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PREP RALLY PLAYOFF: 31 HACKETT Smith poses biggest threat to Hornets' playoff run Hackett (4-5) kept it's 13-year playoff appearance streak alive aer dominating J.C. Westside, 46-14, in the last game of the season, but for a team that has dropped a couple of close games, he knew there was no guarantee the Hornets would make the playoffs. Hester just appreciates the chance to be back, he said. "It's still good to be playing Week 11," Hester said. "Some kids are lacing up their basketball shoes right now, while we're still playing football." Hester thinks his team's record does not accurately reflect the level they've been playing, and he's preparing his team mentally for Hackett's matchup against Mountain Pine (7-3) on Friday night. But Hester knows the Red Devils will be one of the most complete teams, his Hornets have faced this season, he said. "ey're a good ball club," Hester said. "ey're athletic, they have good size. ey're going to be a real quality opponent." Hester's biggest focus headed into the matchup is stopping Mountain Pine's quarterback, Collin Smith. e senior totaled 30 touchdowns and almost 2,000 yards from scrimmage this season at the helm of the Red Devils' offense. "We're going to have to stop their quarterback. ey revolve around him," Hester said. "We can't let that quarterback get away from us." Whoever comes out on top in the game will face the winner between Des Arc and Magnet Cove, who Hackett lost to in the playoffs last year. — Alex Nicoll • Special to the NWA Democrat-Gazette MAGAZINE Run-heavy offenses expected to dominate Magazine coach Doug Powell knows that when he takes the field against the Carlisle Bison (4-5-1) in the first round of the Class 2A, it's going to be like looking into a mirror. "We're very similar in kind of some of the things we want to do," Powell said. "Neither one of us are going to come out, spread it out and just throw it." at's why he expects the matchup to be a tightly contested one and a short one at that if both teams can get their ground games going, he said. e Rattlers have won four straight at home, which bodes well for a streaking team like the Bison, which had a four- game win streak before losing to Earle, 36-20, last Friday night. Magazine has gone 2-2 in their last four games and is coming off a shutout of Western Yell County Powell was pleased with how the Rattlers (5-4) played overall this season, but thinks they have sometimes struggled with consistency, an issue he knows will have to be fixed before they face Carlisle. "I think our record reflects that: we were good enough to beat our conference champion and then turn around and lose to our five seed," Powell said. But Powell can't stress to his players enough about what is at stake if they lose, he said. "ere is no tomorrow," Powell said. e winner will face Foreman (8-1, 6-1), which received a bye aer finishing with the second-best record in Class 2A, in the next round. — Alex Nicoll • Special to the NWA Democrat-Gazette LAVACA Golden Arrows searching for consistency Lavaca coach Brian Schlinker said his team will be looking to find the spark it had three weeks ago when the Golden Arrows travel to Conway Christian for their first- round playoff game on Friday. Lavaca downed Magazine 34-24 three weeks ago on the road, but finished the season with losses to Hackett and Hector. e Golden Arrows played Class 3A Lamar's JV last Friday in a tune-up since Decatur decided to play eight-man football this season. Schlinker said he was able to give several starters a chance to heal up, but also lost Alex Dugan, a receiver/defensive end, to a knee injury. e Golden Arrows (4-5) have been up and down throughout the season, Schlinker said. But he's hoping to find the same effort on Friday that he saw against Magazine. "I was very excited about where we were headed," Schlinker said. "I thought we played Hector well in the rain. Hackett was pretty rough. We didn't play well on either side of the ball. We want to find that Magazine team again. "We had a confidence level going into that game and played physical on both sides of the ball that night." ey get a Conway Christian (8-2) team, which Schlinker said will present quite a challenge. "We're gonna have our hands full," Schlinker said. "ey have a quarterback and a running back who both run the ball well. e quarterback is also very accurate. He's a patient kid, who doesn't get rattled." Seniors Jimmy Hall and Tyler Armistead have been keys to the Lavaca offense. Hall has thrown for 804 yards and ran for 150 more. Armistead has run for a team-high 760 yards and nine touchdowns to go with 74 tackles and 4.5 sacks from his linebacker position. — Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB COURTESY PHOTO Hackett quarterback Brady Hester will lead the Hornets into a Class 2A playoff game Friday night at Mountain Pine. CLASS 2A FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2018 "Tomorrow's Technology Today" 479-242-0000 Proud Supporter of the Lavaca Athletic Department Good Luck Golden Arrows!