NWADG Prep Rally Football Playoff

2018

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24 PREP RALLY PLAYOFF: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2018 CLASS 4A Arkansas-Pine Bluff and a handful of Division II schools in Arkansas. "ey're bigger than us, that's been the norm for us all season," Lincoln coach Don Harrison said. "ey're a team that capitalizes on team's mistakes, so we've got to be able to execute." Friday's game will mark Lincoln's first playoff appearance since 2013, when the Wolves advanced to the third round before being eliminated by Booneville. "No one predicted us to be 8-2 at the start of the year," Lincoln coach Don Harrison said. "at's a testament to our players, who've shown resiliency and kept a great attitude all season long." Lincoln will carry plenty of momentum into the game aer defeating Prairie Grove 59-48 in a high-scoring game. Senior quarterback Caleb Lloyd fired four touchdown passes, including three to senior Sterling Morphis, who also had an interception in the game. Lloyd enters the playoffs with 1,727 yards passing with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. Morphis leads the Wolves with 42 catches for 619 yards and 12 touchdowns and he's also intercepted five passes from his position in the secondary. e Wolves add balance in the backfield with Christian Sellers and Chris Crittendon, who've each rushed for over 400 yards this year. — Rick Fires • @NWARick PRAIRIE GROVE Tigers face tough test on road Prairie Grove faces an uphill challenge in the playoffs aer finishing fourth in the 4A-1 Conference. e Tigers open postseason play at Lonoke Friday with the winner advancing to a second-round game at Ozark, the champions of the 4A-4 Conference. Prairie Grove (5-5) should be eager to get back onto the field aer losing 59-48 to Lincoln in a game that decided the third-place seed in the 4A-1 Conference. e loss was the first for the Tigers against Lincoln in 22 years. e Tigers hope for a better defensive performance, especially in the passing game aer getting burned for four touchdowns last week by quarterback Caleb Lloyd and receiver Sterling Morphis. "We couldn't cover Morphis and we couldn't stop Caleb Lloyd running or throwing the football," Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier said. "He was spot- on with his passes. We also made more mistakes than Lincoln and they were able to capitalize on them." Lonoke (5-5) is in the playoffs for the first time in four years. e Jackrabbits are a run-oriented team with three players who gained between 767 and 589 yards on the season. Junior Davonta Adams leads the team with 767 yards and seven touchdowns. Lonoke earned a home playoff game last week with a 33-8 victory over Riverview. "Lonoke is athletic and they have decent size," Abshier said. "ey run, mostly, but they'll also throw it and we have to be ready." Prairie Grove will rely offensively on senior Garrett Heltemes, who scored four touchdowns against Lincoln and has over 1,200 yards rushing this season. — Rick Fires • @NWARick GENTRY Pioneers coach knows Mena counterpart Gentry coach Paul Ernest said he wasn't too surprised when he found out his team would travel to Mena — a team the Pioneers haven't played since 2001 — for its first-round playoff game this week. e Pioneers (3-7) appeared to be headed to another game with Dardanelle, a team Gentry played to open the season. Mena (7-3) changed that last week when the Bearcats knocked off Dardanelle, 28-14, and took the No. 2 seed out of the 4A-4 Conference. "I knew we could be considered an underdog, whoever we were going to play," Ernest said. "I know (Mena coach) Tim Harper well. He and I go back to the early 2000s, when both of us were coaching Class 2A schools. "Mena has a young team, but they have won five straight games now. It was a little surprising that Mena played Dardanelle, but Mena played a heck of a game. What Mena does, both on offense and defense, can cause teams some trouble." At least the travel won't be as bad for Gentry this time around. e trip to Mena is about 160 miles and can be done in less than 3 hours, unlike last year's playoff game when Gentry had to travel around 4 1/2 miles to play Batesville Southside. "e distance will be much better," Ernest said. "is time, we won't have to charter a bus to go there. We also had a pretty good following at last year's game, and we're hoping our fans will make the trip to watch. "is year, we're going to try to get the kids more relaxed and let them realize there are a lot of good teams in the playoffs. We don't want to press them too much and just let the chips fall where they may." — Henry Apple • @ NWAHenry NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE/ANDY SHUPE Pea Ridge quarterback Carson Rhine (10) breaks away from Prairie Grove safety Kaine Caswell (3) and defensive end Garrett Heitemes. Pea Ridge, the No. 2 seed from the 4A-1 Conference, will host Helena-West Helena in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. Prairie Grove, the No. 4 seed from the 4A-1, will travel to Lonoke.

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