Mount Ida at Conway Christian
Mount Ida takes to the road this week as the Lions once again face Conway Christian in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A state playoffs at 7 p.m. at Mission Field.
The Lions (10-2) enter the quarterfinals off a 38-21 win over 2A-4 winner Hector (7-4), Mount Ida’s first road playoff game since defeating Camden Harmony Grove in the semifinals last season. Conway Christian (10-2) comes in off an 31-28 offensive battle against Fordyce (6-6).
Here are five things to watch for in tonight’s game:
Familiar foe
The Eagles visited Preston Stidman Field to take on the Lions in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A state playoffs in each of the past two seasons, both ending in wins for Mount Ida. The Lions will visit Mission Field for the first time since losing, 48-15, in Week 5 of their 2012 campaign when both were members of the 2A-5 conference.
“We’re very familiar with each other,” Mount Ida head coach Michael White said.
Both teams are senior-laden with the goal to finish their respective seasons at War Memorial Stadium on Dec. 7 in Little Rock. The Lions won the 2016 state title with a 27-26 victory over Hampton.
“They’re a very good offensive football team,” White said. “Their quarterback, running back and all of their receivers are back. They’re very balanced offensively.”
Recalling last week’s win over Fordyce, White said with a laugh that Conway Christian “only completed two passes last week, but they ran for 400-something yards. So why throw it?”
Offensive powerhouse
When someone talks about the Eagles’ football team, Jacob Wood is usually the first name that is mentioned, a senior quarterback that is a threat through the air and on the ground. While Wood was effectively shut down last week, he accounted for five touchdowns against Lavaca (4-6) in the first round of the playoffs
“Jacob Wood, of course, is where you start, at quarterback,” White said. “He’s definitely a college prospect, in my opinion, as far as running and throwing as well.”
Junior Wyatt Lawrence and senior Jesse Dather are also major offensive threats, the 6-1, 182 Lawrence garnering almost 200 yards in last week’s win.
“Of course, they’ve got the big receiver, No. 7,” White said of the 6-3, 170 Dather. “He’s a mismatch for us, height-wise.”
The Eagles have several athletes who stand over six feet tall.
“They’re tall, and they run good routes, good hands,” White said.
Dominant Lions
Senior running back Jonathan Lagrange and senior quarterback Cade Jackson dominated the game for Mount Ida last week. The pair accounted for three of the team’s five touchdowns and just over 300 yards of offense on the ground.
“That’s our two top rushers, of course,” White said. “We got yardage out of some other guys there, too, that we have to have to open the offense up for those two guys.”
Sophomore Gage Dyer, who caught Jackson’s lone pass, a 37-yarder for the end zone, also accounted for 95 yards while senior Tyler Hamilton tallied 88 of the team’s 515 rushing yards.
Lagrange and Jackson have combined for 2,340 of the team’s 4,121 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns with Lagrange having the edge on century games, seven to Jackson’s six. Hamilton is the team’s next closest with 724 yards and three games with over 100 yards.
Six others, including Hamilton and Dyer, have found the end zone for the Lions, Dyer having scored nine.
Game plan
The Lions did not play their best game last week, White noted.
“I feel like we could have cleaned some things up as far as penalties and finishing the team off like we should have,” he said. “We can’t make those mistakes this week.”
White said that the team had worked on those issues during practice this week, including Thursday morning’s run through. Despite that, he has not changed much for this game.
“Our game plan to win this week is to go in there and eat the clock and run the ball, of course,” he said. “That’s usually our game plan.
“We feel like that’s the part we can win. We’ve got to play penalty-free, control the clock and control the football to win this football game. Keep the ball out of Wood’s hands.”
The Lions have made consecutive appearances in the 2A championship game at War Memorial.
“They’ve been here before,” White said. “It’s nothing new for them.”
Injury issue
The Lions do have a significant issue going into tonight’s game. They are down a tackle.
“Hunter Humphries, our left tackle, tore his ACL last week,” White said. “That’s a big one for us.”
While Humphries is the only guaranteed loss for tonight, White said his team is far from full-strength.
“Gage Dyer is questionable,” he said. “Then we’ve got a few more that are limping around. That’s the thing with us, the lack of depth. That’s what’s scary this week for us.”