Sports

DEFENSE MAKING STRIDES FOR ZEBRAS

By Josh Tinker/COMMERCIAL SPORTS EDITOR
Thursday, November 26, 2009 11:48 PM CST

Pine Bluff’s offense has received much of the credit for the Zebras success this football season.

Kelsey Collins (6) and Pine Bluff lost at home to Lake Hamilton 27-23 on Oct. 8. Tonight, the two teams will meet in a Class 6A semifinal game at Wolf Stadium in Pearcy. Pine Bluff Commercial/Ralph Fitzgerald

With Division-I prospects Claude Johnson, Jonathan Frazier, Kelsey Collins and Joseph Treadwell making plays between the white lines on Friday nights, the Zebras have averaged nearly 30 points per contest. And while Z’s coach Bobby Bolding knows this offense has been a vital part of Pine Bluff’s 8-4 record, the coach attributes the Zebras’ current six-game winning streak to something else — the improved play of his defense.

Since Pine Bluff dropped a 27-23 decision to Lake Hamilton on Oct. 8, the Zebras have reeled off six consecutive victories behind the play of a defense that has allowed only an average of 12.3 points per game during these outings. Take away the 26 points scored by El Dorado in Week 10, and the Zebras have allowed an average of only 9.6 points in five of their last six games.

“Our defense has been playing with a lot of confidence the last six weeks,” Bolding said. “We’ve been giving up an average of (less than two) touchdowns per game the last six games. People are moving the ball on us, but we bow our necks and get it done.”

Now, Bolding hopes this defensive effort continues tonight against what the coach calls one of its toughest challenges, as the Zebras will play that same Lake Hamilton squad tonight in the semifinals of the playoffs. The winner will play for a state championship Dec. 5, while the loser’s season will be over.

Much of the challenge from the Lake Hamilton offense, Bolding said, will come from the multiple sets the Wolves employ.

“They use a ton of formations,” the third-year coach said. “We’ve got to be disciplined, line up correctly and then play hard. We’ve lined up wrong at times the last couple of weeks, but we’ve been able to make up for it because we’ve played hard.”

Leading the offensive charge for Lake Hamilton will be quarterback Benson Jordan. At 6-4, 220 pounds, Jordan is a an athletic specimen at quarterback, Bolding said, and has orally committed to play for Ouachita Baptist next season, where Bolding coached with Jordan’s grandfather, Buddy Bob Benson.

“We’ve got to get a pass rush, and when we do, we have to tackle him,” Bolding said. “I think we’ll get a pass rush, but he’s so big I don’t know if we’ll be able to tackle him.”

Likely providing that rush will be Pine Bluff senior Martin Montgomery. The senior has lined up at both defensive end and linebacker for the Zebras this season, and as a result of his versatility, he leads Pine Bluff in sacks and tackles.

“He (Montgomery) is going to play a big role, the whole defensive line is,” Bolding said. “This is the kind of game that can be won at the line of scrimmage. We need Martin, and the rest of the D-line, to get a pass rush.”

Also needed to provide a spark for the defense are safeties Collins and Justin Bishop. Collins, who has been clocked at 4.29 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has been battling ankle and hamstring injuries for most of the season. Bolding, however, said the senior speedster is nearly 100 percent, and played up to his potential in Pine Bluff’s 24-16 victory over previously unbeaten West Memphis last week.

“Kelsey Collins was a big difference maker on sweeps and tosses,” said Bolding of Collins, who missed the first matchup against West Memphis in Week 2 because of an ankle injury suffered in a season-opening loss to Fort Smith Northside. “We felt scheme-wise against West Memphis he could be a difference maker, and he was.”

Bolding hopes this will lead the Zebras past the Wolves, something they weren’t able to do on Oct. 8 when Johnson was stopped short of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1 yard line in the fourth quarter.

Bolding, however, said that matchup had no bearing on tonight’s contest.

“That was a long time ago,” Bolding said. “It’s been almost two months. We’ve done a lot since then.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Lake Hamilton’s Wolf Stadium in Pearcy.

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