Warren, Rivercrest set for semifinal matchup
Seven state football championships have been won between Warren and Rivercrest high schools, and they faced off in one of those finals. (Warren won 38-28 in 2002.)
The two programs have combined for eight runner-up finishes and five other semifinal appearances, with Rivercrest getting the last laugh, 55-35 in a 2020 semi.
Just as their history and records this season indicate — Warren is 13-0 and Rivercrest 11-2 — both programs are that good.
“It ain’t nothing new, personally,” said 24th-year Warren Coach Bo Hembree, who grew up not too far from Rivercrest in Osceola. “It’s about the kids. Being in the semifinals, it’s just a big game. You just know what you’re playing for, a chance to go compete and have a chance to compete for a state championship.”
Despite the better overall record, Hembree and the Lumberjacks will have to voyage more than 4 hours almost to the northeastern tip of Arkansas to take on the Colts in a 4A state semifinal at 7 p.m. today at Cortez Kennedy Field, 1700 State Highway 14 in Wilson. (The team either on the top line or with the higher playoff seed in each matchup of an official Arkansas Activities Association bracket hosts through the semifinals.)
The winner will play Harding Academy or Elkins (both 13-0) in the championship game Dec. 9 in Little Rock. Either team will finish unbeaten — or neither will.
Rivercrest, the Conference 4A-3 champion, has won 10 straight after dropping backto-back nonconference games to Mills University Studies and Valley View. The Colts’ defense has been solid in the postseason with shutout wins over Mena and Gravette, and
contained Arkadelphia 3812 while on the road last Friday.
“That was huge,” sixthyear Colts Coach Johnny Fleming said. “That’s where our season ended last year, at Arkadelphia. … Our defense played lights out. We got some interceptions. Anytime you get turnovers, it’s key to winning ballgames.”
The question for Rivercrest now is how to make Warren — which has scored 40 or more points in 10 games this season — cough up the ball.
The Conference 4A-8 champion Lumberjacks have been scoring with precision all season, thanks in no small part to quarterback Jackson Denton. The freshman has 3,181 yards on the season, completing 11 of 13 passes for 247 yards and four touchdown passes in last week’s 45-7 home rout of Ozark.
Denton is among a long list of freshmen who have taken on starting roles under Hembree, including current Tennessee Titans wideout Treylon Burks.
“He’s just young,” Hembree said. “He’s growing every time he takes a snap. The biggest thing where he’s grown is the experience he’s getting every night. Every snap is different, and every snap, he has a chance to gain some experience.”
Antonio Jordan and Neondre Thomas have each pulled in about 1,000 receiving yards this season, with Tramond Miller and Kam Davis each garnering 700 or more yards, according to Hembree. All are juniors.
“That’s really good for a high school football team,” Hembree said.
Senior Treylon Jackson engineers the Lumberjacks’ ground game but also sees plenty of time as a linebacker.
So does Rivercrest senior Koby Turner. He ran for three touchdowns and 170 yards in Arkadelphia.
The Colts are known to control the clock with seniors Marcus Slayton, Michael Rainer (who is listed as a receiver) and Turner. One of their touchdown drives against Arkadelphia went 91 yards in 11 plays.
Having strong offensive and defensive lines doesn’t hurt Rivercrest, either.
“They’re very big. They’re physical up front. They’re very athletic in the secondary,” Hembree said. “It’s a normal Rivercrest team. I grew up around there, and they’ve always had them. They always reload and they never rebuild. That’s been them since the mid-80s. They’ve had a lot of good teams come through there, and this team is no different.”
Fleming is charging his Colts with keeping the Lumberjacks from excelling at both the pass and run.
“You’ve got to take away the big plays,” he said. “That’s where they kill people. We watch film on them, and they’re neck-and-neck with other teams. Then, all of a sudden, they get a punt return for a touchdown, interception for a touchdown, and you can’t catch them.”
Playing in its third semifinal in four years, Warren is going for its eighth trip to the state final, all under Hembree, and first since 2017. Rivercrest is trying for its 10th visit and first since beating Warren three years ago.
“We’ve got to go play,” Hembree said. “We’ve got to take care of the football. We’ve got to find a way to run the football and be able to play-action and do stuff off of that to open up the passing game. We’ve got to be us. We can’t do anything special. We just have to be us and play Warren, Arkansas, football. Our kids have earned the right to be here. They put the work in to earn this right, and now they get a chance to go and see what happens.”