Lake Hamilton will look to continue its winning streak against Benton with Friday's road game in the 6A-West conference.
The Wolves (5-3, 2-3) are in prime position for the sixth playoff spot from the 6A-West after Friday's 36-0 home win against Sheridan (2-6, 1-4). Benton (6-2, 4-1) is second following Friday's 62-33 road loss at Greenwood (7-1, 5-0).
Greenwood and Benton were ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in Class 6A in this week's Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll. The Bulldogs are ranked fourth overall and the Panthers are ranked 13th.
Here are five things to watch in Friday's matchup.
Conference shakeup
Both teams could move up in the playoff seedings, but they would need help from other teams.
Benton needs to win its final two games and Greenwood would have to lose the next two weeks for the Panthers to earn the No. 1 seed. Sheridan faces Greenwood Friday and Benton next week. Lake Hamilton will close the season on the road at Greenwood.
The teams in spots 3-5 -- Russellville (5-3, 3-2), El Dorado (4-4, 3-2) and Siloam Springs (4-4, 2-3) -- each own tiebreakers with Lake Hamilton with victories against the Wolves. The teams in the middle of the conference have dates against each other the next two weeks, while Little Rock Hall (1-7, 0-5) will meet Siloam Springs on Friday and El Dorado next week. Lake Hamilton would likely only be able to move up to the fifth spot with wins in the final two weeks.
The sixth seed from the West will be matched up in the first round of the playoffs with the third seed from the 6A-East. The fifth seed from the West will meet the fourth seed from the East.
West Memphis (8-0, 5-0) currently leads the East. The Blue Devils are followed in the standings by Jonesboro (5-3, 4-1), Searcy (6-2, 3-2), Marion (6-2, 3-2), Pine Bluff (2-5-2, 2-3) and Sylvan Hills (3-5, 2-3).
"We still want to win," said Lake Hamilton head coach Tommy Gilleran. "We want to beat Benton and beat Greenwood. Of course, we want to beat Benton. To me, this is more of a rivalry between these two schools. We've gotten them the last two years."
Regional rivalry
Benton is 17-10 in the last two years, but the Panthers could have been 19-8 without two consecutive losses to the Wolves. Lake Hamilton was 11-11 the past two seasons.
"We want to continue that trend," Gilleran said. "We want to beat a really good football team. We feel like Benton is one of the two best in our conference, as they have shown all year, but we have to slow them down."
Lake Hamilton holds a 12-5 edge in the series since 2001, including eight consecutive wins from 2006 through 2013.
"I think our kids look for this game," Gilleran said. "It is a game where they want to beat them. It is a game where they look forward to going against them. I think our kids like it.
"To me, it is 45 minutes away, it is the closest thing to a rivalry since Lakeside dropped us for all of these years and now it's back. Prior to that, that is the closest team that we feel like is a big game every year."
Benton has also fared poorly against its main rival, Class 7A Bryant. The Hornets (7-1, 5-0 7A-Central) are 15-2-2 since 2001 in the Salt Bowl against the Panthers, including a 28-14 win in September at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock when the game was called in the second half after a panic caused players and fans to flee the field.
During the same time frame, Benton is 7-0 against Little Rock Parkview, 6-0 against Jacksonville, 6-0 against J.A. Fair, 5-0 against Hall, 11-6 against Sheridan, 9-12 against El Dorado and 3-12 against Pine Bluff.
"We are in the same classification, similar in size and similar types of kids," Gilleran said.
Battle up front
Gilleran said Benton plays with size and physicality on the line. He said the Wolves must match that in order to win on Friday.
Lake Hamilton allows its players to come in on Sundays and receive treatment for any injuries. Gilleran said no players reported for treatment on Sunday.
Junior running back Malik Brewer leads the Wolves with 7.7 yards per carry and 131 yards per game for 917 total yards and five touchdowns in seven games after missing the Lakeside game to start the season. Junior fullback Dealond Lewis averages 8.1 yards per carry with 569 total and three scores in seven games.
The Wolves have 2,585 rushing yards this season. Sophomore quarterback Layne Warrick has thrown for 656 yards on 58 attempts with five touchdowns and only one interception.
Offensive efficiency
"I think they like outscoring people," Gilleran said. "I'm not taking anything away from their defense, because I think their defense is good.
"Maybe they put a lot of their better players on offense and they two-platoon. So, those kids on offense do not play defense."
Benton has averaged more than 48 points per game since the loss to Bryant. The Panthers gave up 41 points to Cabot (3-5, 1-4) and 35 to El Dorado before Greenwood scored 62 last week.
"You look at a lot of the scores and people have scored points on them, but they just can't outscore them," Gilleran said. "But Greenwood did."
Senior All-State running back Zak Wallace (5-11, 203) left the Greenwood game with an injury, but he is reportedly likely to play this week. Wallace unofficially ranks second in the state in rushing with 1,163 yards, averaging 10.5 yards per carry, and 16 touchdowns.
"We want to take away the big running back because we feel like he can take over the game," Gilleran said. "They have a big, huge offensive linemen. They have two who are 300 pounds. We have nobody close to that, so we have to match their physicality up front."
Junior D'Anthony Harper finished with 13 carries for 85 yards and a score against Greenwood.
"The first thing we want to do is take away the run," Gilleran said. "We want to make them have to throw, but, last week, they threw the ball for 300-something yards against Greenwood. At least when they throw it, there is a chance they could drop it. There is a chance we can intercept it."
Sophomore QB
"At least if they are passing, keep it underneath where we can come up and make tackles and not let them go over the top where they had a bunch of big hitters against Greenwood," Gilleran said. "We have to stop those."
Slowing the Panthers' passing game may also be a tall task. Benton reported no timetable for the return of senior starting quarterback Colen Morrow, likely leaving sophomore Garrett Brown to start his fourth consecutive game.
"He throws a really good football," Gilleran said. "Probably the only difference between him and the other guy is the other guy had experience playing on that big of a field and that big of a game. For him, it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Maybe it is for the sophomore. It is a little different. The game is faster than a junior high game, but also all of the other things are going on for a high school game. As he keeps playing, he will get better."
Brown completed 14 of 21 passes for 218 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against El Dorado. He finished 23-for-44 for 333 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in the losing effort against Greenwood.
"We were impressed with him last year in junior high and we knew he would be alright," Gilleran said. "Overall, he is pretty heady."
Week 9
Other matchups on Friday include Lakeside (4-4, 3-2 5A-South) at Little Rock McClellan (7-1, 4-1), Camden Fairview (5-3, 4-1) at Hot Springs (1-7, 1-4), Haskell Harmony Grove (5-3, 3-2 4A-7) at Fountain Lake (4-4, 1-4), Malvern (0-8, 0-5) at Nashville (6-2, 3-2), Bauxite (8-0, 5-0) at Arkadelphia (3-5, 3-2), Jessieville (4-4, 2-3 3A-4) at Danville (5-3, 3-2), Bismarck (1-7, 0-5) at Smackover (7-1, 5-0), Horatio (3-5, 2-3) at Centerpoint (5-3, 3-2), Mount Ida (7-1, 4-1 2A-7) at Gurdon (7-1, 5-0), Cutter Morning Star (1-7, 0-5 2A-5) at Bigelow (3-5, 0-5), Magnet Cove (4-4, 3-2) at Conway Christian (6-2, 5-0) and Poyen (5-2, 2-3) at Mountain Pine (5-3, 4-1).
Sports on 10/25/2018