The
6AAA Conference is the home of one great team, two very good teams and five
other squads who will fight it out for the one remaining playoff berth in
2003.
In
the time it takes to say “Pulaski Academy,” the Bruins should sew up their fifth
consecutive conference championship. Yet, the golden ring has been eluding the
Bruins. It’s caused enough consternation to bring about frustrations and a
changing of the guard after head coach Kirby Norwood led the school from the
ranks of the unknown to a total of 87 victories in a 10-year
period.
Kevin Kelley inherited seven starters on both sides of
the football and a roster that more closely resembles a college coach’s
recruiting list. Stephen Green, Matt Stoltz, Jonathan Luigs, Adam Thrash and
John Rees could all find their way onto college football fields in the coming
years. But before they become Saturday afternoon college stars, there is a
Saturday the Bruins have circled on their
calendars.
That’s Saturday, Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m. – the date and
time of the Class AAA State Championship game at War Memorial
Stadium.
It
really shouldn’t matter what team the Bruins play that day. PA will be the
favorite, having readied itself by playing the likes of Springdale, Stuttgart
and Warren – all three defending or potential state champs in their own
right.
After seven games the Bruins can’t avoid – against teams
from the 6AAA Conference – the drive will begin to the school’s first
state-championship football game.
If
Kelley can win it, he won’t get all the credit because of Norwood’s previous
success and the caliber of players at PA. If Kelley does not win it, then it
will be obvious that the hex that has kept the Bruins from reaching their goal
has not been broken.
Padding behind the Bruins will be Brinkley, a stout
championship contender in any other league in the state, and Central Arkansas
Christian.
Brinkley returns nine players on both sides of the
football from a club that went 8-4 last year. The Tigers also advanced as far
into the playoffs as the jinxed Bruins, who bowed out in the second
round.
CAC
may have turned the corner in 2002, posting its first winning season since an
8-2 campaign – the school’s best record ever – in
1993.
Lonoke, based on its tradition that includes the most
playoff wins among the current group of 6AAA teams, has the inside track to grab
the final playoff spot ahead of DeWitt, Bald Knob and Marianna, which brings
back all but two starters on both sides of the
football.
Here’s how RPS sees the 6AAA race stacking
up:
7-0 Pulaski Academy
5-2 Brinkley
5-2 Central Arkansas Christian
3-4 Lonoke
2-5 Bald Knob
2-5 Marianna
2-5 DeWitt
0-7 England