By Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
Two schools that are accustomed to playing football late in November will collide for the first time in 12 years, as Junction City hosts Harding Academy in the second round of the 3A playoffs.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. from David Carpenter Stadium.
The Dragons (10-0) are the 6-3A’s No. 1 seed and enter off a bye week, while the Wildcats (7-4) are the 2-3A’s No. 3 seed and are coming off of a 49-21 win over Centerpoint last week.
The schools last met in the 2005 playoffs with the Dragons coming away with a 21-16 win at home.
Consistency has been a hallmark for both programs.
The Wildcats have posted seasons of 10 or more wins 10 times since 2001, and the seven wins they have this year is the fewest they have since 2003.
The Dragons have won 10 or more games 11 times since 2001 and they reached the double-digit plateau for the first time since 2014 when they capped their perfect regular season two weeks ago.
Harding Academy enters the second round of the playoffs on a roll having won four straight games by a combined score of 188-47.
“They’ve looked very sharp offensively in their last couple of games,” Junction City coach Steven Jones said. “They don’t make mistakes. I feel like they’ve gotten all of their kinks worked out. They had some guys injured throughout the middle of the year where they lost some games they probably shouldn’t have. Now that they’re healthy, they’re rolling pretty good, so it’s going to be a good matchup for us.”
The litany of injuries Jones spoke of was at the heart of a stretch where the Wildcats lost four of five games, but Harding Academy coach Neil Evans said his team is finally back at full strength.
“Last week was the healthiest we’ve been since the second series of the fourth week,” Evans said. “We started conference play, we’re in the second series of the game, and Peydon Harlow breaks his arm, and he’s out until Week 7.
“By Week 6, we had seven starters out. We played the meat of our schedule between Bald Knob, Barton and Mayflower without anywhere between four and seven of our starters. That’s a daunting blow to anybody at any level. If you know anything about 3A football, you lose that many starters, it’s going to radically change your team.
“I think you can look at the records of the teams that we’ve beaten at the end of the year, and they’re not as impressive as perhaps Mayflower or Bald Knob, but it’s not to take anything away with how well we’ve played, and the fact that we are healthy.”
This contest should shape up to be a fascinating contrast in offensive styles.
The Dragons are known for their powerful running game, while the Wildcats blitz opponents through the air.
“Absolutely,” Evans said. “It’s two completely contrasting styles that for a very long time have proven to be effective for both teams. Even with coach (David) Carpenter, they were running it. With us, I’m the third head coach here that’s thrown the ball to the degree in which we’re throwing it, so it’s kind of become a staple for both programs.”
The Wildcats’ passing attack is also something Junction City’s defense has not seen this year.
“It’s a lot different than what we’ve seen in our conference,” Jones said. “Most of the teams in the conference are run-heavy teams, so going up against a pass-first team will be a challenge just because we haven’t seen it live all year. We’ve had two weeks of our scout team give it a really good look of what we feel like they’re going to do, but getting out there on Friday night and stopping the pass will be a challenge for us.”
Junior quarterback Davis Morgan guides Harding Academy’s offense.
Overall, Morgan has completed 68 percent of his passes for 2,850 yards and 34 touchdowns while throwing 10 interceptions.
Against Centerpoint last week, the junior was outstanding, completing 27 of his 34 passes for 408 yards and six touchdowns with one interception.
“The number one thing is quarterback play,” Evans said of last week’s win. “Davis Morgan was 18-of-22, five touchdowns and 299 yards in the first half. He was just really good at making decisions, and he should be. That was Week 11. Watching Week 2 versus Week 11, it’s a different quarterback, and that’s what we expect.
“That’s a position for our program that we put a lot of pressure on. He’s embraced that and done really well. I think our defense played really well. I was pleased. They got a final score late on our subs, so we held them to two touchdowns, and they’ve been pretty good offensively all year.
“It was good for our defense to have the game that we had. Our special teams was good. I think their average starting point was inside the 30 every time we kicked off, so that was huge too.”
When asked about Morgan, Jones said the junior always has a knack for getting the ball in the right spot.
“He sees the field very well,” Jones said. “He always throws where there’s space. It always seems like he can find that open spot and get the ball out quickly. They don’t do a ton of just true drop-back passing, it’s a lot of quick-gain stuff with quick hitches and slants, and he does a good job of putting the ball on the receiver’s body. He doesn’t throw a lot of passes that are offline. He’s usually on target.”
Morgan has no shortage in targets to throw the ball to. Six players have picked up over 100 yards receiving, but seniors Travis Turley, Peydon Harlow and Dalton Koch, as well as junior Jimmy Citty have been Morgan’s favorites.
Turley leads the Wildcats with 56 catches for 918 yards and seven touchdowns, and he will be a someone the Wildcats will continue to count on.
“If you look at our guys, he’s definitely the most physically impressive,” Evans said of Turley. “He’s a legitimate 6-5, 205 pounds. He’s got a Division I offer to Lamar University in the Southland Conference, as well as a Harding University offer. He’s just flying under the radar a little bit. He’s been fantastic. He’s a great route runner.
“He’s a three-year starter, so he’s played a lot of football games. He played 15 games as a sophomore, 12 as a junior and he’s about to play his 12th as a senior, so he’s got a lot of starts under his belt. He’s a size mismatch. He’s got tremendous hands, and he’s deceptively fast. A lot of people say he is a Matt Jones-type guy. All of a sudden, you don’t think he’s running fast, and he’s pulling away. He’s got that to him.”
Jones said trying to stop Turley will be one of the Dragons’ top priorities.
“We’ve got to keep Harding Academy from being able to throw the ball to No. 83,” Jones said. “That guy has made plays the last few weeks, and he’s been a playmaker on the outside all year. We’ve got to have a good plan to stop him.”
