Sports

Z’S ATTEMPTING ANOTHER NO. 1 UPSET

By Josh Tinker/COMMERCIAL SPORTS EDITOR
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:53 PM CST

When Pine Bluff stepped on the field two weeks ago, the Zebras not only beat a previously undefeated team, but they also avenged a loss from late last season.

The Zebras’ 28-26 victory over El Dorado on Nov. 5 not only ensured the Wildcats wouldn’t finish the regular season with a perfect record, but it also gave Pine Bluff retribution from a Week 10 loss in 2008, a game that would have clinched the 6A-South Conference title outright for the Zebras. Instead, Bobby Bolding’s squad was beaten handily by the Wildcats, who finished in a three-way tie atop the conference with the victory.

Now, the Zebras have a chance to perform both feats again, as they’ll travel to West Memphis tonight for a second-round playoff matchup with the current Class 6A No. 1 team in the undefeated Blue Devils. The Zebras will also be trying to atone for a loss suffered during Week 2 in which West Memphis came back from a 20-point deficit in the third quarter.

And while Bolding considers that victory over El Dorado a huge accomplishment, the Zebra’s third-year coach said tonight’s ballgame is so much bigger. In a win-or-go-home playoff format, tonight’s winner will go on to play another game and move closer to the ultimate goal of a state championship.

“The El Dorado game really didn’t mean anything,” said Bolding, whose team had locked up the No. 4 playoff seed before that game. “There were no implications, whereas (tonight) somebody’s season is going to be over. There are some implications to it.”

Pine Bluff (7-4) will enter its second matchup with West Memphis this season on a hot streak. After losing to Lake Hamilton, the No. 2 seed from the 6A-South, on a goal line stand in Week 6, the Zebras are undefeated since. While three of those victories came over Texarkana, Sheridan and Little Rock J.A. Fair — the bottom four teams in the league — two more victories have come over El Dorado and a 40-6 victory over Mountain Home in the first round of the playoffs last week.

One reason for this hot streak has been the play of quarterback Claude Johnson. The senior, who is listed as a three star college prospect on the recruiting Web site rivals.com, passed for 320 yards in the first half last week against Mountain Home, and combined for about 330 yards both rushing and passing in the victory over El Dorado.

These have led to long scoring plays for the Zebras. Against El Dorado, Pine Bluff needed only 15 plays to score its 28 points, and against Mountain Home, Johnson engineered 40 points off only 18 snaps.

Bolding, however, said such gaudy offensive numbers aren’t likely against the Blue Devils (10-0).

“Our offensive line is really playing well, but they’re going to get a different kind of defensive line then they’ve seen all year,” Bolding said. “They’re defensive linemen are skill guys. It makes you a little bit nervous because those guys can run. They can get off blocks. They do some unorthodox things to get off blocks, but they’re athletic enough to do it.

“There are going to be times when we catch a ball that we might have taken to the house, we’re going to have three of them hit us.”

That athletic ability transfers to the Blue Devils offense as well. With an abundance of running backs, West Memphis has given the Z’s fits with their Wing-T rushing attack in past games.

“It’s going to be a fast game. There is going to be some speed moving around out there,” Bolding said. “It’s going to be a fast moving river out there on both sides. It’s going to be an exciting game for the fans.”

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