Warren no picnic for Dardanelle
Dardanelle’s game against Warren on Friday night in the semifinals of the Class 4A state playoffs is such a big deal that the Yell County town of 4,745 has postponed its annual Christmas parade until Tuesday.
“Parades will have to wait,” said Dardanelle Coach Josh Price, whose Sand Lizards host Warren at Tom Keenan Field.
The Sand Lizards (13-0), the No. 1 team in Class 4A and the top seed from the 4-4A Conference, are one of five undefeated teams remaining in the state — Class 6A Benton, Class 3A Charleston and Class 2A’s Junction City and Hazen are the others — but Friday they will face the last team that beat them.
Warren (10-3) beat Dardanelle 48-13 last season in the second round of the state playoffs in Warren, and Price said that loss gave Dardanelle motivation to get stronger in the weight room over the offseason.
“We were so tiny on the offensive and defensive lines,” Price said. “Our kids got committed in the weight room. They’re a year older and a year stronger.”
Dardanelle traveled to Nashville last Friday and eliminated the Scrappers 35-19 in a quarterfinal game. Senior quarterback Kristian Thompson rushed for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns on 18 carries. He threw only 4 passes, completing 2 for 49 yards and 1 touchdown.
Running back T.J. Tucker also rushed for 119 yards on 13 carries, and wide receiver Chris Kershner caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt 88 yards for another score. Kershner, who also starts at linebacker, had 12 tackles and five pass breakups.
Warren Coach Bo Hembree said stopping Thompson, 6-0, 240 pounds, will be a tough task for his defense.
“He’s hard to bring down,” Hembree said. “He’s a lot bigger and stronger. He’s a different style of runner. He’s a downhill runner who wants to punish you. He’s more of a guy who can live with getting 5 to 6 yards a carry.”
The Lumberjacks had an opportunity to win the 8-4A Conference title but lost at Pine Bluff Dollarway, 34-15, on Nov. 6 and ended up the No. 2 seed. They have responded in the playoffs, beating Gravette 45-7, Heber Springs 49-7 and Shiloh Christian 47-21 to advance to the semifinals for the second consecutive season.
“We understood that we had a second life,” Hembree said. “We’re taking advantage of it. The kids have played well, but all that matters is this week’s game.”
Warren led 40-0 at halftime against Shiloh Christian last Friday in Springdale. It outgained Shiloh Christian 429-36 in the first half and finished with 537 yards of offense. Trent Broughton rushed for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Kilay Cox had 119 yards and 3 touchdowns. Justin Gorman threw for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“We had a good rhythm on offense early,” Hembree said. “We got them one-dimensional.”
The Lumberjacks’ ability to score quickly has Price’s attention.
“Every skill person they got can score on any play,” Price said. “They’re extremely fast everywhere. Coach Hembree does a great job of getting guys where they need to be. They use speed to their advantage.”
Dardanelle has averaged 45.0 points a game this season while allowing 11.1, so Hembree understands this isn’t the same Sand Lizards team the Lumberjacks beat a year ago.
“We have to play really well on both sides of the football,” Hembree said. “We have to tackle the quarterback. Nobody has done that. Nobody has tackled him all year. We can’t do it with one guy. It will take a whole team effort to bring him down.
“Hopefully, we’ll be up to that challenge.”