Yellow buses criss-crossing the state with loads of football players is a sure sign the playoffs are in full swing and few teams have a longer trip than Prairie Grove, which plays at Rivercrest tonight in Class 4A.
Rivercrest is located in Mississippi County between the Johny Cash Museum in Dyess and the Hampton Archeological Museum in Wilson, fun visits both. The fun usually stops for visitors at the football stadium, where the Colts are 10-0 and ranked No. 5 in Class 4A.
Although separated by nearly 350 miles, Rivercrest and Prairie Grove are united in their country boy, tough-as-nails approach to winning football games. Few teams break down and tackle better than Prairie Grove, which is 10-1 on the season after losing to Shiloh Christian, the No. 1 team in Class 4A. The Tigers will have to be at their best on defense to slow a Rivercrest offense led by Kam Turner, an elusive senior quarterback who's passed for 2,687 yards and 34 touchdowns and ran for 1,246 yards and 16 touchdowns. Keshawn Scott, who played running back last season, moved to receiver and leads the team with 63 catches for 1,246 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Prairie Grove will counter offensively with its Wing-T offense that produced over 300 yards rushing last week in a 59-34 win over Blytheville. Quarterback Knox Laird connects mostly with Landon Semrad in the passing game and Laird is a top tackler at linebacker for the Tigers.
Rivercrest has a rich history with state championships in 1985, 2010, and 2017 and with former standouts like Steven Marshall, Richard Brothers, and Cortez Kennedy, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Prairie Grove has had postseason success, especially in 2015 when the Tigers won a school-record 13 games and reached the state championship for the first time in football.
Prairie Grove is certainly capable but the Tigers must contain the explosive Turner, who has run for over 100 yards in half his games this season and returned a punt last week for a touchdown. That's a challenge no team has accomplished.
RICK'S PICK: Rivercrest
Other selections involving teams from Northwest Arkansas. Some scheduled games may be canceled by tonight because of covid-19 concerns. (selections are capitalized).
CLASS 6A
Marion at GREENWOOD
CLASS 5A
White Hall at HARRISON
CLASS 4A
Malvern at SHILOH CHRISTIAN
Pocahontas at OZARK
Elkins at NASHVILLE
CLASS 3A
Osceola at BOONEVILLE
Glen Rose at CHARLESTON
Lincoln at McGEHEE
PICKS
LAST WEEK: 14-6 (70%)
OVERALL: 222-49 (82%)