Arkansas high school football Class 3A state final: Booneville, Prescott back in Little Rock
Two small school powers will kick off the final day of the 2023 football season at noon on Saturday inside War Memorial Stadium for the Class 3A state championship.
The Booneville Bearcats (12-2) are back in the state finals after falling to rival Charleston a year ago, while the Prescott Curley Wolves (13-1) also had a recent championship appearance in 2021.
The Bearcats' return trip is their 11th all-time finals appearance in program history and are determined to leave with a different result than they endured last December.
"We have a bad taste in our mouth," said Booneville head coach Doc Crowley. "We went down there and got embarrassed and the kids have been fighting all year long to get back.
"This will be a tremendous challenge, but these are two storied programs in the state of Arkansas going at it so it should be fun."
Despite losing 16 seniors, the Bearcats hardly skipped a beat once they got past a brutal non-conference schedule.
They defeated 4A quarterfinalist Ozark, then dropped back-to-back games with 5A semifinalist Camden Fairview and 4A finalist Harding Academy before reeling off the current 11-game win streak where they have outscored opponents 474-137. Plus, Booneville also competes in the 3A-1 conference - the only one in Class 3A to have two semifinalists - which proved the plan to prepare for a deep playoff run paid off.
"A lot of people called us crazy for playing those (non-conference) games, but the goal is to always prepare for December," Crowley said. "With a young team you always wonder how they are going to respond and handle that situation, but they never skipped a beat."
When you have an inexperienced squad it is always a plus for there to be a great leader in that mix, but also one whose game takes your program to another level.
Senior running back Dax Goff fills that role and has made his case as the best to ever put on a Bearcat uniform. Goff comes into Saturday's game with 5,716 rushing yards and 84 touchdowns for his career, including 2,446 this season and 40 scores - all of which are school records.
"There is not much he can not do," Crowley said. "He has scored on a kickoff return, punt return, thrown for a touchdown and caught a touchdown. It is kind of sad that this is the last game we have with him, but we are excited to go out there Saturday and let Dax go at it one more time."
As impossible that it has seemed for defenses to slow down Goff, Prescott head coach Brian Glass knows Goff is not the only one who will demand the Curley Wolves' attention.
"They are a typical Booneville team, very physical, however their two running backs are not typical, but a little bit extraordinary," Glass said. "Both (Rylen) Ray and Goff run it very tough and they have a big offensive line that they like to run behind."
Ray, a senior, is the sixth member of his esteemed family to rush for over 1,000 yards, which he accomplished as a sophomore. Ray was out most of last season with an injury and has rushed for 916 yards along with 11 touchdowns in 2023.
Booneville has also thrown the ball much more than in years past, as this season's 707 yards are the most by any Bearcat team to have reached the state finals. Junior Jace Washburn has completed 37-of-59 passes for 662 yards, good enough for 6th all-time in program history for a single season, with seven touchdowns.
Goff also leads Booneville from his linebacker spot in tackles with 70, including 50 solo with two sacks, as well as an interception, followed by Hunter Warren who has logged 55 stops with three sacks and an interception.
Prescott, who is hoping to win its first state championship since 2016, annually puts a high-powered offense on the field and this season has been no different after senior quarterback Pierce Yates took over.
Yates, a Kansas State baseball commit, previously contributed at linebacker but has thrown for 2,456 yards and 27 touchdowns, along with adding six scores on the ground.
"He was a quarterback in junior high and had not played in a couple of years, but played junior varsity last year and they were undefeated," Coach Glass said. "We knew he was going to do a great job as soon as he got the opportunity and he has ran with it.
"Pierce also has the toughness that you see in a linebacker."
The Curley Wolves are also lead offensively by senior running back Jah'noah Harris (1,256 yards, 15 touchdowns), as well as wide receivers PJ Gulley (840 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Dwayne White (904 yards, 11 touchdowns).
Prescott's defense has allowed 11.2 points per contest to Booneville's 18.1. Three Curley Wolves have surpassed triple-digit tackles - seniors Talan Smith (157), Marshawn Rafter (121) and Tayshaun Smith (103) - while senior Jamarion Burton has been a force on the defensive line with 18 sacks and junior Decari Prater leads the team with four interceptions.
Like Booneville, the Curley Wolves made sure to challenge themselves as evidenced in non-conference matchups not only with Class 5A Hope, but out-of-state contests against McAlester, a 5A program in Oklahoma, plus Homer (La.), who is two years removed from a state championship. Additionally, Prescott also faced off against 3A quarterfinalists Junction City, a fellow 3A-5 member, and Bismarck - twice.
"Our guys handled our schedule well," Glass said. "We feel like we are prepared and have seen it all."
-- Kyle Sutherland | @k_sutherlandAR
