It's a sure sign the high school football playoffs are here by the number of teams crisscrossing the state.
The bus carrying Huntsville is on the road again after the Eagles qualified for postseason play for the first time since 2009. That's the good news.
The not so good news is the Eagles have to travel five-plus hours to Gosnell, which is located in northeast Arkansas near Blytheville. That's quite a haul from the hills of Madison County to a football field about 12 miles from the Mississippi River. But the Eagles aren't complaining.
"Our kids are so excited, they wouldn't care if we were traveling cross country," Huntsville coach Randy Barnhill said.
Huntsville (4-6, 3-4 4A-1 Conference) made gradual improvement this season under Barnhill, who was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach at Huntsville in April after Tommy Tice retired. The Eagles lost four of their first five, including a 43-0 shutout to Farmington. But Huntsville picked up conference wins over Gentry and Lincoln then beat Berryville in Week 10 to earn the trip to Gosnell for the playoffs.
"Even when we lost 19-14 to Gravette, I knew we were going to be OK," Barnhill. "Losing hurts, and I could see it in their eyes after that game. I could tell it meant something to them."
Gosnell (9-0, 7-1) is a conference champion whose only loss this year came 32-26 to Rivercrest in Week 3. The Pirates are a predominant run team that averages 266 yards on the ground and 69 yards through the air. They'll be faster than Huntsville, they're at home, and they more playoff experience than the Eagles.
Those factors should greatly favor Gosnell. But after a New York businessman with no political experience wins the presidency, who knows?
RICK'S PICK Gosnell
Other games involving teams from Northwest Arkansas (selections are capitalized).
CLASS 7A
Today
CABOT at Bentonville West
Friday
Springdale at BRYANT
ROGERS at Conway
Little Rock Catholic at BENTONVILLE
CLASS 5A
Blytheville at ALMA
Harrison at BATESVILLE
CLASS 4A
Crossett at SHILOH CHRISTIAN
Arkadelphia at PEA RIDGE
CLASS 3A
Jessieville at ELKINS
Greenland at ATKINS
Marked Tree at MOUNTAINBURG
LAST WEEK 11-2 (84 percent)
OVERALL 131-38 (77 percent)
Sports on 11/10/2016