In recent years, Smackover and Clinton have been two of the most successful programs in the 3A ranks.
On Friday night, they collide in the opening round of the playoffs.
Smackover (5-5), the No. 4 seed from the 5-3A, visits Clinton (9-1), the No. 2 seed from the 2-3A.
Game time is set for 7 p.m.
The Bucks have won at least seven games a season dating back to 2010, while the present group of seniors at Clinton are the winningest in school history.
Should the Yellow Jackets prevail, it would mark the third straight year they will have reached the 10-win plateau.
Winners of six straight, Clinton’s lone blemish was a 57-44 loss to Harding Academy back in September, and Smackover coach Brian Brown said the size of the Yellow Jackets is something his team will have to find a way to combat.
“They’re real big up front on both sides of the ball, so we’ll have to deal with that,” Brown said. “Their fullback is good, and their quarterback is a good player. There’s a lot of things to deal with, but our kids do a good job of bouncing back. We had a great practice today (Monday), and I think they’re excited about the opportunity.”
Clinton’s offense is not only one of the most explosive in 3A, but also one of the most balanced.
The Yellow Jackets have rushed for 2,726 yards and thrown for 1,532 yards, yet senior John Riley Hinchey’s 758 yards on the ground and fellow senior Austin Drake’s 535 yards receiving lead the team.
“That’s kind of our offensive philosophy,” Clinton coach Chris Dufrene said. “We’ve got four guys that can enter the game at any time that can carry the football and really have two or three guys that we sub in there that are if not as good, almost as good.
“We try to keep those guys healthy and fresh for defense so we can alternate a lot of kids on offense. That’s what we do. We spread it out. We don’t just give the ball to one guy like a lot of teams do.
“These guys are team-first. That’s what makes us unique and this group unique. They can’t just take this guy away or this guy away. If they take him away, we’ve got other guys that can do a good job.”
The Yellow Jackets are guided by senior quarterback Weston Amos, who has completed 60 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
“I’ve got a good group of seniors that have really started since their sophomore year,” Dufrene said.
“Weston Amos is a three-year starter, and he’ll play somewhere in college. I have the Drake kids (Austin & Ethen) that are quick and versatile that can run and catch, and John Riley Hinchey at fullback. Those kids have been in a lot of games, and they’re pretty good football players.”
Brown said preparing for Clinton will be difficult thanks to their Wing-T look.
“We’ve seen some similar stuff, but it’s not the same with the down blocking,” Brown said. “Genoa (Central) ran the ball a bunch, but this is difficult to prepare for. It’s a whole different set, and we had to go in there and worked on it all day (Monday) on the video, on the board and in practice.
“We really haven’t seen it, so it’s tough. You’ve got to put it in in three days. It’s old-school when nobody ran the spread and one team did. You’ve got to spend a lot of time on it.”
Thanks to their production, Clinton has rarely punted this year, doing so just 11 times in 10 games.
Hinchey is the ringleader of the Clinton defense, leading the team with 78 tackles, including 10 1/2 for a loss and 5 1/2 sacks.
“He’s a senior that’s been in a lot of games,” Dufrene said. “His motor runs all the time, and he’s big, strong and fast, so he gives people some problems.”
Brown said the Bucks will have to be aware of Hinchey.
“Their linebacker is going to be one of the better ones we’ve seen. We have a challenge there,” Brown said.
“They run a two-high safety look with a four-man front, so to me, it’s like a 4-2-5. It’s a very big D-line. They’ll also run an odd front with three linemen. It depends on what you’re running. They stay in that most of the time. It’s a lot of the same stuff. They’ve got some really good skill people.”
The Yellow Jackets are led in the secondary by senior Matt Gonzalez, who has four interceptions.
“He does a good job of reading the quarterback,” Dufrene said. “He’s happened to be in the right place several times and gotten some picks. He’s changed a few games with those turnovers. I’m proud of him. He does a good job for us.”
The Bucks enter off a lopsided loss at Harmony Grove, but Brown said his team will be ready to go.
“We’ve got some injuries, but we’re healing,” Brown said. “I think (Dexter) Crockett is going to be able to run the ball more. We’ve watched him two or three times, and him and us made the decision. He was tightening up, and we thought it was just best for him not to go for the rest of the game. I think that was the right decision.”
If the Yellow Jackets are to advance, Dufrene said his team must win the turnover battle.
“No turnovers on offense, and try to cause some turnovers on defense,” Dufrene said.
“Our first goal every year is to be conference champs. That didn’t happen, but we’re on to goal No. 2, and that’s to play as deep as we can in the playoffs. We got to see a lot of film on them, and they are a very, very athletic group of young men. They’re well-coached and play hard, so it’s going to be a big test.”
Brown also cited turnovers as a major key for his team.
“The same one that we’ve been dealing with for the last two or three weeks is we’ve been turning the ball over at the most inopportune times,” Brown said.
“We’ve got to do better at that. We made some glaring mistakes in the game the other night that we pointed out on video.
“I think we take some things for granted on the depth of our routes and some of those things, and we understood that. We got better at it. We’ve got to get better at focusing on the little things.
“The last thing is special teams. We had a kick returned on us, we snapped a punt for a fake punt that we didn’t call, we really didn’t return the ball well when they kicked it deep, so we’ve got some things that we can work on and improve on special teams.”