Hawes Returns For Saints
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — SPRINGDALE — Shiloh Christian senior wide receiver Jon Hawes returned to the field Friday night against Ozark after missing the first seven games with a foot injury.
Hawes (6-foot-3, 201 pounds) was injured in practice prior to the Saints’ season opener against Watson Chapel. His return gives the Saints another offensive weapon as the Class 4A state playoffs begin next week, coach Josh Floyd said.
“It gives us speed on the outside that we haven’t had the whole season,” Floyd said.
Shiloh (8-1, 6-0 4A-1 Conference) has already locked up the No. 1 seed and will face the fifth place team from the 4A-8 in the first round of the playoffs next week. The Saints are going for their third consecutive state title. Shiloh has also won 20 straight 4A-1 conference games over the past three seasons.
Hawes caught two passes for 69 yards, including a 33-yard reverse pass from reserve quarterback Michael Slone on Friday. On that pass, Hawes battled an Ozark defensive back for possession when both came down with the ball. The other reception was a 36-yard touchdown pass from Kiehl Frazier.
“It feels great to be back,” Hawes said. “I’m 100 percent and ready to go.”
The Saints close the regular season at home in Champions Stadium on Friday against Farmington.
— CHIP SOUZA
Pirates Clinch Postseason Spot
Regardless of what happens Friday, Greenland coach Lee Larkan can relax knowing that his Pirates have clinched the No. 2 seed in the Class 3A playoffs.
With the seeding, Greenland (7-2, 5-1 3A-1 Conference) is also assured to host a first-round playoff game for the first time since 2006. This comes a year after the Pirates missed the postseason with a 2-8 record.
Still, Larkan said Tuesday he wants to make sure that his players don’t get complacent heading into Friday’s regular-season finale against Yellville-Summit. Kickoff is schedule for 7 p.m. in Greenland.
“It’s good on the fact that we know we’re in (the playoffs). We know we got a home playoff game the next week,” Larkan said.
“The hard part is you don’t want to have a letdown and let somebody slip in and beat you due to you not being ready to play. That very well can happen.”
Larkan said he hasn’t had to combat any sort of complacency so far in practice this week. It helps that Friday is Senior Night for the Pirates.
“I think our seniors want to play their last regular-season home game and play it well,” Larkan said. “And we’ve also seen film of Yellville-Summit. They’re huge, and we know they’re going to be a tough game.”
— ALEX ABRAMS
Panthers Need Win, Help
SILOAM SPRINGS — Siloam Springs is going to need a little bit of help if it wants to make the Class 5A playoffs.
While the Panthers await their regular-season finale Friday at Morrilton, there will be a close eye being kept on the 5A-West Conference game at Greenbrier on Thursday. The outcome will determine whether Siloam will be able to have a chance to play for a playoff spot against the Devil Dogs.
Siloam (5-4, 3-3) needs a Vilonia victory at Greenbrier on Thursday, and the Panthers then need to win against Morrilton (2-7, 1-5) on Friday in order to begin making postseason plans.
However, second-year coach Bryan Ross said the Panthers aren’t in any position to worry about what goes Thursday and can only focus on the task ahead of them.
“We just have to focus on Morrilton,” Ross said. “I’m sure everybody will be really tuned in on what happens Thursday night. Bottom line is we can’t do anything about that. All we can control is how well we go down and play Morrilton.
“You can just hope that Vilonia beats Greenbrier, and if they can do that we need to go down to Morrilton and take care of business, then we get to play another game.”
The Panthers have had several chances to avoid being put in the position of needing help from the outside to get in. Losses at Harrison, at home against Vilonia and at Alma have offset wins against Greenwood, at Greenbrier and Huntsville.
Had the Panthers won any of those three conference games, it’s possible they would control their own destiny this week. As it is, that won’t be decided until Thursday.
“It is a little different, a little weird,” Ross said. “You’d hate to think that you’d have to go play and already know you’re out of the playoffs, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
— GRAHAM THOMAS