By John R. Schirmer
News-Leader staff
The Dover Pirates will visit Scrapper Stadium Friday night for the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Dover (7-3, 4-3) is the fifth seed from District 4-4A.
The Scrappers (10-0, 7-0) are the one seed from District 7-4A. They are ranked number one in Class 4A by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and number 10 in the state overall by the Democrat-Gazette.
The Pirates’ 4-3 conference mark is “an impressive record for a five seed,” Scrapper Coach Mike Volarvich said.
“They’re a five seed that has a win over the one seed in their conference,” Volarvich said. “One of their losses was by 1 touchdown. They lost one in overtime. They lost to Ozark [43-29] last Friday night. They’re a good football team.
The Pirates’ offense is Wing T based, Volarvich said, but they will “get into some other things with their receivers.”
Dover also likes to give the ball to the team’s leading rusher, fullback Ben Dale.
Receiver Jacob Sharp (6-2, 195) is a “big play guy. He also plays safety,” according to Volarvich. Sharp finished third in the state in the 100-m last year with a time of 11.2. “He’s made a bunch of big plays for them.”
Quarterback Seth Cheak (6-3,240) also plays defensive end. “He’s a good football player,” Volarvich said.
Defensively, Dover operates from a 3-4 “that’s similar to what we play. They have some blitz guys who apply lots of pressure.”
For the season to date, Dover has averaged 32.9 points per game while allowing 18.9.
The Scrappers average 56.7 points per game while giving up 27.3.
The Pirates face a 3-hour bus ride to Nashville, while the Scrappers “are excited about being at home. I hope we have a good turnout,” Volarvich said. “I know it will be a good game.”
Nashville and Dover have met only one other time, a 32-13 Scrapper victory in 2002.
The game will be broadcast on KMTB, 99.5 FM, in Nashville and online at www.southwestarkansasradio.com
Livestreaming will be available by going to the Nashville School District website at www.nashvillesd.com and following the link for Scrapper TV.
