Warren is back where it started the 2016 season -- War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The Lumberjacks began the season with a 55-48 victory over Little Rock Christian on Aug. 30.
Fourteen weeks later, Warren (14-0) will face Pea Ridge (13-1) in the Class 4A state championship game at 7 p.m.today.
For veteran coach Bo Hembree, the key to the Lumberjacks reaching the state championship game for the sixth time since 2001 is what he calls a process.
"The process starts when they're in the seventh grade and understanding the expectations of the program and being able to compete at a high level, week in and week out," Hembree said. "We take away the naysayers and do what we do."
What Warren has done is win a lot under Hembree.
The Lumberjacks, who have won three state championships (2001, 2002, 2014) are 175-43-1 since Hembree took over as head coach in 1999, have not missed the playoffs with him at the helm.
This year's playoff run may have been toughest, Hembree said.
Warren defeated Jonesboro Westside 42-23, then faced Stuttgart for a second time this season, dispatching the Ricebirds 24-14. On Thanksgiving weekend, the Lumberjacks eliminated Joe T. Robinson 35-28. Last Friday, Warren took a 28-0 lead en route to a 48-28 victory at Prairie Grove to advance to its third state championship game in four years.
"I've been here a long time and there's never been a harder four-game stretch that we've had," Hembree said. "Stuttgart is a really good football team. Robinson had unbelievable athletes. Then we go on the road to Prairie Grove, who is putting up more points. Then we've got Pea Ridge.
"It just shows that you have to have a program in place to handle things like that. They understand it. Some of these guys were ballboys the last couple of times [for state championship games]. That's the expectation and the hope that we always want to win a state championship."
Pea Ridge Coach Stephen Neal, whose team is rivals with Prairie Grove in the 1-4A Conference, understands the importance of not getting behind Warren early like Prairie Grove did.
"They got behind an 8-ball really quick, which totally changed their gameplan," Neal said. "It's very important that we withstand the storm, so to speak. We have to play our offense and our defense.
"Warren is going to make big plays. It's going to happen. We tell our kids, get them on the ground and make them snap the ball again. If not, then we have to come out and compete on the next play and compete at that excellent level that I know we can compete at. If we do that, the score will take care of itself.
"You're not going to stop Warren every single play. But I also feel like we've got a good offense and a good team. That's why we're in the state championship game also."
Warren has been led by senior quarterback Hayden Lassiter, who has thrown 37 touchdown passes this season. His top target is sophomore wide receiver Treylon Burks (1,300 yards, 18 touchdowns), who has received college interest from Arkansas, Memphis and South Florida, among others.
Burks is the latest in a long line of talented wide receivers coached by Hembree, including future NFL players Jarius Wright and Chris Gragg along with Bret Smith. Wright and Gragg played at Arkansas and Smith went to Tennessee.
Hembree admitted that he couldn't judge Burks with Wright, Gragg and Smith because those three receivers didn't play a lot as sophomores, while Burks has.
"This kid started as a ninth-grader," Hembree said. "He's a really great football player and a really great kid. He works extremely hard. The sky is the limit for him."
Winning a fourth state championship is something Hembree wants. He wants his senior class, led by Lassiter, to leave with the program on top even more.
"You remember the losses a lot more than you remember the wins," Hembree said. "We lost two by a combined three points. I hate it for the seniors on the '06 team and the 2013 team. They got to live with that for the rest of their lives. I'm trying to instill that into these kids, that nothing is guaranteed. Whatever happens Friday night, they've got to live with that."
CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Pea Ridge
OFFENSE
POS.;NO.;NAME;HT.;WT.;CL.
WR;41;Ryan Higgins;5-8;180;Jr.
OL;56;Kamden Boyd;5-10;205;Sr.
OL;61;Beau German;6-0;270;Sr.
OL;53;Denver Yates;6-3;250;Jr.
OL;54;Tanner Flippo;5-9;180;Sr.
OL;71;Tanner Stamps;6-3;205;Sr.
QB;14;Jakota Sainsbury;5-11;180;Jr.
RB;2;Zaine Holley;5-8;180;Sr.
FB;37;Wyatt Weber;5-9;190;Sr.
WR;23;Hayden Holtgrewe;6-1;160;Jr.
TE;22;Britton Caudill;6-2;215;Sr.
K;3;Evan Green;NA;NA;Jr.
DEFENSE
POS.;NO.;NAME;HT.;WT.;CL.
DL;72;Seth Trammell;5-9;215;Sr.
DL;80;Trevor Hyman;6-0;230;Sr.
DL;45;Mike Mahoney;6-3;250;So.
DL;28;Brett Kirby;6-1;215;Jr.
LB;37;Wyatt Weber;5-9;190;Sr.
LB;24;Robby Pickthall;6-0;195;Jr.
LB;40;Tristin Brewer;5-7;200;So.
LB;13;Jacob Torres;5-5;150;Sr.
CB;6;Drew Winn;5-11;170;Jr.
FS;22;Britton Caudill;6-2;215;Sr.
CB;23;Hayden Holtgrewe;6-1;160;Jr.
P;24;Robby Pickthall;6-0;195;Jr.
Warren
OFFENSE
POS.;NO.;NAME;HT.;WT.;CL.
WR;4;Cade Reep;5-11;160;So.
WR;Keemontrae McKnight;5-8;169;So.
OL;51;Devonta Brown;6-4;265;Sr.
OL;57;Will Woodard;5-8;269;Jr.
OL;55;Gaige Watson;5-9;268;Sr.
OL;74;Joe Morris;6-0;290;Jr.
