Elks try out turf at War Memorial Stadium
It's
a Halloween treat to get to play in the state's most prestigious football
stadium and that's where the Elkins Elks will be Friday night when they take on
7AA-West Conference upstart Spring Hill.
To write this is Elkins' only
opportunity to play at WMS is a bit presumptuous. Yet, to say the Elks will be
back for a December date in Little Rock is a lot more presumptuous.
The Class
AA playoff picture is crowded with very good football teams at the top. Junction
City is a juggernaut that has yet to put up less than 42 points in a game;
Barton is a traditional powerhouse that has yet to score less than 36 points in
a game; And Charleston is on its way to winning a 1AA Conference crown for the
sixth time in seven years.
Throw in the Risons, Gurdons and Hectors, and
Class AA has a mix of strong teams that will make up the better part of the
final eight teams in the 32-team field.
Elkins can be there, too. The Elks
lost only by a field goal to Charleston. They proved last year that they can
beat any of the also-rans in the playoff field and, given a better second-round
draw - Elkins lost at Rison last year - the Elks can make some noise.
And
then, who knows?
A couple more wins and, voila!, you're playing in War
Memorial Stadium again.
Friday's game against Spring Hill will be good for
everybody involved.
Elkins vs. Spring Hill
Kickoff: 7:30
p.m. at War Memorial Stadium
Records: Coach Aaron Clark (21-20) has
the Elks rolling along at 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the 1AA Conference. The Spring
Hill Bears are in just their second year of playing varsity football. Coached by
Tommy Poole (3-14) and members of the 7AA-West Conference, the Bears are 2-5
overall and 2-4 in league play.
The series: This is the first meeting
of the two teams.
Last year: This game replaces Westside (Johnson
County) on Elkins' schedule. The Elks bettered Westside, 42-7, in a game which
Elkins was picked to win by 26 points.
Notable
stats: Elkins' rushing game has put up good numbers,
1,629 total yards and 21 touchdowns. Last week, the Elks clicked through the
air. Rusty Tate was 7-of-8 for a career-high 189 yards. Josh Gage and Ryan
Finkus both doubled their receptions for the year. Gage caught three for 82
yards and Finkus grabbed two passes for 69 yards.
Outlook: Spring
Hill's program is still in its infancy, but the Bears doubled last year's win
total and won a game they can really hang their hat on last week. Spring Hill
knocked off 7AA-West Conference titan Mineral Springs, 28-20, in double overtime
to improve to 2-5 on the season.
Elkins unveiled its balance, using big
passing plays to romp past Hackett last week. The Elks appeared to be no worse
for wear following a 24-21 loss to Charleston. Yet, Elkins did give up more that
200 yards on the ground for the second consecutive week. Opponents have gained
1,070 rushing yards against Elkins in seven outings, averaging 3.9 yards per
carry.
RPS Bottom Line: Spring Hill is not a playoff-caliber team, but
they did beat one last week. Caleb Askew scored two touchdowns and rushed for
163 yards to lead the Bears. He might find some running room at War Memorial
Stadium, but not as much as what the Elks' offensive line will create
... Elkins 27, Spring Hill
14.
Pea Ridge at
Lavaca
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at
Jimmy B. Hobbs Memorial Stadium
Records: Coach Mike Harrod (15-12-1)
has the Blackhawks at 5-2 overall and alone in third place at 4-1 in the 1AA
Conference. Lavaca coach Mark Headley (9-10) is in his second year with the
Golden Arrows. Lavaca is 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the league.
The
series: Lavaca had won all four meetings against the Blackhawks, dating back
to a 1978 victor. But Pea Ridge buried the hex with last year's 46-43 victory at
Blackhawk Stadium.
Last year: Pea Ridge trailed Lavaca, 29-6, in the
second quarter, but rallied to behind Joey Wiltgen's 230-yard effort and 108
more yards and two touchdowns from Brett Reynolds.
Notable stats: In six
of their seven games, the Pea Ridge Blackhawks have gained more than 300 yards
on the ground. Last week against Cedarville, the Blackhawks had a season-high
456 yards shared among nine different ball carriers. Ryan Burnett led the way
with seven rushes for 159 yards. He now has 1,122 yards and 15 rushing
touchdowns this season.
Outlook: When they met at this time last year,
Pea Ridge had qualified for the playoffs. The Blackhawks played a lackluster
first quarter and a half and then played like they were capable to beat the
Golden Arrows.
This time around, Class AA's 14th-ranked Blackhawks are not
in.
In fact, Lavaca can atone for last week's loss to Mountainburg and sneak
into the playoff picture by beating Pea Ridge. A win over the Blackhawks would
likely produce a three-way tie for third with Pea Ridge, Lavaca and
Mountainburg. Lavaca needs a 7-point victory to move ahead of Pea Ridge in
tie-breaking points. Mountainburg needs that same 7-point margin over either
Charleston or Hackett.