Harlow, who has committed to Harding University, missed four weeks with a broken arm during the middle part of the season, yet he still has caught 25 passes for 415 yards and five touchdowns while also leading the Wildcats in rushing with 413 yards and eight touchdowns on 42 carries, which translates to nearly 10 yards per carry.
“He’s without a doubt the smartest football player on our team,” Evans said. “He makes us right on both sides a whole lot. There are some people that you can just label as a football player, and he is it. He can truly do it all.
“He’s been around the game for a really long time. His dad is the head athletic trainer at Harding University, so he has stood on a collegiate field for a really long time, and he has seen a high level and a good brand of football for a really long time and it shows.”
Jones also had plenty of praise for Harlow.
“He’s one of the most consistent players that can do both,” Jones said. “He’s good on both sides of the ball. He doesn’t come off the field. He’s a guy that defensively, we’ve got to know where that guy is at.
“I think having a couple of weapons outside on the edge also helps out in getting him open. A lot of the receiving yards he has are on swings and screens out of the backfield, so having other weapons that you have to take note of I think helps him to be able to have a big year.”
Koch has caught 36 passes for 681 yards with six touchdowns, while Citty has 29 catches for 405 yards and a team-leading nine touchdowns.
Although injuries have certainly played a role in the Wildcats’ numbers being spread out, Evans said other receivers have stepped up.
“This is going to sound oversimplified and it’s really not, but we teach our quarterback to truly hit the open guy,” Evans said. “We know that there are going to be teams that are going to take away Turley. There’s going to be teams that are going to try to take away Harlow.
“We always game plan and account for that being a thing, so we go into every game and every practice where we practice those situations. That has a lot to do with that, and we’ve had to have other guys step up in those spots because Turley has been banged up at different times and Harlow was out for four weeks. Those stats are going to go to other guys.”
But while it would be easy to simply focus on the pass, the Wildcats average nearly 102 yards per game on the ground, so the Dragons will certainly have to be mindful of that as well.
“Harding Academy is a spread offense, but they’re also more times than not three wide receivers with two backs,” Jones said. “They’re looking to pass the ball, but they’ve also got a tailback and a fullback that can run. They’ve run the ball pretty well the last couple of weeks with the Harlow kid. They look to get him the ball a lot whether it’s pass or run.”
So how will the Dragons try to combat the Wildcats’ powerful offense?
“If you do one thing defensively, they’re going to pick you apart,” Jones said. “You have to mix up different ways that you play with coverages and things like that, so not showing them the same look every time I think can be an advantage to us, and getting as many as reps against what they do the past two weeks has been good for us as well.
“They’re a team that’s going to take what you give. Wherever they see a hole at in the defense, that’s what they’re going to attack, so it’s just trying to keep those guys guessing and not let them nickel and dime us to death down the field, because they will take those five-yard hitches and throw 10 of them in a row and be happy with it and get first downs. They’re very disciplined and efficient on that side of the ball.”
Junction City’s offense and the frenetic pace that they play at will be another factor to watch.
“We’re trying to play the game the way that we want to play it,” Jones said. “We want to make them snap the ball and make them go fast and make them uncomfortable. Harding Academy hasn’t really done a lot of tempo, so on both sides of the ball, if we can score and have them trying to play catch-up, that will be a big advantage to us.”
With senior Shuvasceiaye Frazier at quarterback, Junction City’s lowest scoring output this year has been the 48 points they scored in their Week 3 win over Haynesville (La.), and Evans said trying to find a way to slow down the Dragons will be a tall order.
“Our linebackers have to tackle very well,” Evans said. “The way our defense plays in our scheme, we get the ball to our linebackers, and our linebackers have to be playmakers. The second thing that’s got to happen is our offensive line must protect. We know they’re going to bring a tremendous amount of pressure and try to overwhelm us, so our offensive line has got to hold up against one of the best defenses in the state.”
Getting the opportunity to face one of the top programs in the state is a challenge that Evans said his team is embracing.
“It’s just a really cool opportunity,” Evans said. “For us to have created this opportunity by what we have done leading up to this is what makes it exciting. We have somewhat earned the right to have this opportunity. We’ve played well enough that we get to have a big-time matchup. That’s what you want. You want to go play in that environment, you want to go play a great opponent, you want to play the best. Our guys certainly aren’t intimidated, but they have a tremendous amount of respect for them. Their program speaks for itself.”
As far as the Dragons are concerned, Jones said his team spent the bye week working on fundamentals and getting everyone healthy.
“Taking care of fundamentals, working on the little things, ball security, blocking and tackling, just trying to get as many reps as possible,” Jones said. “We looked at our opponent as much as we could and get everybody back to 100 percent.”
Jones added that the Dragons should be at full strength for tonight’s game.
“Everybody will be dressed out. We should have everybody back,” Jones said.
Last week, Glen Rose became the third No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 5 seed since 2013, and while the Dragons aren’t playing a team that is seeded fifth this week, having a team that has the winning tradition the Wildcats have has helped keep the team focused.
“I think it helps our focus in knowing that Harding Academy is a very good opponent,” Jones said. “We know going in what they can do offensively. We know they’ve played to their potential the last few weeks. The matchup that we have in front of us helps us not lose sight of what our goal is.”
Given the ability of both offenses to put points on the scoreboard, Evans believes a shootout could be in the offing.
“I certainly think it can be a very high-scoring game,” Evans said. “It can be an exciting shootout without a doubt. It’s got the makings to be the case.”
For the Dragons to be successful, Jones said his offense can’t afford to make mistakes.
“Offensively, we’ve got to take care of the football. We cannot have turnovers. With as explosive of an offense as they have, we’ve got to take care of it on our end and put together drives.”