OL;50;Avery Weaver;5-8;248;So.
QB;15;Hayden Lassiter;6-0;175;Sr.
RB;5;Dennis Daniels;5-11;190;Sr.
WR;13;Treylon Burks;6-3;205;So.
WR;17;Braden Hargis;5-8;165;Jr.
K;13;Sergio Yepes;5-10;190;Sr.
DEFENSE
POS.;NO.;NAME;HT.;WT.;CL.
DL;48;Greyson Ashcraft;5-11;200;Sr.
DL;57;Will Woodard;5-8;269;Jr.
DL;66;Wallace Smith;6-3;310;Jr.
DL;54;Marcus Miller;6-4;290;So.
LB;2;Byron Person;5-6;165;Sr.
LB;13;Treylon Burks;6-3;205;So.
LB;33;Psavian Person;5-10;186;Jr.
CB;3;Carrington Gilbert;5-5;140;Sr.
CB;10;D’shawn Jackson;5-6;190;Sr.
S;1;Jmalachi Kinnard;5-7;136;So.
S;15;Hayden Lassiter;6-0;175;Sr.
P;15;Hayden Lassiter;6-0175;Sr.
Comparing
OFFENSES
PR;VS.;WAR
229.9;RUSHING;247.0
139.3;PASSING;226.0
369.1;TOTAL OFFENSE;473.0
39.1;POINTS;42.7
DEFENSES
PR;VS.;WAR
138.0;RUSHING;120.0
118.1;PASSING;123.0
256.1;TOTAL DEFENSE;243.0
18.0;POINTS;20.9
0;SHUTOUTS;1
TRADITION
PR;VS.;WAR
1;TITLE GAMES;6
0;STATE TITLES;3
Offensive and defensive totals represent per-game averages.
*Since the modern era began in 1968.
Pea Ridge (13-1)
DATE;OPPONENT;RESULT
Sept. 2;Booneville;W, 41-22
Sept. 9;Green Forest;W, 52-6
Sept. 16;Farmington;W, 13-7
Sept. 23;Gentry*;W, 50-21
Sept. 30;Lincoln*;W, 62-14
Oct. 7;Gravette*;W, 46-16
Oct. 14;Prairie Grove*;L, 42-21
Oct. 21;Berryville*;W, 45-5
Oct. 28;Huntsville*;W, 39-6
Nov. 4;Shiloh Christian*;W, 30-13
Nov. 11;Arkadelphia#;W, 30-24
Nov. 18;Nashville#;W, 53-28
Nov. 25;Hamburg#;W, 36-24
Dec. 2;Shiloh Christian#;W, 30-24
*1-4A game #Playoff game
COACH Stephen Neal, first season at school, 13-1
ASSISTANTS Lafe Caton, Matt Easterling, Crosby Tuck
MASCOT Blackhawks
CONFERENCE 1-4A
RECORD 13-1, 6-1 1-4A, second
RANKING No. 2 in Class 4A
ENROLLMENT 398 (20th in 2016-2018 classification among 48 Class 4A football-playing schools)
PLAYERS TO WATCH RB Zaine Holley (Sr., 5-8, 180); QB Jakota Sainsbury (Jr., 5-11, 180); TE/FS Britton Caudill (Sr., 6-2, 215)
LEADING RUSHER Zaine Holley, 267 carries, 1,483 yards, 19 touchdowns
LEADING PASSER Jakota Sainsbury, 111 of 197, 1,940 yards, 17 touchdowns
LEADING RECEIVER Hayden Holtgrewe, 66 receptions, 1,059 yards, 9 touchdowns
LEADING TACKLER Robby Pickthall, 101 tackles
Warren (14-0)
DATE;OPPONENT;RESULT
Aug. 30;LR Christian;W, 55-48
Sept. 9;Stuttgart;W, 21-12
Sept. 16;Watson Chapel;W, 52-32
Sept. 23;Crossett*;W, 44-27
Sept. 30;Star City*;W, 47-14
Oct. 7;Dumas*;W, 44-20
Oct. 14;DeWitt*;W, 54-8
Oct. 21;Monticello*;W, 28-14
Oct. 28;Hamburg*;W, 61-24
Nov. 3;PB Dollarway*;W, 42-0
Nov. 11;Jonesboro WS#;W, 42-23
Nov. 18;Stuttgart#;W, 24-14
Nov. 25;Joe T. Robinson#;W, 35-28
Dec. 2;Prairie Grove#;W, 48-28
*8-4A game #Playoff game
COACH Bo Hembree, 18th season at school, 175-43-1
ASSISTANTS Robert Cuthbertson, Clark Watkins, Steed White, Jimmy May, Caleb Spradlin, Tyler Kell, Blake Washington, George Shelton, Michael Milam, Chet Brown
MASCOT Lumberjacks
CONFERENCE 8-4A
RECORD 14-0, 7-0 8-4A, first
RANKING No. 1 in Class 4A
ENROLLMENT 346 (31st in 2016-2018 classification among 48 Class 4A football-playing schools)
PLAYERS TO WATCH QB/S Hayden Lassiter (Sr., 6-0, 175); RB Dennis Daniels (Sr., 5-11, 190); WR/LB Treylon Burks (So., 6-3, 205)
LEADING RUSHER Dennis Daniels, 1,500 yards, 15 touchdowns
LEADING PASSER Hayden Lassiter, 162 of 276, 3,097 yards, 37 touchdowns
LEADING RECEIVER Treylon Burks, 1,300 yards, 18 touchdowns
LEADING TACKLER Byron Person, 150 tackles
Sports on 12/09/2016