HOT SPRINGS -- One victory away from an unbeaten season, the zero in Jonesboro's loss column, says Hurricane boys Coach Wes Swift, has become irrelevant.
"It means absolutely nothing as far as our preparation for our game [today]," said Swift, whose team enters the game with a 31-0 record. "If we were to win, I think it would definitely add something to the history part of what we're doing at Jonesboro High School."
Standing in the way of the Hurricane's dream season is El Dorado (28-4) and 6-11 center Daniel Gafford, a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville signee.
The two teams are scheduled to meet in the Class 6A state championship game at 3:30 p.m. at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
One of the biggest keys to El Dorado's chances of handing Jonesboro its first loss is how much time Gafford spends on the court.
"When we have Daniel on the floor and he's not in foul trouble, we are 28-0," El Dorado Coach Gary Simmons said. "Every game we've lost, he's been in foul trouble. The Mills game he played 11 minutes. The second Mills game he played 12. The game at Texarkana, he played nine minutes and fouled out with 6 and [a] half [minutes] to go. So, yeah, it's important to keep him on the floor."
Swift said his team's game plan, however, will not be centered around challenging Gafford, who is averaging 16.4 points, 16.0 rebounds and 7.8 blocked shots a game.
"I think we should just be us," Swift said. "I think he's somebody we have to be aware of when we're on offense, but our guys can play and our guys have played against a lot of high-level competition. ... It won't be the first time our kids have been on the floor against a 6-10 or 6-11 player."
Both teams are loaded with quick, solid guards. Jonesboro junior Desi Sills leads the Hurricane with 15 points a game, but seniors Ben Harvey, Jonathan Adams and Marquis Eaton are all averaging at least 12 points a game.
"We want to attack the rim. That's what our guards do," Swift said. "We get to the free-throw line 22 times a game. We've done it all year. And that can't stop [Friday]."
El Dorado will counter with Czar Perry and Ryu Unice, who are scoring 21.5 and 11.3 points a game, respectively.
" I've coached Czar the last two summers and I just love him," Swift said. "I don't think there's a more athletic guard in the state. He's explosive and when he's shooting the ball well, they will be extremely hard to guard."
Simmons said the Wildcats can not afford to commit turnovers.
"Their guards are good in the open floor and they are good playing one-on-one," Simmons said. "They follow shots well and they have good speed. If we turn the ball over, it's going to be two on one on the other end and we can't be fouling all night long."
El Dorado is averaging 72 points a game and Swift said the reason the Wildcats score as much as they do is because they get the ball out in transition.
"They may do that better than any team in the state," Swift said. "That's saying a lot with Mills, Parkview and us. I think they get out faster than all three of those teams."
Sports on 03/10/2017