Mavericks confident in facing Charging Wildcats

It had been three years since Fort Smith Southside won a playoff game, so the 35-28 comeback win at Springdale last week in a 7A first-round game was a huge boost for the Mavericks.

“Anytime you win a first-round game, you’re going to have confidence,” Southside coach Jeff Williams said. “The win was big for our program. Defensively we played outstanding.”

Now the Mavericks face their biggest challenge of the season in trying to slow down North Little Rock, the defending 7A state champion. The Charging Wildcats have won 23 games in a row and 35 of their last 36 games. North Little Rock won the first meeting 49-27 on Oct. 5 and have averaged 52 points against the Mavericks over the last three seasons.

Southside, though, has faced odds like this in the past and have pulled off miracle wins.

The Mavericks upset three unbeaten teams who were ranked No. 1 in state championship games — Little Rock Parkview in 1983, Fort Smith Northside in 1988 and Rogers in 2006. To get to the 2006 7A finals, Southside upset in the first round a 10-0 Little Rock Central team that was going for its third championship in four years.

“We are a different team than we were when we played North Little Rock back in Week 6,” Williams said. “We are going to throw everything at them, including the kitchen sink, and see what happens.”

Williams said getting to the second round is also good for the future as a lot of young players are getting invaluable playing experience.

“At one time, we had seven sophomores on the field playing defense,” Williams added. “You see the teams that go deep in the playoffs really get a chance to use that extra practice time. It makes a huge difference, especially since you only get 10 days of practice in the spring.”