First thoughts of the Pulaski Academy football program tend to revolve around their high-scoring offense. Bruins defensive coordinator Todd Wood understands this.
Shortly after Pulaski Academy completed its 55-16 victory over Wynne in the Class 5A state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Saturday afternoon, Wood nodded toward the left side of the scoreboard. It displayed the byproduct of the winners' eight touchdowns.
"That's the reason," Wood said.
Perhaps it's time for a second thought. Wynne Coach Chris Hill was quick to praise Pulaski Academy's defensive performance Saturday on the cold, rain-soaked artificial turf. Wynne scored an average of 51.4 points per game through its first 13, and it advanced to the final with a 77-41 semifinal victory over Watson Chapel on Nov. 25. But against Pulaski Academy, Wynne was limited to two touchdowns and 2 tw0-point conversions.
"I've been saying all along that their defense is way underrated," Hill said. "Their offense gets all the credit, gets all the publicity for them, but they are a very good defensive football team. They're very well coached, and what stands out most for me is how hard and how fast those kids play."
Pulaski Academy Coach Kevin Kelley agreed with Hill's assessment. He cited several examples from this season when his team's defense saved games, foremost in a 22-18 victory over Little Rock McClellan on Oct. 28.
"Our defense has been great several years in a row, but this year they're finally starting to get some glory like they deserve," Kelley said. "To come out against a team like this, against Wynne that scores 51 a game, we had to play assignment football and stay disciplined. I'm really happy they're starting to get some credit."
Pulaski Academy's coaches and players knew Wynne would present a type of rushing attack they hadn't seen since early in the season.
"Their offense is extremely tough to prepare for," Wood said. "There are so many levels that give them so many opportunities that if you miss one, they're going to break something open. We had to make sure we played fundamentally sound and we did that today."
Pulaski Academy's only loss this season came against Salt Lake City East, ranked 22nd nationally by MaxPreps, 37-23 on Sept. 9, with an offense that featured a run-dominated Flexbone set similar to that used by Wynne.
"We had a little jump on this offense after having seen that from East High," Wood said. "That absolutely helped us out."
Wynne rushed for 339 yards Saturday, led by junior Ta'von Hicks' 228 yards on 42 carries, but began the game with a season rushing average of 430.7 yards per game.
Pulaski Academy's defensive players knew the challenge was clear against Wynne.
"We knew coming in it was going to be a really tough game," senior safety Hayden Henry said.
"We knew we had to practice very hard," senior defensive lineman Cameron Fonseca said. "We worked on our basic formations and tried some different stuff, too. We knew we had to be ready to come out here and win."
Sports on 12/04/2016