Danny Abshier has ridden what he calls an emotional “roller coaster” this season.
The Prairie Grove coach watched as the Tigers, full of confidence in the preseason, went winless in nonconference play and started the season 1-5 overall. Then, with their playoff lives in doubt, Abshier watched as the Tigers ran wild over 4A-1 Conference No. 2 seed Gravette 44-17 in the regular season finale.
That was followed by last week’s stunning 49-42 first-round Class 4A playoff win at Dumas, a win that once again has Prairie Grove’s confidence riding high into tonight’s second-round playoff game at Nashville. It’s confidence Abshier hopes carries over for the Tigers as they take on the undefeated Scrappers (11-0).
“You’ve won two games you’re not supposed to win, so your confidence has to be sky-high,” Abshier said. “It has to, because you have to believe in each other.
“Do I hope it will snowball? Yes, I do, because we’re going to need that.”
Nashville, coming off a 52-6 win over Fordyce last week, is in its last season under coach Billy Dawson, who is retiring from coaching at season’s end to become a preacher in Nashville. The Scrappers won three straight state titles from 2005-07 and had only one loss last season — a 16-12 loss to Pine Bluff Dollarway in the quarterfinals.
Overall, Nashville is 64-3 under Dawson, formerly the coach at Siloam Springs.
“Nashville is Nashville,” Abshier said. “They’re doing the same things they do every year. They’re consistent.
“Do they makes mistakes? Yeah, but they just expect to overcome those mistakes and they normally do. They just keep doing their thing.”
Last week, Prairie Grove’s Thomas Soehner rushed for 207 yards in the win over Dumas. It’s the Tigers (5-6) rushing attack that has Dawson concerned, despite Prairie Grove’s early season struggles.
“They’re scary,” Dawson said. “Something ignited them. The last couple of weeks they’ve been real consistent and taken care of the football. They’ll be prepared.
Nashville has been led this season by quarterback Cole Moore, who has passed for 2,500 yards this season. Moore’s top two targets have been seniors Paul Morrow (47 catches) and Glen Adams (46 catches), while running back Devencio Hawthorne has rushed for more than 900 yards.
“Our kids have been real resilient,” Dawson said. “Our kids have come on and played real well for us.
“We’ve been consistent all year, and our kids don’t panic.”
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