Lake Hamilton hosts Sheridan tonight in a game that has playoff implications for both 6A-West teams.
The Wolves (4-3, 1-3) struggled last week against a much-improved Siloam Springs (4-3, 2-2) team that held off Lake Hamilton in the final two minutes for a 21-14 win. The Yellowjackets (2-5, 1-3) are coming off of a 48-8 win over Little Rock Hall (1-6, 0-4).
Here are five things to watch in this week's game:
Last week
A week ago, the Wolves were kept scoreless in the first half, but trailing the Panthers, 21-14, with just over two minutes left in the game, they had a chance to tie the game.
Lake Hamilton head coach Tommy Gilleran said part of the issue in the matchup was "bad play calling" on his part and the lack of attention paid in practice to "two-minute stuff."
"We work on it every week," he said Thursday. "We're not as good at it, but we try to do it as best we can. We did some things this week."
Gilleran said one play would have made all the difference in the game.
"In that drive there, if Kanaan Williams catches that ball across the middle for that first down, he probably runs to the 10-yard line," he said. "He drops it, and from there we go backwards. We never got back on track. One of the things we work on every week is that. Today, we'll do two-minute drill, where we have to get through stuff."
The Yellowjackets picked up their second win of the season last week with a 40-point drubbing of the Warriors.
"They're coming off a win," Gilleran said. "Of course, they won their first game, and that was the second game they've won this year. They're getting a little confidence coming at us. They know we lost to Siloam Springs on a close game. They're probably pumped."
Gilleran said some changes were made in practice this week to help bring the team's intensity up.
"We've got to match their intensity and, in fact, be over it this week and play as hard as we can," he said. "We've had a great week of practice. We changed it up a little bit. We went one-on-ones a whole bunch, where our first defense and our first offense went after each other.
"Usually, we don't do that. Usually we go against scout team all week. We feel like our kids are going to be better prepared on Friday because we went against our best players."
Playoff implications
Both Lake Hamilton and Sheridan are looking to earn a playoff berth, and a win this week will all but guarantee either team the sixth spot from the 6A-West.
"This is like a playoff game for us," Gilleran said. "If we win, we're in the playoffs. If we lose, we'll have to beat one of the next two teams. Even if we beat them, we won't have the tie-breaker; Sheridan will."
Both teams still have two tough matches left ahead of them. Lake Hamilton will travel to Benton (6-1, 4-0) and Greenwood (6-1, 4-0) for its last two games while Sheridan will host the two teams in reverse order.
Benton and Greenwood face off tonight in the de facto conference championship as both are undefeated in conference play. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 and the Panthers No. 2, respectively, in Class 6A in the most recent Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll.
Russellville, Siloam Springs and El Dorado are all tied at 2-2 in conference with the Hurricanes (4-3, 2-2) hosting Hall tonight, while the Panthers play host to the Wildcats (3-4, 2-2).
Yellowjacket defense
Sheridan has been a team overlooked in the conference due to a lack of size and talent, but Gilleran noted the Yellowjackets are not as weak as they have been in the past.
"They're improved," he said. "They're starting to play with people. Siloam Springs only beat them by 10, and El Dorado only beat them, 31-17. So I think they've gotten better, of course. I think they're improved. Defensively, I think they are a lot better. Offensively, I think they're still struggling to score points."
One of the key players on the Sheridan defense is senior defensive tackle Noah Pruitt.
"They have a defensive tackle, No. 50, who makes a ton of plays," Gilleran said. "He's a really good football player for them. He's a great player. So, we have to be aware of where he's at because I feel like he can make plays. He's a good lineman for them."
Senior Montana Korte, who lines up at linebacker, is also a player that Gilleran plans to have the offense watch tonight.
"No. 10, who plays running back also plays linebacker, Montana Korte," he said. "Those two are pretty good players for them, makes them a little more solid up front than they've been in the past. Probably the big thing is their kids are bigger. They're not as small as they used to be. Even their nose man (5-8, 260 junior Harper Thornton) is bigger."
Offensive backs
"They have three or four running backs," Gilleran said. "No. 10 (Korte) seems the best, and 24 (junior Alden Lucas) and 26 (sophomore Peyton Edwards) seem to be good. The quarterback (junior Stephon Thomas), he's a decent runner, throws the ball OK."
Thomas is 37-for-95 passing for 419 yards with three interceptions, but the Yellowjackets have tallied 1,080 rushing yards to this point of the season.
"They're more run-heavy," Gilleran said. "We talked today. I think they've only thrown for 435 yards passing this year. I think we've thrown for more than that, and we're as run-heavy as anybody."
Lake Hamilton sophomore quarterback Layne Warrick is 23-for-54 passing for 555 yards with just one pick, but the Wolves have 2,275 rushing yards. They have four players with 100-plus yard games.
Malik Brewer leads the pack with four games beyond the century mark with 99 carries for 795 yards. Dealond Lewis has 516 yards in six games on 64 carries, marking three century games, while Carlos Brewer and Braden Braughton each have 100-yard games. The quartet has scored 22 of the team's 25 rushing touchdowns.
Everyone back
Gilleran said his team is back to full strength again this week after sophomore Carlos Brewer missed last week with an injury.
The younger Brewer brother is averaging 70.6 yards per game and is second on the team in yards per carry with 8.6. He trails only his brother in rushing touchdowns with six. Carlos Brewer has 41 touches for 353 yards in five games.
Week 8
Other matchups tonight include De Queen (1-6, 1-3 5A-South) at Lakeside (3-4, 2-2), Hot Springs (1-6, 1-3) at Texarkana (6-1, 4-0), Arkadelphia (2-5, 2-2 4A-7) at Ashdown (3-4, 1-3), Fountain Lake (3-4, 0-4) at Malvern (0-7, 0-4), Two Rivers (0-7, 0-4 3A-4) at Jessieville (3-4, 1-3), Bismarck (1-6, 0-4 3A-5) at Centerpoint (4-3, 2-2), Dierks (1-6, 1-3 2A-7) at Mount Ida (6-1, 3-1), Bigelow (3-4, 0-4 2A-5) at Magnet Cove (3-4, 2-2), Conway Christian (5-2, 4-0) at Cutter Morning Star (1-6, 0-4) and Mountain Pine (4-3, 3-1) at England (3-4, 3-1).
Sports on 10/19/2018