Ready for Round 2
Tigers, Bearcats try to avoid knockout
Charleston and Booneville had waited 17 years before playing each other again in the regular season this year.
The wait between that game and the next matchup won’t be nearly as long.
Charleston defeated Booneville 47-20 in a Halloween night matchup at Alumni Field in Charleston, but this time they will be playing in the semifinals of the Class 3A playoffs with a trip to the championship game on the line.
Both Charleston (12-0) and Booneville (11-2) are defending state champions. Charleston won the Class 3A title last year, while Booneville took the Class 4A title before dropping down in classification this season.
Charleston’s victory over Booneville earlier this season clinched the 4-3A Conference championship and a No. 1 seed for the Tigers. Senior quarterback Ty Storey, who has orally committed to the University of Arkansas, accounted for seven touchdowns in that game, including five passing. He completed his first 10 passes as the Tigers led 34-20 at halftime.
A blocked punt, a fumbled snap and another fumble contributed to Booneville’s troubles in the first meeting.
“Any time you play a good football team, you can’t make mistakes,” Booneville Coach Scott Hyatt said. “Charleston is going to capitalize on any mistakes you make.”
Charleston Coach Greg Kendrick said Booneville is a different team than it was a month ago. The Bearcats have averaged 51.0 points over their past four games since the loss to Charleston.
“They got back to their true identity of smash-mouth, blue-collar football,” Kendrick said. “It will be a physical dogfight.”
Booneville’s backfield has been a key reason the Bearcats are back in the semifinals.
Fullback Bryson May has rushed for a team-high 1,601 yards and 28 touchdowns. Running back Matt Berry has rushed for 1,026 yards and 14 touchdowns, and Josh Smith has 996 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns.
Booneville ran for 450 yards against Hoxie in a 63-47 victory last Friday. Berry led the Bearcats with 14 carries for 165 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Smith rushed for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns on 13 carries and May ran 19 times for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“They’re starting to feel comfortable in our offense finally,” Hyatt said. “Our offensive line has improved.”
Storey threw for 401 yards and seven touchdowns in Charleston’s 49-22 victory over Osceola last Friday. The Tigers led 21-20 at halftime but outscored the Seminoles 28-2 over the final two quarters after the second-half kickoff was delayed 30 minutes because of a power failure.
The response by the Tigers pleased Kendrick.
“They handled the ups and downs and controlled what we could control,” Kendrick said. “It’s something we preach day in and day out.”
Storey has completed 253 of 373 passes for 3,573 yards with 49 touchdowns and 4 interceptions this season. He’s thrown for 12,274 yards and 150 touchdowns in his career.
Seniors Taylor King and Dylan Jones have been Storey’s top receiving options. King has caught 96 passes for 1,302 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Jones has 53 catches for 834 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Hyatt said playing teams such as Hoxie and Prescott the past two weeks has helped prepare the Bearcats for the Spread offense, but he added there isn’t another quarterback in Class 3A who compares to Storey.
“Ty does a great job of reading coverages,” Hyatt said. “His receivers do a great job of running routes. They’re very well-coached.”
Charleston has won 27 consecutive games, the second-longest active winning streak in Arkansas, but Kendrick and the Tigers haven’t talked much about the streak.
“It’s the day-to-day battle,” said Kendrick, who is in his second year as the Tigers coach and hasn’t lost a game. “We don’t worry about the end process. We mention winning the day.
“That’s a huge key in what we’ve done. These kids have bought into it. They do what they need to do.”