7A Round 2

ROGERS HERITAGE at NORTH LITTLE ROCK 

The Northwest takes on one of Central Arkansas' best teams in the Charging Wildcats and this game will be much closer than people think. 

North Little Rock running back Tim Johnson will also get plenty of action in the backfield agaist Heritage.

For North Little Rock, safety Cody Miller and cornerbacks Cody Guthrie and Deon Rhodes will get plenty of action with Heritage's spread it out passing scheme. On offense, Michael Tillman and Jacario Miles are both solid at running back and receiver Devonta Rich has outstanding hands and speed at receiver.

As for the War Eagles this all comes down to whether they can put up enough points against a stingy Charging Wildcats defense.  On North Little Rock's four game winning streak, the defense is giving up just under a touchdown per game and it will take Heritage three times that much to pull off the upset victory.

6A Round 2

WATSON CHAPEL at JONESBORO

The Hurricane are looking to build off some late season momentum and knock off C.J. Branch and the Wildcats.

C.J. Branch and the potent Wildcat offense takes on another offensive minded team in the Hurricanes.  This one should be a high scoring affair, but the question is can the Jonesboro defense handle the power of Watson Chapel's three-back rushing scheme.

The Hurricane have a pair or outstanding running backs in another C.J., this one with the last names Jones, and all-stater Kowan Wright, but Watson Chapel is solid against the run so they may give this duo quite a run for the money.

For the Hurricane to pull off an upset, the defense will have to step up and stop the run and the offense will have to put up plenty of points and turn this game into a shootout.

5A Round 2

PULASKI ACADEMY at GREENWOOD

It seems the 5A state championship goes through these two teams every single year, specifically in this decade.  Last year PA dominated Greenwood with a 52-24 win in the quarterfinals, so the Bulldogs are certainly out for revenge.

Will it be a long dark night for the Bruins or can they make some noise again in this year's state playoffs.

Bruin quarterback Wil Nicks has been solid, but Greenwood is likely to bring pressure to force the first year senior starter into making mistakes.  Coach Kevin Kelly has relied a little more than usual on his running game out of the spread offense and for Pulaski Academy to win they will have to run it against the Bulldogs.

For Greenwood, it starts with quarterback Tyler Shook and his outstanding top target and all-state receiver Spencer Harris.  The Bulldogs have not lost since Week 1 against Springdale Har-ber, including a huge 54-51 over Shiloh Christian, and we expect them to knock off the Bruins Friday night.

4A Round 2

DeQUEEN at SHILOH CHRISTIAN

Greg White and company will have to come up huge to upset top-ranked Shiloh Christian.

Can DeQueen and star running back Greg White keep the football long enough on offense to keep the Saints high-powered offense off the field?

To win the game they will have to and running back turned quarterback Jamerio "Scooter" and White must have huge nights on the ground.  The big question here is, can the Leopards defense keep their team in the game against Kiehl Frazier and company.

As for Shiloh Christian, it has been them and every one else for the past few years and expect nothing different this time around.  They could literally mercy rule every team through out the playoffs and no one in the state would be surprised.

3A Round 1

PARKERS CHAPEL at LAMAR

The story line of this game is Lamar getting a spot in the playoffs barring any late successful appeals by the Arkansas Activities Association who is still fighting the ruling.

Parkers Chapel is looking for its first playoff win in school history and might just have a tough time doing it this week against a very talented, senior laded team in the Warriors.

Lamar has plenty of talent including quarterback Matt Jones, two-way player Casey Kinsey and tightend turned running back Zachary Ward.  If the Warriors get this win and make a run to a state championship then this year will be remembered for as long as their is high school football in Arkansas.

2A Round 2

MOUNTAIN PINE at McCRORY

McCrory's star running back believes this team can build off its momentum gained by last year's baseball championship that includes nine players from that team.

McCrory is leading the state in points per game and Mountain Pine's defense has struggled at times.  This game will get ugly unless the Red Devils defense steps it up.  One big positive for Mountain Pine is they are hot at the right time, winning six of their last 7 after starting the season 1-2.

Regardless, it will take Mountain Pine's best shot for the Red Devils to knock off the state's highest scoring team that comes into the playoffs with the confidence of an undefeated regular season.