Southwest Arkansas schools get ready for upcoming football games
MONTICELLO (5-5, 4-3) at NASHVILLE (7-3, 5-2)
SITE, TIME: Scrapper Stadium, 7 p.m.
AT STAKE: Class 4A first-round victory. GAME FACTS: This is the first meeting between these two schools. Nashville finished third in Conference 7-4A and Monticello ended the season fourth in Conference 8-4A. The Billies have given up 255 points, while scoring 200 points. Scrapper senior Domonick Kight has 83 receptions for 1,926 yards and 27 touchdowns. Senior Tyler Hanson has passed for 5,323 yards and 58 touchdowns for Nashville. Monticello senior quarterback Ryan Lambert has passed for 1,010 yards and nine touchdowns, while averaging 112.2 passing yards per game. Junior Kevious Simpson is averaging 5.2 yards per rush for the Billies.
COACH’S COMMENTS: Nashville’s Mike Volarvich—“We’re excited about the game and the opportunity to contend in the playoffs. This is a new season and you can throw out all records at this point. The winner is going to get to go on and the losers will have to pack their stuff. We’ve had stellar offensive play all season and we plan to continue that on in the first round. This is the last home game for us essentially, unless something crazy happens and there’s a big upset. Our community knows this and our seniors know this is their last time to walk out on that hill. There will be some emotions before the game but once we get started, I expect for my guys to settle in.”
NEXT ROUND: The winner advances to the second round to play Booneville.
ASHDOWN (7-3, 4-3) at TRUMANN (9-1, 6-1)
SITE, TIME: Wildcat Stadium, 7 p.m. AT STAKE: Class 4A first-round victory. GAME FACTS: This is the first meeting between these two schools. Senior Alex Day has 117 tackles on the season for the Panther defense. Trumann running back Cade Gartman has rushed for 1,300 yards and 21 touchdowns this season. Tre Green leads the Panthers ground attack with 1,139 yards on 141 carries. Senior Ladarius Bishop leads the receiving corps with 29 snags for 485 yards. Green has scored 19 touchdowns for Ashdown and Bishop has reached the end zone 12 times. Ashdown finished fourth in Conference 7-4A and Trumann finished the season second in Conference 3-4A. Ashdown has given up 16.2 points per game, while scoring 34.2. Trumann has scored 39.3 points per game against opposing defenses, while allowing 17.7 points.
COACH’S COMMENTS: Ashdown’s Matt Richardson—“I’m excited to get to play in the playoffs. There are a lot of teams that didn’t make it, so we’re excited for the opportunity to play. Our kids like to travel and we’re used to traveling. Our kids like to go on trips, so they’ll be fine. We’ve got to play sound football and we have to take care of our responsibilities. We need to just play fast and efficient. We have to take advantage of having more speed than them on defense and special teams to be successful.”
NEXT ROUND: The winner will play Dumas or Pocahontas in the second round.
PIGGOTT (7-3) at PRESCOTT (9-1)
SITE, TIME: Eddie Jackson Field at Cummins Stadium, 7 p.m.
AT STAKE: Class 3A first-round victory. GAME FACTS: Prescott leads the series 2-0, beating Mohawks the 59-37 last year in the second round and also in 2007 (41-8). The Curley Wolves are the defending state champions and are 24-1 since the start of last season, the only loss coming against Glen Rose in 5-3A play. Prescott is going for its 8th double-digit win season in the last 10. Piggott is 1-7 alltime in the playoffs. The Curley Wolves, who have five state titles to their credit, are 63-22 in the postseason. Prescott was runner-up in 5-3A, and Piggott was fourth in 3-3A. Prescott averages 45.7 and gives up 11.3, and the Mohawks score 38.5 and allow 15.8 per game.
COACH’S COMMENTS: Prescott’s Tommy Poole—“We have to show up and play well, or our season could be over with. We just need to be who we are and do the things we do. We need to play Prescott football, at our best; that’s what you want to see this time of year.
“These kids have been here. They know what to expect, have gone through the fire and are ready to go; we have no issues getting the kids geared up for the playoffs.”
NEXT ROUND: The victory advances to the second round to play Osceola or Cedar Ridge.
FOUKE (6-4) at CLINTON (10-0)
SITE, TIME: Jim Tomlinson Field, 7 p.m.
AT STAKE: Class 3A first-round win.
GAME FACTS: This is the first meeting between the schools. The Yellowjackets are unbeaten in the regular season for the first time since 2005. The Panthers have reached the playoffs five straight years—all under head coach Rick Barker— and have one postseason win during that time period. Clinton is 5-14 in the playoffs all-time. The Yellowjackets were the 1-3A conference champion, and Fouke finished fifth in 6-3A. Clinton averages 39.5 points and gives up 10.6 per game. The Panthers score 33.3 and allow 24.5 an outing.
COACH’S COMMENTS: Fouke’s Barker—“Clinton is 10-0, so they can’t be too bad at 10-0. We watched them on film, and last year Centerpoint played them int he first round and beat them when they were 8-2. We don’t have a whole lot to go on.
“We’ve played some awful good team in our conference. As far as size and speed, Clinton is pretty good size, but they don’t have the speed we’ve been seeing every week. Nothing’s going to shock our kids.
