Following Friday’s round of state playoff games, five of last year’s high school football state champions are still in the hunt to repeat those efforts.
Class 6A defending champion Lake Hamilton defeated LR Parkview Friday 35-26 and will face Pine Bluff, a 24-16 winner over West Memphis, in one half of the semifinals.
Class 5A defending champion Pulaski Academy reached the semifinal round by defeating Greenwood 21-14 last Friday. They will face Monticello this Friday.
Shiloh Christian, the defending Class 4A state champs, downed DeQueen 56-37 on Friday to stay alive in that bracket. Shiloh will face Nashville in the next round on Friday.
In Class 3A, defending champion Charleston received a bye in the first round, and will host Rison this Friday. Rison defeated Earle 35-20 on Friday.
Finally, in Class 2A, Junction City moved into the next round by defeating Murfreesboro 34-13 on Friday.
Junction City draws Danville next.
The only defending state champion to be eliminated so far was Class 7A’s Bentonville, who lost to Fort Smith Southside on Friday 27-24.
All of the state final games, with the exception of Class 3A, will be played at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The 3A state championship game will be played at Estes Stadium on the UCA campus in Conway.
Buzz Bolding, athletic director for Conway Public Schools, is pleased, particularly from a potential revenue standpoint, that a vote by the largest 32 schools in the state placed Bryant, Cabot and North Little Rock back into the 7A/6A Central Conference.
Prior to Friday’s game at Helena-West Helena, Forrest City Coach Rich Trail said one of the keys to a Mustang win would be stopping the big play Cougar offense.
Once Siloam Springs’ quarterback Brian Adair tossed a 39-yard touchdown pass to narrow Greenbrier’s lead to 28-24 late in the third quarter, the Panthers could go only one of two ways.
In the final nonconference game before 5A-West play begins, the Vilonia Eagles put together an evenly balanced attack and a convincing 35-24 win over Beebe on Friday night.
Spencer Harris and Marco Vota batted down Kiehl Frazier's desperation pass to finally end an instant classic as Greenwood outlasted nationally-ranked Shiloh Christian, 54-51.
Northside was able to throw the slant route at will in the second half against Little Rock Catholic but one play kept the Grizzlies from posting a perfect nonconference record.