Arkansas high school football Class 6A state final: Greenwood, LRCA keeping with rematch theme
Little Rock Christian Academy head coach Eric Cohu and Greenwood head coach Chris Young are used to two things: Playing in a state championship game and seeing a conference opponent in the title game.
LRCA (10-2) defeated Pulaski Academy 52-38 for the Class 5A state championship game in 2018 after losing 56-14 to the Bruins in the regular season. A year later, the Warriors defeated the Bruins 63-61 in the regular season but lost 63-21 in the championship game. In 2020, the Warriors lost to the Bruins 60-28 in the regular season and 64-27 in the title game.
Greenwood senior running back Brayedan Davis (Photo by Tommy Land)
Greenwood (12-0) lost to Russellville 37-23 in the 2016 state championship game after beating the Cyclones 27-24 in the regular season. In 2018, the Bulldogs defeated Benton 62-33 in the regular season and 45-14 for the state title. In 2020, the Bulldogs defeated Lake Hamilton 38-28 in the regular season and 49-24 for the state title. A year ago, Greenwood defeated Pulaski Academy 33-23 in the regular season but lost 42-35 for state championship.
This year, it’s the same song with a different verse. On Nov. 3, Greenwood defeated LRCA 56-39 to win the 6A-West Conference title. Friday night, the two teams meet for the 6A State Championship at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
When football teams reach the state finals, they don’t deviate from what was successful. But when they meet a team they faced in the regular season, it only makes sense to change just a few things up to catch the opponent off guard.
“The thing is Greenwood coach Chris Young beat us the last time, so he really doesn’t have much to change,” said Cohu. “To me, the onus is on us. The thing is, we didn’t play that well the last time, and we have to execute a lot better than we did the last time.”
Cohu looks at the fact this team turned the ball over three times, gave up two touchdowns in the final 29 seconds of the first half that turned a 24-21 lead into a 35-24 deficit. The first touchdown came on a 46-yard pass from Kane Archer to Isaiah Arrington. The second came after Caden Nelms intercepted Walker White, setting up a 26-yard pass from Archer to L.J. Robins touchdown as time expired. In addition, Grant Karnes returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown early in the game.
Young, whose team defeated 6A-West opponents Mountain Home, 56-14, and Pulaski Academy, 56-26, in the playoffs, after beating both of them in the regular season, said it’s a tribute to the strength of the conference that he’s facing three conference opponents again in the playoffs. He said he doesn’t expect to see a whole lot different from LRCA. He said early in the game, he wouldn’t be surprised to see both teams try something new, but as the game goes on, he expects both teams to settle down and stick to what they do best.
“There are no secrets,” said Young. “It’s old-fashioned football which comes down to blocking and tackling.
“Obviously, the last time, we played them at home (where Greenwood has won 63 consecutive games at Smith-Robinson Stadium). This time, we’re playing them in Little Rock. It’s hard to beat a team twice in a season, but you’re going to find things that work.”
For Greenwood, that means running a balanced offense that has scored 628 points this season. Sophomore four-star quarterback Kane Archer leads the way with 2,207 yards with 31 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. Running back Brayedan Davis has rushed for 1,429 yards and 22 touchdowns. Wide receiver Karnes has caught 68 passes for 928 yards and 12 touchdowns. Robins has caught 72 passes for 973 yards and 17 touchdowns. Arrington has caught 34 passes for 533 yards and 8 touchdowns. Wide receiver Peyton Presson, who has missed most of the season with a broken collarbone, returned to the lineup in time for the playoffs and caught 5 passes for 61 yards and 1 touchdown in both games.
“We have four great receivers and Brayedan Davis who is great running back,” said Young. “You might find receivers with better numbers, but Grant Karnes made one of the best catches last week that you’ll see and LJ. has been close to 1,000 yards the last two years.”
Little Rock Christian wide receiver Tate Collins (Photo by Jimmy Jones)
On defense, the Bulldogs are led by end Cash Archer ,who has 18 of the team’s 34 sacks along with 71 tackles with 27 for losses. Defensive backs Braden Skaggs (7 interceptions) and Brady Mackey (6 interceptions) lead the secondary.
“I don’t think you can stop Greenwood,” said Cohu. “The main thing is, can you slow them down? They have a prolific offense and can run the ball a lot. The big thing is, we have to execute well defensively and not give them anything easy. You know they are going to execute at a high level and we have to execute a lot better than we did the last time.”
For LRCA, the emphasis is making sure an offense that has scored 517 points on the season, continues to stay sharp. White, an Auburn commitment, has thrown for 2,914 yards with 36 touchdowns and rushed for 575 yards and 15 touchdowns. Jackson Ward lead the Warriors in rushing with 864 yards and has scored 8 touchdowns. Connor Smith has scored 328 yards and 6 touchdowns, helping fill the void after Ronny Anokye suffered a torn ACL early in the season.
Cade Bowman leads the team in receptions with 59 catches for 951 yards and 11 touchdowns. Tristan Watson has 45 catches for 727 yards and 11 touchdowns. Tate Collins has 45 catches for 78 yards and 6 touchdowns.
“It’s going to take a lot of points to beat Greenwood,” said Cohu. “It’s not going to be a 7-3 game. We had a lot of yards the last time (381), but we can’t turn the ball over.”
Young said finding a way to slow down White is going to be the key. “Walker White can beat you with his arm and he runs the 40 in 4.4 seconds. He has a cannon for an arm, and he is very accurate that you have to be tight with your coverage. We know we have to keep him in the pocket.”
On defense, Preston Davis leads the Warriors with 116 tackles, including 6 for losses. Cooper has114 tackles, including 7 for losses. Garland Davis has 80 tackles, including 13 for losses with 6 sacks. Smith has 78 tackles. Jake Field has 51 tackles, 7 interceptions and has run 4 back for touchdowns. Trey Howard has 65 tackles, 3 interceptions and has run a fumble back for a touchdown. As a team, the Warriors have eight defensive touchdowns.
-- Jeff Halpern
