"We're really excited," first-year head coach Jeff Weaver said. "We are playing our best football right now, and the kids are working really hard in practice. We're excited to get another week of practices, but there are no guarantees in the playoffs. They have to play great to have an opportunity to keep playing."
Many anticipated a Jonesboro-Russellville matchup in the semifinals of the Class 6A state semifinals in 2016, but the Hurricane (5-5) were upset by the Benton Panthers 56-52 in the quarterfinals. Russellville (5-5) went on to win its first state championship in the modern era, and fans had to wait a year to see tonight's matchup.
But things aren't exactly as they were then. The Cyclones loss many key contributors to last year's success, and the Hurricanes have lost four of their last five games as injuries have benched many key players.
Scouting the Hurricane
Weaver described Jonesboro as a "typically high scoring offense," and the numbers back it up. The Hurricane scored 76 points on Jacksonville in Week 5 and 56 on Little Rock Hall in Week 7. Jonesboro averages 38 points per game and all but one of their games have had a difference of 15 points or greater.
"They are very athletic," Weaver said. "And we hope to have good things happen for us early in the game. We think that gives us a good opportunity."
The Hurricane have struggled with injuries this season, with senior running backs Daniel Johnson and Ji'marcus Bibbs out with knee injuries. Junior linebacker Logan Orr went out with a rotator cuff injury the first game of the season, and senior quarterback Tyson Williams broke his leg against Jacksonville.
Williams, who split time with A.J. Aycok previously, was expected to miss the rest of the season but will play Friday -- although Aycok suffered a strained MCL against Marion last week and isn't likely to play.
In all, Jonesboro is missing seven starters due to injury.
Weaver said the injuries were detrimental to the Hurricane season, but he still expects a very talented team on Friday.
"They are very athletic, but I think our style of play will give them some problems," he said. "Both teams should be able to move the ball, but I think the team that protects the ball more will be the most successful."
By the numbers
Jonesboro, which has not had a losing season since 2007, has been overall balanced offensively, passing for 2,526 yards and rushing for 2,169 with 23 touchdowns coming on the ground and 29 coming through the air.
Russellville has favored an air attack with 2,261 yards passing and only 1,038 rushing. The Cyclones have scored 26 passing touchdowns and 11 rushing.
Russellville has fumbled the ball 10 times (six lost). The Hurricane are guilty of eight fumbles (four lost) and eight interceptions.
"I would like to see us get a few more turnovers, but we have protected the ball well for the most part this year," Weaver said. "Jonesboro has struggled with turnovers recently, but you can't count on them to just give you the ball."
Playing up
Russellville has played with an undersized line all season, so playing against -- as Weaver put it -- a "ginormous" team is nothing new. Jonesboro's senior left tackle Noah Gatlin, who is committed to Arkansas and junior Darius Thomas, who has offers from Arkansas, LSU, Auburn and others, could cause a problem, but Weaver is confident Russellville's up-tempo offense will help equalize the field.
"We have to attack," he said. "We have to use our speed, and we can't just let them hand the ball off and run right behind those guys all night. Our pace of game will be a big key in terms of slowing down their offense. We have been focused the last few weeks on playing really fast, and that helps us run the ball and slow down the pass rush."
Scouting the Cyclones
Russellville averages 27.7 points per game offensively and gives up the exact same defensively.
Weaver believes the Cyclones are playing their best football at the exact right moment. Russellville is the defending state champion, so they already knew how to win when Weaver took over the program. Weaver said it was about learning the new system and the expectations -- including taking the occasional risk.
"A lot of it is just learning the way we do things," he said. "There's a lot of learning about how to go to work every day. They are defending champions, but they lost a lot off that team, so it's been a challenge getting the young guys to step up."
Russellville's offense under Billy Dawson was methodical. The former head coach often described it as "taking whatever the defense gives us." Weaver's offense attempts to be more aggressive.
"It's quite a bit different for them," he said. "We're willing to take a lot more risks, and I think our talent is geared toward that. Our key contributors like it. They like that we take our shots, but you know the way we are set up, this team is just kind of built for that talent-wise. Early in the year it didn't pan out for us sometimes, but as the season has gone on it has.
"The kids are used to it. They expect it. It's a fun system to play in because we put a lot of faith in our kids."
Despite a lopsided loss to the El Dorado Wildcats in Week 9, Russellville's offense has been plenty explosive. The Cyclones put up 593 yards against the Siloam Springs Panthers last week, the most offensive yards by Russellville in the modern era.
Quarterback Ryan Talley scored seven touchdowns and tied the school record for most passing touchdowns in a game with six. The record was set by Cody Jones in 2013.
Wide receiver Rhett Adkins broke the school record for receiving yards in a game with 252, set previously by Eric Neihouse in 2000.
Last week's offensive numbers came with several key contributors on the sidelines nursing minor injuries. Weaver said it was great to be able to rest them before the playoffs.
"We have been pretty beat up ever since we played Greenwood," he said. "We were happy to be able to have some guys not play and still go out there and play really well.
"It was senior night, so we wanted to get those seniors who haven't got much playing time in as much as possible."
Besides that, Weaver said it was a great confidence boost for the team.
"We feel like we are really starting to hit our stride," he said. "Every week of the season you go out hoping to play your best and win, especially in a year with a changing coaching staff. You especially hope it builds and builds. You're praying for that.
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