulaski Academy, known for its no-punt philosophy under Kelley, is accustomed to the attention of being on national television or the internet.
In 2009, Pulaski Academy played at Little Rock Christian on ESPNU when running back Michael Dyer was playing for the Warriors. Last season, the Bruins’ 5A-Central Conference game against Sylvan Hills was aired on Facebook Live via Bleacher Report’s page.
Also, HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and Sports Illustrated have done profiles on Kelley.
“We know what it’s like when the bright lights are on,” Hatcher said. “We’re ready for it. We know
what to do and we have to do our stuff and we’ll be just fine.”
Ultimately, today marks an opportunity for the Bruins to represent Arkansas high school football, Kelley said, and he said he hopes his team can enter 5A-Central Conference play Sept. 22 against Little Rock Fair with a victory.
“We take a lot of pride,” Kelley said. “We want to represent our state well. People think Arkansas high school football is pretty good. We’re in the South. We’ve done really well when we go out of the state, as well as other schools. We’re going to carry the Arkansas flag out of the locker room.
“We are thinking about the whole state. I hope people are pulling for us to do well — in this one