“We want to go play well on the road. This will be our fifth playoffs since I’ve been here. We’ve played close in just about all of those games. We’ve seen higher seeds and played with those teams. We’re close, real close to get by that first round. We want to be consistent on the road and play our game.”
NEXT ROUND: The winner advances to play either Hoxie or Benton Harmony Grove.
HORATIO (5-5) at McGEHEE (8-2)
SITE, TIME: Rex Benton Stadium, 7 p.m.
AT STAKE: Class 3A first-round victory. GAME FACTS: This is the first meeting for these schools. The Owls are seeking their highest win total since 10-win seasons in 2011 and 2012. McGehee missed the playoffs last year. Under first-year coach Robert Collum, the Lions are seeking their highest win total since 2012. Horatio was fifth in 5-3A, and McGehee second in 6-3A. The Owls average 43.5 points and allow 18.5 points per game. Horatio scores 20.1 and surrenders 25.2.
COACH’S COMMENTS: Horatio’s Collum—“We’ve got to do what we’ve been doing all year as far as running the football, controlling possession of the clock and taking care of the football. If we do those things, we’ll see where that brings us at the end of the game.
“McGehee is big up front, they’re fast and run a Wing-T offense. We haven’t seen that all year, and we’ve got to prepare for that. Centerpoint runs a version of that, but not the same way McGehee does. So we’ve had to prepare for that this week.
“They run a 5-2 on defense and could easily walk down a safety and give us a 6-2 look, which they do in the red zone. They’re big up front, like the offensive line, and fast off the edges. We need to make good reads in our option game, and if they misread it hope to get some big runs out of it.” NEXT ROUND: The winner plays either Glen Rose or Newport in the second round.
CLARENDON (4-5, 4-3) at FOREMAN (8-1, 6-1)
SITE, TIME: Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m. AT STAKE: Advancing to the second round of the Conference 2A playoffs.
GAME FACTS: This is the first meeting between these two schools. Junior quarterback Kyren Batey has amassed 1,000 yards rushing this season. Batey also has collected 58 tackles for the Gator defense. Foreman finished second in Conference 7-2A, while Clarendon finished fourth in Conference 6-2A. Foreman’s offense has scored 403 points this season, while the defense has given up 107 points. Senior CJ Green has carried the ball 47 times for 656 yards and sophomore Issac Carver has rushed for 482 yards on 48 carries. Senior Corey Lovewell leads the Gators defense in tackles with 65, while freshman Chris Haywood has 63 tackles to date.
COACH’S COMMENTS: Foreman’s Mark King—“They’re a very athletic team. It should be a good one. They’ve won the last 4 out of 5 games to make the playoffs, they’re a hot team. It’s going to be a good matchup for us defensively. The league they play in is more of a power offense league and haven’t seen much team speed like we have. Our speed on defense is going to really help us. Our offense is hard to prepare for in a short period of time, so that’s an added advantage we’ll have.”
NEXT ROUND: The winner advances to play McCrory or Bearden.
MINERAL SPRINGS (4-6) at HAMPTON (7-3)
SITE, TIME: Boyd Arnold Stadium at Andy Anders Field, 7 p.m.
AT STAKE: Class 2A first-round win. GAME FACTS: Mineral Springs leads the series, 3-0. The Hornets finished fourth out of Conference 7-2A, while the Bulldogs were third out of Conference 8-2A. The last time the teams played was in 2013 with Mineral Springs winning, 36-17. The Hornets average 32.9 points per game and give up 22.6 points. The Bulldogs average 24.3 points per outing and give up 20.1 points.
COACH’S COMMENTS: Mineral Springs’ David Bennett—“They run the flexbone, so we’ll have to play well defensively. We are going to have to play solid on offense. Hampton runs a 50-series defense. Peyton Haddan, our quarterback, has played well and is one of our leaders. Raheem Brown and Rickey Walker are senior leaders, and Tahji Beal has been a good leader. In a playoff game, those who capitalize on opportunities and make the fewest mistakes will advance.”
NEXT ROUND: The winner advances to play Earle, which had a first round bye.
SPRING HILL (4-6) at MARKED TREE (7-2)
SITE, TIME: Don Lovell Memorial Field, 7 p.m. AT STAKE: Class 2A first-round win. GAME FACTS: Marked Tree leads the series, 1-0, when it defeated the Bears, 6-0, in a first round playoff game in 2007. Spring Hill finished fifth out of Conference 7-2A, while the Indians were second out of Conference 3-2A. Marked Tree is on a 4-game win streak. The Bears average 17.2 points per game and give up 37.4 points. The Indians average 31.2 points per outing and give up 23.1 points.
COACH’S COMMENTS: Spring Hill’s Matt McBride—“One of the keys to the game will be stopping their quarterback. Everything goes through their running back, and he has over 2000 yards of rushing on the year. He’s a big threat, and we have to stop him. Their quarterback is accurate, athletic, and completes 65-70 percent of his passes. We have to execute on offense. When we do that, we light up the scoreboard. We add a few extra wrinkles every week. We just need to execute well on both sides of the ball.”
NEXT ROUND: The winner advances to play either Mount Ida or Des Arc.