High school football report

Parkview enjoying success

Little Rock Parkview is enjoying its best season in more than a decade.

Coach Brad Bolding has the Patriots at 7-1 overall, including a 4-1 record in the 6A-East Conference, this season.

Bolding and the Patriots will host Class 6A defending state champion Searcy on Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock in the school's first home playoff game since Nov. 13, 2009.

"It's really exciting," Bolding said. "Anytime we can play at the stadium is good for our kids. It's a good environment, and we can get a lot of people in there.

"I expect a good crowd. Searcy is the defending champs. We're expecting them to have a good following."

Parkview is led by a pair of top recruits in senior quarterback Landon Rogers and junior running back James Jointer.

Rogers, an oral commitment to the University of Arkansas, has accounted for 23 touchdowns -- including 17 rushing and 6 passing -- this season. He's rushed for 819 yards and 17 touchdowns on 112 carries, and has also completed 56 of 110 passes for 702 yards with 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

"He's a three-year starter," Bolding said. "He's our bell cow on offense. He doesn't mind taking everyone on his back. He's a man among young men."

Jointer, who has received an offer from Arkansas among other schools, is at 893 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns on 130 carries.

"'He's a big, physical kid," Bolding said. "He's going to be a big-time college football player."

The winner of Friday's game will face 6A-East Conference champion Sylvan Hills or Russellville in the quarterfinals Nov. 20.

Bolding believes the Patriots are ready for the postseason. They're looking to win their first state championship since 1978, the last of a three-year run from 1976-78.

"It's been a great week of practice," Bolding said. "Our kids have been really locked in and executing well. They know the situation they're in."

ARKADELPHIA

Looking to rebound

Arkadelphia lost its first game of the season in its regular-season finale at Malvern on Friday night.

The Badgers (6-1) will look to rebound while hosting Star City (4-4) in a Class 4A play-in round game Friday night, with the winner advancing to the Class 4A first round at Mena.

The Badgers are coming off a 33-25 loss to Malvern. Junior quarterback Braden Thomas threw three touchdown passes, but also had three interceptions.

"We didn't play well [at Malvern]," Arkadelphia Coach Trey Schucker said. "We had four turnovers in the game. We gave up some big plays. We still had a chance to win. I told our guys we're a good football team, but we have to play like it."

Arkadelphia missed three games because of covid-19 against Nashville, Joe T. Robinson and Fountain Lake.

Despite the missed games, Schucker said he's pleased with how the Badgers have developed despite their loss to Malvern.

"Our program has done a good job of overcoming adversity," Schucker said. "It's not easy to be out three weeks with three games in the middle of the season. We had to get back on track."

Arkadelphia has been one of Class 4A's top programs over the past three seasons, winning back-to-back state championships in 2017 and 2018 before making the quarterfinals a year ago.

Schucker, in his first year at Arkadelphia after working as an offensive coordinator at Searcy, believes the Badgers' best football is ahead of them.

"We're all excited to be at home," Schucker said. "We're hopeful we can make a run."

MAGNOLIA

Staying at home

Magnolia takes on Pea Ridge on Friday in the Class 5A play-in round in a matchup of teams on opposite sides of the state.

"I'm glad we're not making that 5 1/2 hour trip," said Coach Mark King, whose Panthers will host Pea Ridge.

It's Magnolia's first home playoff game since 2009. The Panthers finished 6-2 with key victories over Little Rock Christian and El Dorado.

The 2020 season has been an interesting one for Magnolia, which had to miss two games because of covid-19 cases and contact tracing. The Panthers returned Oct. 9 and have won three of four, with victories against Hot Springs, De Queen and Hope.

The winner will face Brookland or Greenbrier in the first round Nov. 20.

King, who is in his second season at Magnolia after leading Foreman to a Class 2A state championship in 2017, said health is going to be a big factor for the Panthers in the playoffs.

"As long as we can keep everybody healthy, we've got a chance," he said.

MAGNET COVE

Second season

Magnet Cove had high expectations for the 2020 season after winning its first outright league championship a year ago.

But the Panthers slumped to a 4-5 record after several key injuries, including to senior running back Landon Stone. He had 2,757 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns last season for the 2A-5 Conference champions, but has played most of this season on a bum right ankle. He has 1,550 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns this year.

Magnet Cove Coach Caleb Carmikle said Stone has played well despite his injury.

"He's as close to full speed as you can get," Carmikle said. "A lot of his numbers are on one leg. Hopefully he'll be healthier."

The Panthers travel to McCrory for a Class 2A first-round game Friday. It's a rematch of last year's second-round game won by Magnet Cove 38-14.

"I'm glad we made it this far," Carmikle said. "If you would've told me back in July we would have made this point, I would've thought you were crazy."

The 2A-5 Conference was the only conference in the state that did not have a single game affected by covid-19.

AAA

Title games set

The Arkansas Activities Association has announced the 2020 high school football state championship game times.

There will be three consecutive Saturdays in December featuring state title games, with matchups on Dec. 5, 12 and 19.

On Dec. 5, Class 7A will be at noon and Class 6A is at 6:30 p.m.

On Dec. 12, Class 5A is scheduled for noon and Class 2A is set for 6:30 p.m.

Class 4A will be at noon Dec. 19, while Class 3A is going to play at 6:30 p.m. on that day.

All games will be at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Last year's state champions were Bryant (Class 7A), Searcy (Class 6A), Pulaski Academy (Class 5A), Joe T. Robinson (Class 4A), Harding Academy (Class 3A) and Fordyce (Class 2A).

EXTRA POINTS

Benton and Marion will meet Friday in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs for the first time since 2011. Marion won the teams' only meeting nine years ago with a 42-33 first-round victory. The winner will face Jonesboro or Van Buren in the Class 6A quarterfinals Nov. 20. ... Greene County Tech is making its first playoff appearance since 2010. The Eagles (6-4, 4-3 5A-East) are hosting Clarksville on Friday in a Class 5A play-in round game. Senior running back David Williams leads Greene County Tech with 1,264 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Friday's winner will travel to Little Rock Christian on Nov. 20 for the first round. ... For the first time in program history, Quitman is hosting a playoff game. The Bulldogs, who started their program in 2008, will host Murfreesboro in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs. Junior quarterback William Litton has completed 128 of 218 passes for 1,899 yards with 17 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. The winner will play East Poinsett County or Johnson County Westside on Nov. 20 in the second round.

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