Cougars, Panthers aren’t satisfied yet
Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2008
Siloam Springs and Helena-West Helena Central have achieved significant milestones already this season, and they wouldn’t mind adding a few more.
The Panthers (9-2 ) and Cougars (10-0-1 ) meet Friday in the Class 5 A quarterfinals at Helena-West Helena. Both were stopped in the quarterfinals last season, which means this a natural opportunity for the winner to take the next step, but there are more layers to their stories.
Helena-West Helena has one of its best teams in decades. It has two coveted college prospects — cornerback Darius Winston and running back Turell Williams — orally committed to Arkansas, and the Cougars won the 5 A-East Conference, marking their first conference title since 1955 and their first outright championship since 1948.
Siloam Springs, meanwhile, recorded its ninth victory of the season last week, 24-20 over Little Rock Christian. That marked the school’s first nine-victory season since 1950.
Both teams also are determined to put to rest the disappointment of last season’s playoffs.
Helena-West Helena’s 2007 season ended bitterly when the Cougars were upset 21-14 by Vilonia at home in the quarterfinals. Vilonia stopped Helena-West Helena three times from the 1 before time expired.
That made for a long but motivating offseason, and the Cougars are eager for a chance at redemption Friday night.
“We hated that we ended the season like that,” said Coach Russell Smith, whose team defeated Sylvan Hills last week in the first round of the playoffs. “We lost on a controversial call, and that kind of surfaced in the back of the boys ’ heads that we don’t want to end up like that again.”
The Panthers also need to look no further than last season’s playoffs for motivation.
After breaking through with a first-round victory at Batesville, Siloam Springs faced a star-studded Camden Fairview team in the second round of the playoffs and was overwhelmed early.
It lost 42-10, but just getting to the quarterfinals after three consecutive exits in the first round marked progress for the Panthers.
Now, it’s the Cougars standing in the way of Siloam Springs getting to the next plateau.
“I think this senior group is pretty savvy, and they’ve learned from things that have gone on in front of them throughout the last two years,” Siloam Springs Coach Clint Ashcraft said.
Siloam Springs figures its best chance to upset the Cougars is by controlling the clock behind a veteran offensive line led by seniors Blake Crouse, Wrangler Gottsponer, Tyler Carr, Corey Owens and Shadoe Vanatta.
Running backs Anthony Autry and Jake Cifuentes also must be productive, and quarterback Bryan Adair can’t make too many mistakes facing one the best defensive backfields in the state.
Another thing Siloam has been able to count on this season is its resiliency.
Three of Siloam Springs’ games — Vilonia, Greenwood and Little Rock Christian — were decided on the final series. The Panthers won two of those games after losing all three of their 2007 games that were decided by a touchdown or less.
“The difference between us and the Siloam teams of the past, for the most part, is we found a way to get it done,” Ashcraft said. “A lot of it’s just mental. Instead of waiting on something bad to happen, they’re playing hard expecting something good to happen.”
So is Helena-West Helena. The community has rallied around the Cougars, whose only blemish was a 14-14 tie with Class 6 A West Memphis, and no one seems ready for the ride to end.
“We’ve been getting a lot of great support this year, the most I’ve ever seen with people coming to the games and everyone has come together,” Smith said. “We’re trying to make history here.” Siloam Springs vs. Helena-West Helena WHEN 7: 30 p. m. Friday WHERE Cad Polk Stadium in Helena-West Helena RECORDS Siloam Springs 9-2; Helena-West Helena Central 10-0-1 RANKINGS Siloam Springs is unranked; Helena-West Helena Central is ranked first in Class 5 A RADIO KUOA-AM, 1290, in Siloam Springs
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