With the non-conference and conference parts of the schedule completed, the Nashville Scrappers are entering the “third season” – the Class 4A state playoffs.
Nashville and Rivercrest will meet Friday, Nov. 15, at Scrapper Stadium in round one. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The winner will advance to the second round against the winner of Friday’s game between Dardanelle and Bauxite.
The Scrappers enter the playoffs with a record of 9-1 overall, 6-1 in District 7-4A. They’re co-champions with Joe T. Robinson and Arkadelphia and are the 2 seed from 7-4A.
Rivercrest is 7-3 overall, 5-2 in conference.
“We’re glad to have a home game,” Coach Mike Volarvich said of opening the playoffs at Scrapper Stadium. “The big part of being the 2 seed is playing some home games if we take care of business.”
Rivercrest is “a team with a lot of success in its history. When you watch them, you see that they could have been the 1 seed out of their conference. They’re as talented as any of the teams they’ve played,” Volarvich said.
The Colts won 11 games last season and advanced to the state quarterfinals. They had 13 wins in 2017 and won the Class 3A championship.
“They have a good tradition,” Volarvich said. “They’re used to winning.”
The overall playoff record for Rivercrest is 54-32.
Nashville is 83-32 in the playoffs.
The Colts have “a very athletic quarterback who’s able to get yards on the ground and make people miss. Their defense is pretty multiple. They bring a lot of pressure and cause a lot of negative plays,” according to Volarvich.
For the season, Nashville has averaged 394 yards per game total offense, including 158 yards passing and almost 237 rushing.
Scrapper defenders have held their opponents to 238 yards per game, including 94 yards passing and 143 rushing.
Rivercrest averages 298 yards per
game on offense and gives up 227 yards on defense.
Scrapper quarterback Ty Gordon has completed 57 of 95 passes for 976 yards, 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
Rivercrest QB Kam Turner is 56 of 139 for 815 yards, 6 TDs and 5 interceptions.
Carmillias Morrison is the leading rusher for Nashville with 79 carries for 767 yards and 9 touchdowns. Keyshawn Stewart has 104 carries for 717 yards and 12 TDs.
Turner is the Colts’ leading rusher with 146 carries for 808 yards and 11 touchdowns. Keshawn Stewart has run the ball 110 times for 601 yards and 5 TDs.
Ty Basiliere is the leading receiver for Nashville with 25 catches for 631 yards and 9 TDs, including 2 last week against Bauxite.
The leading receiver for the Colts is Scott with 20 receptions for 336 yards and 4 TDs.
The Scrappers’ leading tackler is Devonte Witherspoon with a total of 109.
Easton Elder leads Rivercrest in tackles with 85.
Six Scrappers have recorded sacks.
Elder has 4.5 sacks for the Colts.
Scrappers Basiliere and Will Pope have 2 interceptions each. Devarious Snell has 2 fumble recoveries.
Turner and Riley Jones have 3 interceptions each for Rivercrest. Elder and Lath Latham have 3 fumble recoveries.
Nashville leads the all-time series with Rivercrest 2-1. All 3 games have been played at Scrapper Stadium.
The teams met for the first time Nov. 21, 1997, with the Scrappers winning 49-16.
The last meeting came Dec. 6, 2002, with the Colts winning 36-34.
Mountainburg@Murfreesboro
Dierks@Hackett
With a home playoff game on the line, longtime conference foes Dierks and Murfreesboro swapped punches for the length of the game, with the Rattlers ultimately prevailing 50-42 on Holloway Field at Rattler Stadium.
With the win, the Rattlers (6-4, 5-2) earn the third place position in conference 7-2A, garnering them a home playoff game this Friday night against Mountainburg (5-4, 3-2), who finished third in conference 4-AA with a 44-23 win last Friday night against Hector.
The Outlaws (6-4. 4-3), by virtue of finishing as the 7-2A’s fourth seed, will travel to Hackett (8-2, 4-1) for the first round of the class AA playoffs. Hackett finished second in conference 4-AA behind conference champion Magazine.
Mineral Springs@Magazine
The Mineral Springs Hornets will return to the football field this Friday night when they travel to Magazine for the first round of the Class 2A playoffs.
The Hornets were idle last week due to the Spring Hill Bears forfeiting their season and picked up a 2-0 win as a result.
The forfeit put the Hornets at 3-5, 2-4 and in fifth place in the conference.
The Rattlers of Magazine (7-1, 5-0) will be waiting atop the Region 4 Class 2A in front of Hackett, Mountainburg, Hector, Lavaca and Westside.
The Rattlers have posted wins over Mountainburg (36-16), Westside (38-12), Lavaca (44-13), Hector (48-19), Hackett (44-14) and Mount Ida (39-14).
Magazine’s sole loss this season came narrowly at the hand of Cutter-Morning Star (33-32).
