SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS PREVIEWS
Nashville (8-3) vs. Booneville (9-1)
SITE, TIME: Bearcat Stadium, 7 p.m. AT STAKE: Advancing to the 4A quarterfinals. LAST WEEK: Nashville throttled Monticello, 47-7, while Booneville received a first round bye. GAME
FACTS: The Scrappers lead the series 3-00. This is the eighth playoff meeting between these schools, with Nashville holding a 4-3 advantage. Nashville averages 49.0 points per game and 505 yards per game. Senior receiver Domonick Kight leads the Scrapper receivers with 2,772 yards and 26 touchdowns. Nashville hasn't allowed a point on defense in the second half this month. Junior Jordan White has 110 tackles for Nashville and sophomore Issac Johnson has collected 88 tackles. Booneville has won nine straight games, after falling in the season-opener to Pea Ridge. Junior Carson Ray has rushed for almost 600 yards and senior Brandon Ulmer has passed for 700 yards for Booneville.
COACH’S COMMENTS:
Nashville's Mike Volarvich— “We're excited for the opportunity to be able to play in the second round of the playoffs. I felt we played a good game against Monticello last week. Our guys are excited for the chance to get to move on. They run a double-wing, which always presents problems. We have to concentrate on stopping the run and limiting the amount of snaps they have to run the ball. Booneville is a very physical team and they have some guys who are explosive. Their quarterback is a good athlete and runs their offense really well. We need to not allow them any big plays and come up with a couple big plays ourselves.
One thing we've talked to our team about is controlling the ball. We can't waste any scoring opportunities, because Booneville does a great job of ball control. As long as limit the number of big plays they have, we should be in good shape.”
NEXT ROUND: Winner will play either Pea Ridge or Hamburg in the 4A quarterfinals.
Ashdown (8-3) vs. Pocahontas (6-5)
SITE, TIME: Dick Hayes Stadium, 7 p.m. AT STAKE: Advancing to the 4A quarterfinals. LAST WEEK: Ashdown defeated Trumann, 28-7. Pocahontas beat Dumas, 56-16. GAME FACT S :
Pocahontas lead this series 1- 00. Pocahontas quarterback Devon Adams has rushed for 1,381 yards and passed for 1,821 yards this season. Ashdown senior Tre Green has rushed for more than 1,200 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. Senior defender Alex Day has amassed 130 tackles this season. COACH’S COMMENTS: Ashdown's Matt Richardson— “We've had a great week of preparation and we're excited to play at home. I know our kids our excited to play a home playoff game and represent our town. It's going to be a great environment in front of our home fans. Offensively, our quarterback has gotten better every week. He's 14 years old but he has done a great job for us and I'm really proud of him. This is his third start but he really has a good grasp of the offense. Defensively, we've done a good job. Alex Day is up for Player of the Year in the state. Day does a good job of his pre-snap reads and if he's in the game for us, we have a shot.
We have to be more athletic than Pocahontas. We have to take advantage of our scoring opportunities. If your more athletic, you have a chance to run and make bigger plays in the open field.”
NEXT ROUND: Winner will play either Southside of Arkadelphia in the 4A quarterfinals.
Prescott (11-1) vs. Osceola (9-2)
SITE, TIME: Seminole Stadium, 7 p.m.
AT STAKE: Advancing to the 3A quarterfinals.
LAST WEEK: Prescott defeated Piggott, 30-16, and Osceloa beat Cedar Ridge, 52-7.
GAME FACTS: This is the first meeting between these two schools. Osceloa won its first playoff game since 2014 last week. Osceola's nine wins are the most for the school since 2009, when the Seminoles finished 11-21. Prescott won its sixth straight playoff game last week. Prescott has won 10 or more games
the past consecutive four years. COACH’S COMMENTS: Prescott's Tommy Poole— “I haven't traveled to East Arkansas in a few years. You can't really prepare for a 4-hour trip on the bus during the regular season. We have to stick to our gameplan and show up ready to play. We're confident in our preparations, we just have to go out and execute. We have to be us and do what we do well. We know what they like to do and we have to attack them in certain areas. Two good teams are playing, so it will come down to who makes the fewest mistakes. Speed can hurt any team, but our defense can run pretty well themselves. I think we're suited to defend what they do offensively. As long as we execute and stay on our assignments, we'll be fine.”
NEXT ROUND: Winner will play Charleston or Barton in the quarterfinals.
Foreman (9-1) vs. Bearden (7-4)
SITE, TIME: Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
AT STAKE: Advancing to the 2A quarterfinals. LAST WEEK: Foreman blanked Clarendon, 52- 0, and Bear den defeated McCrory , 42-22. GAME FACT S : Bearden leads the series 2-00. Foreman senior C.J. Green is averaging 13.4 yards per carry and sophomore Issac Carver is averaging 9.0 yards per carry. Foreman junior Kyren Batey has rushed for 1,132 yards and 20 touchdowns this season. Bearden senior Tyler Berry has rushed for nine touchdowns and 757 yards with a average of 4.1 yards per carry. COACH’S COMMENTS: Foreman's Mark King—“It's going to be a battle, because Bearden is peaking at the right time. Earlier in the season, they had a lot of injuries but they've got all of their players back. They have very athletic quarterback, so it should be a great matchup. Anytime you can play at home for a playoff game, it's a plus. It's going be a great environment there in The Swamp, so it should be an advantage for us.
We're going to keep the same offensive gameplan, although we may change a few things on defense. We plan to dance with what brought us.” NEXT ROUND: Winner will play either Danville or Rison in the quarterfinals.
Mineral Springs (5-6) vs. Earle (8-1)
SITE, TIME: Bulldog Stadium, 7 p.m.
AT STAKE: Advancing to the 2A quarterfinals.
LAST WEEK: Mineral Springs defeated Hampton, 18-14, while Earle received a first round bye. GAME FACTS: This is the first meeting between these two schools. Mineral Springs running back Tahji Beale has rushed for 900 yards this season. Mineral Springs quarterback Peyton Haddan has passed for 1,500 yards. Mineral Springs defense held Hampton to 221 yards rushing and 12 yards passing. COACH’S COMMENTS: Mineral Springs' David Bennett—“Both of us have been playing well as of late. They have a really good quarterback but they also have other players besides him. Their well coached and the defense is really aggressive. It should be a good ball game. We have to tackle well and keep their athletes in front of us. I think if we continue to play well and cover our receivers, we should be in good shape. If their quarterback plans to tuck the ball and run, we have to cover that as well.”
NEXT ROUND: Winner will play either Salem or Palestine-Wheatley in the quarterfinals.