It’s full steam ahead for Mena

Mena Coach Tim Harper isn’t putting too much stock into his team’s first meeting with Malvern this season.

Mena beat Malvern 36-22 Oct. 3 in a 7-4A Conference game, but Harper isn’t interested in living in the past. He’s only concerned about his team’s second matchup against Malvern, which comes Friday night in the semifinals of the Class 4A state playoffs.

“We worry about the here and now,” Harper said. “We’re just thankful to be playing. There’s four schools out of 48 [in Class 4A] that are still playing. We’re blessed to be one of the four.

“We’re not overwhelmed by the moment.”

Mena (11-2) is coming off a 34-27 victory over 7-4A rival Arkadelphia last Friday.

Running back Jackson Daugherty accounted for three touchdowns in the game, including a 14-yard touchdown run with 1:07 remaining that helped the Bearcats hold off the Badgers. Quarterback Sage Kesterson threw a touchdown pass and ran for two more touchdowns

Harper is in his second season at Mena, and one of the first trips he took his team on after his arrival was to Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium, home to the high school state championship games. Harper said he wanted his players to understand the goal from day one.

“That’s the goal,” he said. “If you don’t have a destination, you’ll never get there. That’s what we try to teach those kids.

“They’ve worked extremely hard. They’ve bought in and competed extremely hard most nights this year.”

Harper pointed to maturity as one of the main reasons Mena has been successful this year. Harper said that also was a quality of his 2008 Des Arc team, which advanced to the Class 2A state championship game where it lost to Junction City.

“You can’t dwell on the last play,” Harper said. “You have to move on to the most important play, the next one. That’s the attitude this team has taken.”

Malvern (10-3) beat Clinton 48-35 last Friday. Devin Shaw rushed for 129 yards and 3 touchdowns on 12 carries, while Monte Hernandez had 145 yards on 21 carries. Trace Collie completed 10 of 17 passes for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Harper said Friday’s game is evenly matched. Malvern is averaging 37.9 points per game to Mena’s 36.6, and the Leopards are allowing 21.1 points per game while Mena is giving up 22.2.

Mena hasn’t played for a state championship since 1976, when it beat Arkadelphia. Malvern is trying to reach its first state championship game since 2011.

“We need to play extremely hard and not make too many mistakes,” Harper said. “Some of the breaks have to go our way to beat a great football team like them again. They’ve seemed to get better all year.”