Little flashy about Stuttgart or Prairie Grove

Stuttgart Coach Billy Elmore said his Ricebirds will be challenged by Prairie Grove’s offense in their Class 4A semifinal game Friday. “Man, they do a great job running the Wing-T,” Elmore said. “Their linemen are perfectly built for that offense. They’ve got those smaller, quicker guys that really come off he ball. That’s a concern.”
Stuttgart Coach Billy Elmore said his Ricebirds will be challenged by Prairie Grove’s offense in their Class 4A semifinal game Friday. “Man, they do a great job running the Wing-T,” Elmore said. “Their linemen are perfectly built for that offense. They’ve got those smaller, quicker guys that really come off he ball. That’s a concern.”

— Old-school football will be on display Friday night in Stuttgart when the Ricebirds (11-1) host Prairie Grove (12-0) in the semifinals of the Class 4A playoffs.

Stuttgart, top-ranked in Class 4A, is all about solid running and tough defense.

Prairie Grove, No. 3 in Class 4A, runs the Wing-T — a far cry from high-flying Spread attacks prevalent across the state — and is armed with a defense that has eight shutouts.

“Man, they do a great job running the Wing-T,” Ricebirds Coach Billy Elmore said. “Their linemen are perfectly built for that offense. They’ve got those smaller, quicker guys that really come off the ball. That’s a concern.”

So is Prairie Grove’s late scoring surges.

Prairie Grove beat Pottsville 34-28 in a second-round game after trailing 28-12 in the third quarter.

It also beat Nashville 41-34 in last week’s quarterfinals. The Tigers trailed 28-14 after three quarters.

“The last two weeks, they’ve had some hiccups that could have kept them from winning,” Elmore said. “It’s impressive to me what they’ve done.”

Stuttgart’s road to the semifinals hasn’t been nearly as stressful.

Following a first-round playoff bye, Stuttgart beat Dardanelle 54-0 in a second-round game and Warren 27-6 in the semifinals.

Warren sophomore tailback Kilay Cox, who entered with 1,538 rushing yards on the season, was limited to 56 yards on 14 carries.

The Ricebirds finished with a 425-162 advantage in total yards. Senior quarterback Dontrell Brown ran 23 times for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns.

“The quarterback is good,” Prairie Grove Coach Danny Abshier said. “They do a good job on both sides of the ball.”

Stuttgart is trying to reach a state final for the first time since winning the Class AAAA title in 2002.

Prairie Grove has never won a state championship recognized by the Arkansas Activities Association.

At a glance

PRAIRIE GROVE VS. STUTTGART

WHAT Class 4A semifinals WHEN 7 p.m. Friday WHERE Moseley Stadium, Stuttgart RECORDS Prairie Grove 12-0; Stuttgart 11-1 RANKINGS Prairie Grove is No. 3 in Class 4A; Stuttgart is No. 1 in Class 4A SEEDS Prairie Grove is No. 1 from the 1-4A; Stuttgart is No. 1 from the 2-4A

Sports, Pages 25 on 11/29/2012

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