Gentry: Playoffs One Win Away
ROAD VICTORY AT HUNTSVILLE EASIEST PATH FOR PIONEERS
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Gentry coach football Brain Little works with receivers Justin Stewart, left, Seth Kilgore, center, and Tanner Morgan during practice in Gentry on Tuesday. Gentry plays at Huntsville on Friday and can secure a berth in the Class 4A playoffs with a win.
Photo by David Frank Dempsey
GENTRY — There are several formulas that will put Gentry in the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade, but coach Brian Little is using simple geometry - a straight line.
Defeat Huntsville on Friday and the Pioneers get from Point A to Point B.
If Gentry wins its third consecutive game, then the Pioneers will punch a playoff ticket for thefirst time since 1998. Simple, easy math.
Here’s where things get complicated. Gentry can still absorb a loss - as long as it is by less than 13 points - and still make the playo◊s if Gravette defeats Prairie Grove this week.
If Huntsville defeats Gentry by 13 or more and Gravette beats Prairie Grove, then Gentry, Prairie Grove and Huntsville would all be 3-4 in the 4A-1 Conference.
And it doesn’t stop there. If that happens, all three teams wouldalso have the same number of tiebreaker points (39). That means determining the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds to the postseason from the 4A-1 would come down to a coin fl ip.
“We would all (three) flip a coin and the odd man would be out,” Huntsville coach Ken Harriman said.
“The two remaining teams would then go head-to-head to determine the seeding.”
But Little is just focusing on the easiest scenario, and this is a road the Pioneers traveled down last season. Gentry entered the final week of the 2008 season with a must-win game against Huntsville but stumbled at home, losing 20-10 to the Eagles and being eliminated from the postseason. It should also be noted quarterback Caleb Ramsey played that game basically on one good leg with a knee injury.
“We didn’t take care of the football,” Little said of last year’s loss.
Momentum, however, appears to be on Gentry’s side this season. After a lopsided loss to Shiloh Christian, Gentry jumped back into the playoff chase with convincing wins against Berryville (41-7) and Prairie Grove (28-0) the past two weeks.
Everything seems to be clicking for the Pioneers.Ramsey has passed for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns. He has also rushed for a a team-best 527 yards and seven more touchdowns.
Ramsey’s top target is Mario Orozco, who has 32 catches for 416 yards. Orozco stands 5-foot-4 and weighs just 130 pounds, but Little said the senior is a big-time threat.
“Orozco gets open and he has good quickness,” Little said. “Some teams overlook him because of his size.”
Gentry only managed to rush for 455 yards a year ago, but Nick Weeks is another threat on the ground with 435 yards and four touchdowns on 102 carries. Gentry has 1,224 rushing yards this season.
“After playing the big three (Farmington, Gravette and Shiloh Christian), we have been able to improve,” Little said. “Confidence is high after two convincing wins. We have had a (playo◊) dry spell, but we are headed upthe hill with our head high. The momentum is there.”
But a big challenge awaits Gentry on Friday night. Huntsville has an explosive offense that is capable of shredding defenses on the ground and through the air. Plus, Huntsville is still in the postseason chase, so the Eagles will be bringing their best shot.
“Huntsville has some weapons,” Little said. “We have to be able to stop the run and the pass. At this point in the season, the team with the fewest turnovers, the fewest mistakes, will win the game.
Harriman couldn’t agree more.
“The last two weeks, we have turned the ball over quite a bit, fumbles, interceptions,” Harriman said. “We can’t do that against Gentry. Gentry looks very balanced and their win last week against Prairie Grove got our attention. ... The whole conference’s attention.”
Sports, Pages 9 on 11/04/2009
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