Nashville Scrappers vs. Bauxite Miners
Kickoff 7 p.m. @ Scrapper Stadium
The rematch wasn’t long in coming. Two weeks ago, Nashville defeated Bauxite 20-14 in overtime on the Miners’ home field. The win gave Nashville (9-2, 5-2) the second seed from District 7-4A going into the state playoffs, while Bauxite was fourth.
This Friday night, the Miners (9-2, 5-2) will come to Nashville for a 7 p.m. rematch at Scrapper Stadium. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals Nov. 23 against the winner of this week’s game between Shiloh Christian and Mena.
Nashville defeated Elkins 36-0 Nov. 9, while Bauxite won 21-6 at Trumann.
“We’re very familiar with them after playing them two weeks ago,” Coach Mike Volarvich said. “We’re excited to play at home. They’ll be excited about the chance to play us again. We have to be ready for their best game of the year.”
Volarvich said the playoff matches are “all big games. This may be our last game at Scrapper Stadium, win or lose” because of the way the playoff brackets are drawn up.
A series of events would have to take place for Nashville to have another home playoff game.
“We have to make sure we’re up for it,” Volarvich said of the Bauxite rematch. “We’ll look at what we’ve done for the past two weeks good and bad, and see where we need to make corrections.”
In the game at Bauxite, the Scrapper defense “played really well. The question in a game like this is what are the changes they’ll make on both sides of the ball. What adjustments will they make?”
The Miners “had two runs popped on us for decent yardage before we made tackles,” Volarvich said.
On offense, “We moved the ball well at times. We didn’t convert when we needed to at other times,” Volarvich said. “We have to play more consistently.”
Going into this week’s game, the Scrappers are averaging 390 yards per game total offense, while Bauxite averages 357 yards per game.
Defensively, the Scrappers have allowed 233 yards per game, while Bauxite has given up 240.
So far, Nashville has averaged 40 points per game while allowing 17.
Scrapper quarterback Tristen Jamison has completed 55 of 114 passes for 633 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions.
Seth McDowell of Bauxite is 25 of 49 for 409 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Keyshawn Stewart is the leading rusher for the Scrappers with 155 carries for 1,070 yards and 11 touchdowns. Dawson Dabbs of Bauxite has 187 carries for 1,397 yards and 13 TDs.
Ty Basiliere is Nashville’s leading receiver with 21 catches for 449 yards and five touchdowns. Elijah Cruz of Bauxite has 18 receptions for 229 yards and four touchdowns.
Devonte Witherspoon is the leading tackler for Nashville with 107. He also leads the team in sacks and interceptions with four of each.
Jacob Thornberry has 93 tackles to lead Bauxite. Carson Collins is the sack leader with seven, and Elijah Cruz leads the Miners in interceptions with four.
Nashville leads the series with Bauxite 12-0.
Mineral Springs Hornets @ Hampton Bulldogs
Kickoff 7 p.m. at Hampton
After an almost 300-mile bus ride to the northeastern corner of the state, the Mineral Springs Hornets had to play from behind and make up ground Friday night to secure a 20-14 win over the East Poinsett County Warriors and advance to Round 2 of the Class 2A playoffs.
The win advanced the Hornets to 10-2 on the season and into the second round where they will travel to Hampton to take on the Bulldogs, who are 7-2 on the year. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs averaged 35 points per game this season and advanced courtesy of a 50-2 playoff win over Cross County. Hampton finished second in 2A-8 and posted wins over Star City, Parkers Chapel, Strong, Bearden, Fordyce and Harding Academy. Losses came at the hands of Junction City and a forfeit to the Smackover Buckaroos.
The Hornets have averaged 30.9 points per game this season and finished fourth in 2A-7.
