Mount Ida was 7-0 entering its Week 8 home matchup against Dierks at Stidman Field on Oct. 21.
But the Lions suffered a 42-21 loss to the Outlaws, dropping Mount Ida into a four-way tie for first place in the 7-2A Conference.
Responding after the Dierks loss was critical, Lions Coach Michael White said.
"It woke us up. It was one of the best things that could have happened to us," said White, whose team will face Hampton (13-0) for the Class 2A state title at noon Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. "You hate to lose, but those young guys sometimes have to come down to reality. I think that's what happened. We focused and started playing good football."
Senior offensive and defensive lineman Logan Abernathy agreed with his coach.
"We didn't give a full effort in that game," said. "We paid the consequences for it."
The Lions responded two weeks after the Dierks game -- they picked up a forfeited victory over Mountain Pine on Oct. 28 -- with a 37-20 victory over Lafayette County to clinch the 7-2A's No. 1 seed.
From there, the Lions won their four playoff games against Johnson County Westside 49-0, Conway Christian 41-29, Danville 28-27 in overtime, and Camden Harmony Grove 33-20.
Saturday will mark the first championship game appearance for Mount Ida (13-1) since 2007, when it defeated Bearden 17-16 to finish 15-0.
"They're very excited," said White, who also coached the Lions in 2007. "It will be one of those deals where somebody will turn the lights off because there will be nobody there on Saturday."
Mount Ida defeated Camden Harmony Grove last Friday in the Class 2A semifinals behind 406 rushing yards, including 326 from running backs Jonathan Lagrange, Gage Dyer and Cade Helms. Lagrange and Dyer, both sophomores, had 109 and 105 yards, respectively, with Lagrange scoring three touchdowns. Helms, a junior, had 105 yards.
White credited his team's offensive line for allowing the Lions to run the ball as well as they did in the game, when Mount Ida held possession for 25:59.
"We've got hard-nosed football players who play hard," White said. "They took control of that ballgame. That's a big part of our game."
Abernathy said he would like nothing more than to win his final high school football game.
"It would be great for our community," said. "People said we wouldn't make it here. We'd like to prove everybody wrong."
Sports on 12/06/2016