PressHughes Coach James Wright says he will try to hurry up Pulaski Academy quarterback Thomas Thrash and hope that will be enough to disrupt the talented senior.
"We can't give him any time at all," Wright said. "If we give him as much as 10 seconds after he takes a snap, it is going to be too much time. We will have to get somebody in his face and keep somebody in his face for the entire game."
Thrash has the chance to become the nation's all-time leader for single season touchdown passes tonight. He enters the game with 64 this season and needs two to tie the record of 66 held by former Shiloh Christian quarterback Josh Floyd, set in 1998. Three will be a new record. Thrash is on course to finish near 100 TD passes.
Facing Pulaski Academy and one of the state's premier passers in Thrash in tonight's first-round Class AAA playoff game appears to be a tall order for the Blue Devils.
Wright, however, likes his team's chances against the pass-happy Bruins.
""We will load up and go play the game," Wright said. "These kids know they will have to play hard but they have done that all year. We didn't do just a whole lot this week. We have some kids who are banged up and are trying to get healthy."
The Blue Devils will be taking the field minus three regulars tonight, Lonnie Smith, Chris Davis and Jerome Thomas.
Hughes, the No. 4 seed from the 6AAA Conference, is making the playoffs for the first time since the 1998 season when they faced and lost to McGehee in the first round.
While there are no national records at stake for any of the Hughes' players, the team would like to give their sophomore running back Andre Walker a chance to turn in big numbers tonight -- and to get an upset win.
Pulaski Academy, the No. 1 seed from the 5AAA Conference, reached the second round of the playoffs a year ago, before losing to Fordyce 29-25.
THE GAME: The Hughes Blue Devils (5-4; 3-3 6AAA) vs the Pulaski Academy Bruins (10-0; 6-0 5AAA) Friday, Nov. 9, at Rector Field in Little Rock. Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m. Pulaski Academy is ranked No. 2 in Class AAA.
The Palestine-Wheatley Patriots had their problems in last week's regular season finale against Salem, losing to the Greyhounds and losing their grip on second place in the 3AA Conference as well.
Turnovers hurt the Pats against Salem.
Coach Terry Farmer isn't worried as his Patriots head into tonight's Class AA first-round playoff game against the Hazen Hornets.
"These kids have to dig down tonight and find another level," Farmer said. "We have done everything we're supposed to do to prepare. When this bunch plays hard and avoids the turnovers they win football games."
The Patriots are in the playoffs for the second straight year and for the first time since the 1996 season, P-W is facing a team other than Barton, even though Farmer says in some ways, Hazen resembles Barton.
Tonight marks the Patriots fourth trip to postseason since the '96 season when they drew Altheimer. In 1997 it was Barton and again last year it was Barton.
Picked as a preseason third-place team in the 3AA, that's exactly where the Patriots finished and will take that No. 3 seed against the Hornets, the No. 2 seed from the 6AA.
The Hornets recovered from a dismal 3-6-1 season a year ago to win eight ball games and a playoff berth. They run the ball and will put the ball in the air. Not as quick as most of the teams the Patriots have faced this season, the Hornets are similar to conference opponent Rector in their style of play.
"Hazen will run hard and have that kind of size," Farmer said. "They're not bigger than us."
Farmer said there are some walking wounded still, including leading rusher Ray Gardner. But all will play if the Patriots have designs on reaching round two and possible matchup against Shiloh Christian.
The Patriots have never gotten past the first round of the playoffs.
THE GAME: The Palestine-Wheatley Patriots (7-3; 5-2 3AA) vs the Hazen Hornets (8-2; 7-1 6AA) Friday, Nov. 9, at Hornet Stadium. Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m. Neither team is ranked.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
WHEATLEY -- Curtis Allen scored 10 points, including two three-pointers and the Palestine-Wheatley Junior Patriots easily advanced to the boys' championship game by taking a 34-28 win over Holly Grove Thursday at the Wheatley Invitational Junior High Tournament.
Taking the floor without head coach Terry Clardy, who was away due to a death in the family, the Junior Patriots raced to an 11-0 lead in the first period.
They led 22-10 at the half and 29-16 to start the fourth period.
Holly Grove cut P-W's lead to 10 points with 3:43 to play and got within eight points, 33-25 with one minute remaining.
The Junior Patriots will go against Brinkley Saturday at approximately 9 p.m.
