Sports

BILLIES BACK AT HOME FOR 5A SEMIS

By Sean Saunders/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Thursday, November 26, 2009 11:48 PM CST

MONTICELLO — The Monticello Billies are back in a familiar role. They’re hosting a Class 5A semifinal for the second consecutive year, and most of that team from last year is back for more.

Monticello coach Van Paschal said he was expecting to be in Greenwood this week for the semifinals, that plan changed last week when Pulaski Academy knocked off the Bulldogs 21-14. The Billies face the defending state champion Bruins tonight at Hyatt Field.

“We’re glad to do it,” Paschal said. “It’s better than traveling, I think. We’re tickled to death to be able to get it. It beats a 5- or 6-hour drive to Greenwood, at least I think it does. It may not be by the time this booger’s over.”

Monticello (12-0) came within a point of making the state title game last year. The Billies fell to Helena-West Helena Central 8-7 on a two-point conversion, a play in which Paschal still swears the runner never crossed the goal line.

“Last year, we got here and (Helena-West Helena) was very good last year,” Paschal said. “We lost by one point, so our battle cry is that it’s a game of less than inches, whatever that is.”

Each year the class of 2010 has advanced one round further into the postseason. This year’s seniors lost to Little Rock Christian in the second round as sophomores before last year’s Helena-West Helena affair.

“Losing by one point always hurts, and losing in the semifinals makes it about five times worse,” senior quarterback Joe Carmical said.

For the Billies to get to where they want to be — Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium for the championship game Dec. 4 — they have to beat the current kings of 5A.

Pulaski Academy (9-3) failed to capture a conference championship for only the second time in six seasons, but as the 5A-Southwest Conference’s No. 3 seed, the Bruins beat Helena-West Helena 50-39 in the first round in a rematch of the state title game before springing the upset at Greenwood.

Pulaski Academy found some defense last week, allowing only one point off of a season low against a high-powered Greenwood offense. But it’s the Bruins’ offense that has put it in position to continue its trend of winning at least nine games every season this decade.

Senior quarterback Wil Nicks orchestrates an offense that has put up 34.2 points per game, doing most of his damage through the air. Nicks has already secured one award, VYPE/Fox 16 Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year, by leading the state, regardless of classification, in passing yards by a considerable amount. He’s completed 277 of 452 pass attempts (61.2 percent) for 3,604 yards and 34 touchdowns.

“I keep wanting to think that they’re so young, but gosh, they don’t appear to be,” Paschal said. “They have a senior at quarterback, and he’s a good hand. It’s a challenge, but it’s supposed to be at this point. I got a lot of respect for (Pulaski Academy). They do a good job. They scheme you well. You just never know what you’re going to get from a defensive standpoint. Offensively, you know what you’re going to get, but you don’t when and how sometimes.”

Nicks distributes the ball to most of his targets on a consistent basis. Junior Zac Reyna is Nicks’ No. 1 target, catching 82 passes for a state-leading 1,240 yards and five touchdowns. Classmate Garrett Lamb leads the team in touchdown receptions with 12 while catching 69 passes for 894 yards, and senior Caleb Jones has 657 yards and seven TDs on 44 catches.

Monticello will feature the toughest defense Pulaski Academy has seen all year. Led by several seniors at every level, the Billies have given up the fewest points of any team in 5A at 10.4 per game.

“I don’t think you want to man up with them all night long,” Paschal said. “They’ll rub and pick. They’re good at that and that’s what they do for a living. We’ve got to mix it up. We’ve got to make them think because if they don’t have to think, they’ll beat you.”

While Monticello’s defense has been the focus of fan frenzy in Drew County, the offense has held up its end of the bargain as well. Led by Carmical’s scoring instinct — he has a rushing touchdown in every game this year — and explosive runs by junior Brian Handley and senior Brishen Mathews, the Billies have managed to outscore perennially potent Pulaski Academy, averaging 39.3 points per game.

Monticello and Pulaski Academy are no strangers, as the two were in the same conference during the 2006-07 rotation. The Bruins kept the Monticello class of 2010 from capturing conference championships all three years by defeating the Billies 27-26 Nov. 2, 2007.

“They had some big linemen (in ‘07) and they beat us by a point that year for the conference championship,” Paschal said. “To me, they may not have as much size this year, but they play just as tenacious as they did back then.”

Paschal said his team needs to play lights out for it to finally make it to the state title game. He hopes the Billies’ effort mimics their 54-22 throttling of Greene County Tech last week.

“Everybody’s got to hit on all cylinders,” Paschal said. “It’s why you came for the season. You came to play the game and compete and have the opportunity to do that against a good football program and give us a good opportunity to step into War Memorial (Stadium) to compete for a state championship.

“But you have to do it (tonight) to get a chance to go. That’s kind of where we are and where we ought to be and where we need to be.”

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