Lakeside will welcome Texarkana to Chick Austin Field on Friday in a game with significant ramifications for the 5A-South conference.
The Rams (2-3, 1-1) are coming off of their first conference win of the season. The Razorbacks (4-1, 2-0) are ranked No. 5 in Class 5A in this week's Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll.
Here are five things to watch in the matchup:
Injury list
"We are getting a little bit more healthy," said Lakeside head coach Jared McBride. "We are still down about three guys, but we are getting more healthy."
Six players have returned from injuries in the past two weeks. Three returned ahead of a 38-26 loss at Camden Fairview (2-3, 1-1) and three more returned for the 71-48 win against Magnolia (3-2, 0-2) on Friday.
"It is all positive," McBride said. "We are able to do a little bit more. These seniors are the ones that have been injured for us and those guys have the most experience. So when they come back, we can kind of grow what we do, offensively and defensively. For team morale, it adds to our depth and it gives us a shot in the arm."
Texarkana's depth has been tested at key positions early in the season. The Razorbacks have been without senior running back after he ran for 390 yards and six touchdowns in the first two weeks of the season.
Senior backup Cameron Collier ran 46 times for 340 yards before he went down with an injury. The Hogs have turned to Torie Blair, who now has back-to-back games with more than 100 yards rushing
Dynamic offense
"Texarkana is going to be multiple, they are spread, they want to throw the football, they are very good at running the football, they want to be balanced and they are going to make us cover the whole field," McBride said.
"They have some guys that are going to be hard for us to catch," McBride added. "We have to keep them in front of us."
The Rams only have three interceptions through the first five games, but their opponents have tended to prefer to run the ball. They have recovered seven fumbles, despite missing out on a handful of opportunities in an opening-week loss to Lake Hamilton (4-1, 1-1 6A-West).
The Wolves ran for 410 yards and had more than 500 yards of total offense in their 31-27 victory. Lakeside allowed 198 yards rushing and 190 yards passing in a 40-27 road loss at Fountain Lake (3-2, 0-2 4A-7) before giving up 476 rushing yards last week to Magnolia.
Senior Reece Turner leads the Rams with 57 total tackles, while classmate Aaron Killian has 47. McBride said Fairview threw the ball against the Rams more than their other opponents.
"Texarkana is going to try to throw it a bunch," McBride said. "We have to find a pretty good balance and try to defend the field."
Junior quarterback Sean Foreback is 48-for-102 passing this season for 619 yards and three touchdowns, all to senior DeJordan Mask, who has 263 yards on 13 catches. Senior playmaker Irijah Price has 17 receptions for 321 yards.
Price returned a kickoff 78 yards in a 54-38 win to start the season at Shiloh Christian (4-1, 2-0 4A-1). Blair scored two weeks ago on a 76-yard kickoff return in a 41-7 defeat of Magnolia.
Passing game
The Razorbacks limited the Panthers' ground game, but the Saints were able to throw for 360 yards. Texas High had 273 yards through the air and 139 on the ground to defeat the Razorbacks, 43-35, for their only loss of the season.
Lakeside is also balanced on offense with 1,092 passing yards and 765 rushing yards. Senior quarterback Taylor Gillham is 71-for-113, 62.8 percent, with six touchdowns and five interceptions this season.
Senior Sawyer Lamb leads the receiving corps with 36 receptions through five games for 593 yards and six touchdowns.
"(Texarkana) is really good, offensively and defensively," McBride said. "They are fast and very physical. They will bring a style of football that we have not seen in a while, just as far as wanting to dominate you and you make you feel bad when they do it.
"We have to play physical. I think we will have opportunities to do some things, but we have to hang in there and battle every snap."
The Rams also share the ball in the backfield. Sophomore Isaac Echols has 71 carries and averages a team-best 7.5 yards per carry for 535 yards and three touchdowns. Gillham has scored four times on the ground, while senior Dorecus Ferguson has 48 carries for 151 yards and seven touchdowns. Sophomore Will Perrigo got into the act last week with 12 carries for 85 yards and five touchdowns.
Conference win
Lakeside began the season with a loss to Lake Hamilton, a 6A team, before splitting games at Fountain Lake and Malvern (0-5, 0-2), who are both 4A teams. The Rams began conference play with the loss at Fairview before putting up 71 points to Magnolia, only their second 5A opponent this year.
"I think we executed well," McBride said. "I think we had a good idea of where they would be and we just executed pretty well. Overall, they got a few plays on us, offensively. Defensively, we stepped up at the right moment, created some turnovers and played the way I had hoped we would play all year."
5A-South landscape
"We still have our eyes on the playoffs," McBride said. "It was a big win and a step in the right direction. If we keep winning, we can control if we get to host a playoff game. A lot of things are still out in front of us that were our goals and we are still working toward them."
Hope (1-4, 1-1), Hot Springs (0-5, 0-2) and De Queen (1-4, 1-1) have two wins between them. Hope defeated Hot Springs, 26-20, last week after De Queen defeated Hope, 21-14. They make up three of Lakeside's final four games of the regular season.
Texarkana and Little Rock McClellan (5-0, 2-0), ranked No. 2 in 5A, are the conference favorites and will face each other next week.
Week 6
Other matchups on Friday include Lake Hamilton at Russellville (3-2, 1-1), Hot Springs at De Queen, Arkadelphia (0-5, 0-2) at Fountain Lake, Ashdown (2-3, 0-2) at Malvern, Jessieville (3-2, 1-1 3A-4) at Atkins (5-0, 2-0), Bismarck (1-4, 0-2 3A-5) at Fouke (1-4, 0-2), Centerpoint (3-2, 1-1) at Genoa Central (1-4, 0-2), Spring Hill (1-3, 0-2 2A-7) at Mount Ida (5-0, 2-0), Quitman (5-0, 2-0 2A-5) at Magnet Cove (2-3, 1-1), Mountain Pine (2-3, 1-1) at Bigelow (3-2, 0-2) and Poyen (3-2, 0-2) at Cutter Morning Star (1-4, 0-2).
Sports on 10/04/2018