Brinkley got by McCrory 52-43 Thursday.
Tony Huntley added seven points for Palestine-Wheatley while Fred Leak had five and Rashun Barnes, Osas Oyara and Elisha Duncan each finished with four points as the Junior Patriots improve to 1-0 for the year.
Darwin Mayo led Holly Grove with 10 points while Courtney Davis added eight.
The McCrory Junior Lady Jaguars advanced to Saturday's championship game by steam-rolling Brinkley 36-19 Thursday night at the Wheatley Invitational Junior High Tournament.
McCrory, led by Jordan Long's 18 points, will take on Holly Grove at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Holly Grove advanced to the championship game by way of a 39-19 win over the Palestine-Wheatley Junior Lady Patriots.
Brinkley and Palestine-Wheatley will play Saturday at 5 p.m.
McCrory, 2-0, led 25-4 at the half after holding Brinkley scoreless in the first period.
Lindsey Wampler added nine points for McCrory while Tabitha Miller helped out with eight points.
Brinkley got 10 points from Dominque Jordan.
The Junior Lady Jaguars are coached by former Forrest City coach Scott Davis.
Against Holly Grove, the Junior Lady Patriots, under first-year coach Lanny Allen, stayed close for one period but fell into a scoring slump as Holly Grove began to pull away in the second period, building an 18-11 lead at the half.
Holly Grove pushed their lead to 23-11 with 1:44 left in the third period and started the fourth period holding a 27-13 edge.
P-W managed just six more points in the fourth period while Holly Grove struck for 12.
Shala Packs and Janeesa Moore each scored 10 points to lead Holly Grove while Bernice Sparkman led the Junior Lady Patriots with six points. Tonisha Wynne added five points while Fallon Parker, Lauren Dover, Jamie Posey and Whitney Smith each scored two points.
Pressby FRED CONLEY
The Hughes Blue Devils seem to be making a habit of figuring into national record-setting (or breaking, as the case may be) scenarios.
Tonight, the Blue Devils have the chance to once again become a participant in an event of national importance.
Tonight the Blue Devils face Pulaski Academy in the first round of the Class AAA state football playoffs.
P.A. is led by senior quarterback Thomas Thrash, who is just two touchdown passes shy of setting a national single-season record.
Thrash has thrown 64 scoring passes this year in leading the Bruins to a 10-0 season. The national record, set in 1998, is 66.
That mark, in all likelihood, will be rewritten tonight against the Blue Devils.
It was also back in 1998 that the Blue Devils had their name put into the history books when they ended Barton's national record of 111 consecutive high school football victories with a 30-28 win over the Bears.
The game will be played at Rector Field, home of the Bruins, in Little Rock.
First-year Palestine-Wheatley basketball coach, Lanny Allen (son of superintendent Jimmy) got his first victory last night in the Wheatley Invitational Tournament.
But it wasn't exactly the win he thought he would get.
Allen is the head coach for the P-W junior girls' basketball team, which lost their season-opening game last night to Holly Grove.
Allen had thought going into the game his Junior Lady Patriots would be able to get the victory.
He has the talent, the size and the speed to get it done this year. This, he knew, after spending the past couple of months working with the girls.
What Allen didn't expect was having to fill in as coach-for-a-night with the P-W Junior Patriots in their season-opening game against Holly Grove.
Allen was forced into double duty when Junior Patriot coach Terry Clardy was called away from his duties this week, due to a death in his family.
Not knowing anything about the Junior Patriots, except having worked with many of the kids in football this past season, Allen watched the team take a big win over Holly Grove to advance to Saturday's championship game against Brinkley.
"I hadn't even seen them on the practice floor," Allen said. "I know a little about what Coach Clardy runs but nothing about how the individual players have been performing in practice."
Actually, the P-W team, more or less coached themselves. With Allen still in a post game meeting with his junior girls as the boys game started, the P-W team selected their own starting five and team captains and even after Allen made his way to the bench, called several of their own substitutions.
At any rate, Allen came away from Thursday's opening night at 1-1 for the year.
Allen may have been the sitting coach on the bench with the junior high Patriots Thursday, but he had plenty of help.
P-W junior high football coach Dan Cockrell, who was serving as time keeper for the tournament, couldn't help but offer his assistance at various time during the Junior Patriots' game.
Cockrell could be heard coaching from the scorers table.
And everyone thought he was just a football coach.