Pea Ridge would then be knocked out of the playoffs.
The Blackhawks also fall out of the playoff picture with two losses and two
Mountainburg wins.
RPS Bottom Line: Lavaca
used to have Pea Ridge's number, but last year's come-from-behind win by the
Blackhawks tossed any notions of a hex aside. Pea Ridge doesn't need pressure to
win next week when the 'Hawks go to Charleston. The need to take care of
business tonight and not leave anything up to somebody else ... Pea Ridge 25,
Lavaca 18.
AAAA-West
Conference
Huntsville at Siloam
Springs
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at
Glenn W. Black Stadium
Records: Huntsville is
3-5 overall and stands at 1-4 in the AAAA-West Conference. The Eagles are
coached by Ken Harriman, who is in the second year of his second stint with the
team and owns a 73-52-1 record. The Siloam Springs Panthers (0-7-1) are coached
by Chris McBride, who is 3-14-1 in his second year as head coach. The Panthers
are 0-5 in AAAA-West Conference action.
The series: The two teams
spent four years together in the same conference from 1981-84 and then continued
to play annually for the next six seasons. When they were last in the 1AAA
Conference together, the two schools had split four games. From 1985-90, the
bigger school, Siloam Springs, won five of six meetings.
Last year:
Huntsville was a 2-point favorite, but Siloam Springs came into Madison County
and took a 24-14 victory from the Eagles.
Notable
stats: On the ground, Siloam Springs has gained just one
more yard than Huntsville, 1,249-1,249, despite rushing 76 more times than the
Eagles. Through the air, Huntsville owns better than a 1,000-yard cushion.
Bracken Thompson has thrown for more than 1,500 yards this season while neither
of Siloam Springs' quarterbacks has reached 300 yards
passing.
Outlook: Strange how
this one could be looked at as another win for Huntsville. After all, Huntsville
has won three games this season and, as noted above, demonstrates more balance
in its offense.
What the Eagles have not shown, though, is much ability to
slow down good opposing offenses. If the opponent has had any kind of might in
its front line, the Eagles have not been up to the test this year. An 0-7-1
record might indicate, initially, that Siloam Springs falls below par on a scale
of "mightiness" but the Panthers' losses have proven otherwise.
As McBride
noted following last week's loss at Harrison, the Panthers would have a much
better record if the games were over at halftime.
RPS Bottom Line:
Coming of a resounding victory over Clarksville, Huntsville has something that
Siloam Springs lacks: Confidence. Siloam Springs is probably the better football
team despite the records. Based on the Panthers' past outings, though, it
appears Siloam Springs will have to win this game twice - in the first half and
again in the second half ...
Siloam Springs 21, Huntsville 19.
No. 25 Harrison at No. 38 Greenwood
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
at Smith-Robinson Stadium
Records: Harrison (8-0, 5-0) is ranked
No. 5 in Class AAAA and battles under the guidance of Tom Tice, who is 178-62-5
with the Golden Goblins. Greenwood coach Harv Welch (22-9) is in his third year
with the Bulldogs. Greenwood (7-1, 5-0) lost only to Fayetteville with Harrison
and Alma still on the schedule.
The series: Harrison is
10-5 against Greenwood since the two teams joined together in the same
conference back in 1989. There is one extra meeting, a 1999 confrontation that
Harrison won, 30-13, en route to the Class AAAA state title.
Last
year: Harrison pulled out a 17-14 at Crooked Creek, spoiling Greenwood's 5-0
conference record. The Bulldogs lost the following week, too, and ended up the
No. 3 seed from the AAAA-West Conference.
Notable stats: Senior
fullback Justin McCutcheon ran for 145 yards on 15 carries and scored on
third-quarter touchdown runs of 4 and 25 yards as Harrison rebounded from a 3-0
deficit to defeat Siloam Springs, 21-3.
Outlook: Despite the distance
between the two towns, this has been a somewhat heated rivalry. Harrison won the
first five meetings (1989-93) and the teams have split 10 games since that
time.
Harrison's stock has slowly dwindled in the past month, however. After
opening conference play with a 21-0 whipping of Alma, Harrison stomped
Clarksville. Since then, the Goblins have become somewhat stagnant on offense,
sandwiching 21-7 and 21-3 victories over Greenbrier and Siloam Springs around a
27-19 win over Morrilton.
Greenwood was motoring along, too, until the last
couple of weeks. The Bulldogs needed a 20-point fourth quarter to knock off
Siloam Springs and then barely edged Morrilton, 28-26, last
week.
RPS Bottom Line: This
may have been a case of two teams looking ahead to their clash. Harrison is the
better cold-weather (read: playoff) football team, but Greenwood has the ability
to make good teams look bad a potent attack that has seen the Bulldogs average
close to 37 points per conference outing. Harrison won't be allowing that kind
of fireworks display ... Harrison 20, Greenwood
19.