Tim Harper isn't interested in being "the next victim" again.
The last time Harper led a team into a state championship game, his Des Arc squad went in as a heavy underdog to Junction City but ended up losing just 10-8 on a last-season field goal in the 2008 Class 2A final at War Memorial Stadium.
Warren (11-3)
DATE OPPONENT RESULT
Sept. 2 FS Southside^ L, 29-22
Sept. 12 at Stuttgart W, 28-12
Sept. 19 Pulaski Academy L, 50-21
Sept. 26 at Crossett* W, 30-9
Oct. 3 Star City* W, 46-21
Oct. 10 Dumas* W, 49-2
Oct. 17 at DeWitt* W, 42-14
Oct. 24 at Monticello* W, 54-22
Oct. 31 Hamburg* W, 45-20
Nov. 6 at PB Dollarway* L, 34-15
Nov. 14 Gravette# W, 45-7
Nov. 21 Heber Springs# W, 49-7
Nov. 28 at Shiloh Christian# W, 47-21
Dec. 5 at Dardanelle# W, 17-16
*8-4A game #Playoff game ^ At Golden Lion Stadium, Pine Bluff
COACH Bo Hembree, 16th season at school, 150-41-1
ASSISTANTS Robert Cuthbertson, Andrew Gonzalez, Steed White, Zack Wulchit, John Daniel Williams, Chase Elliott, Clark Watkins, Bryan Eagle, Clay Bemberg
MASCOT Lumberjacks
CONFERENCE 8-4A RECORD 11-3, 6-1 8-4A, tied first
RANKING No. 1 in Class 4A
ENROLLMENT 325 (based on 2014-2016 classification cycle; 34th among 48 Class 4A football-playing schools)
PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Justin Gorman, 5-9, 195, Sr.; RB Kilay Cox, 5-8, 165, Sr.; WR Darveon Brown, 5-11, 170, Sr.; WR Jaylon Marshall, 6-0, 170, Sr.
OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE FORMATION Spread/Multiple
LEADING RUSHER Kilay Cox, 1,800 yards
LEADING PASSER Justin Gorman, 1,700 yards
LEADING RECEIVER Darveon Brown, 800-plus yards
LEADING TACKLER DeAngelo McCoy, 100-plus tackles
Mena (12-2)
DATE OPPONENT RESULT
Sept. 5 at De Queen W, 41-21
Sept. 12 Hot Springs W, 22-21
Sept. 19 at Mansfield W, 35-14
Sept. 26 at Ashdown* W, 55-34
Oct. 3 Malvern* W, 36-22
Oct. 10 Bauxite* W, 42-14
Oct. 17 at Arkadelphia* L, 40-28
Oct. 24 Nashville* L, 35-7
Oct. 31 at Fountain Lake* W, 47-28
Nov. 7 Waldron* W, 56-0
Nov. 14 CAC# W, 40-9
Nov. 21 Star City# W, 34-24
Nov. 28 Arkadelphia# W, 34-27
Dec. 5 Malvern# W, 26-7
*7-4A game #Playoff game
COACH Tim Harper, second season at school, 17-8
ASSISTANTS Philip Rose, Craig Bentley, Kevin Bledsoe, Aaron Pennington
MASCOT Bearcats
CONFERENCE 7-4A RECORD 12-2, 5-2 7-4A, second RANKING No. 2 in Class 4A
ENROLLMENT 449 (based on 2014-2015 classification cycle; seventh among 48 Class 4A football-playing schools)
PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Sage Kesterson, 6-1, 185, Sr.; RB/S Jackson Daugherty, 5-10, 175, Sr.; LB Dwayn Grinder, 5-11, 175, Jr.
OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE FORMATION Multiple/4-3
LEADING RUSHER Jackson Daugherty, 110 carries, 1,083 yards, 17 touchdowns
LEADING PASSER Sage Kesterson, 3,000 yards
LEADING RECEIVER Jackson Daugherty, 800-plus yards
LEADING TACKLER D’wayn Grinder, 100-plus tackles
"We were a three- or four-touchdown underdog in a lot of people's minds with the way Junction City had played," Harper recalled this week. "Even though we had a great football team that was 13-0, there was this feeling that everybody thought we'd be the next victim.
"For 47 minutes and 59 seconds, the Des Arc Eagles proved they deserved to be here. They were good enough to be state champions."
Harper is back in Little Rock this weekend, having led Mena (12-2) into the Class 4A final this time, and he's tried to instill a simple message into the Bearcats going into today's noon game against Warren (11-3).
Mena belongs.
"No one let us roll over and come here," Harper said. "The 12 wins we've got, we've earned. Most of those teams will admit that we proved it and earned that right. Even after still getting here, you can't help but feel because of tradition that Warren is everybody's favorite.
"My kids don't look at it that way. They've earned the right to be here."
Mena is in its first state championship game since 1976, when it beat Arkadelphia for the Class AA title. Warren is making its fifth appearance in the title game and will try to add a third state championship since the modern playoffs era began in 1968.
The Bearcats, led by senior quarterback Sage Kesterson (3,000-plus yards) and senior running back/safety Jackson Daugherty (17 rushing touchdowns), will present a tough challenge, Warren Coach Bo Hembree said.
"They got speed," Hembree said. "They throw it around. They can run the football. We have to play disciplined football, read our keys and tackle well."
Warren opened its season 1-2 with nonconference losses to Class 7A Fort Smith Southside and Class 5A Pulaski Academy. Southside went on to share the 7A-West title with Bentonville and advanced to the semifinals of the Class 7A playoffs, while Pulaski Academy won the Class 5A state title.
The tough nonconference schedule prepared Warren for conference play, where the Lumberjacks went 6-1 in the 8-4A Conference with their lone loss coming against Pine Bluff Dollarway in the regular-season finale. That loss dropped Warren to a No. 2 seed, but the Lumberbacks defeated Shiloh Christian and Dardanelle on the road to advance to the state championship game for a second consecutive season.
"We got on a little roll there and a good rhythm," Hembree said.
Warren senior quarterback Justin Gorman has thrown for more than 1,700 yards and classmate Darveon Brown, an Arkansas State oral commitment, has more than 800 receiving yards. Gorman and Brown rotated at quarterback in September, but Gorman took over as the starter once conference play began.
"He's done really well," Hembree said. "When he gets into a rhythm and we can run and throw the football, he's really good."
Warren won state championships in 2001 and 2002, but it has lost in its two previous finals appearances against Nashville (2006) and Booneville (2013).
Hembree said there is no secret to what it will take for the Lumberjacks to win their first state championship in 12 years.
"We have to play better," he said. "We didn't play well last year. Booneville had a lot to do with that. They lined up and ran it down our throats."
Sports on 12/13/2014