Although Smackover didn’t get the desired results they had hoped for at Rison last week, they enter tonight’s 6-3A contest against Barton with confidence that they build off of last week’s showing.
The Bucks (2-4, 0-3) welcome the Bears (1-4, 1-2) for homecoming aiming to not only snap a three-game losing streak, but also try to get themselves back into the postseason picture.
The Bears beat Drew Central 20-18 two weeks ago for their lone win of the season. They fell 24-6 at home to Pine Bluff Dollarway last week.
A year ago, the Bucks topped the Bears 14-12 for their lone win of the season.
“Barton has a lot of speed in multiple positions,” Smackover coach David Osborn said. “They will try to get the ball out in space and take advantage of any mismatches they can find. For us, we need to make them drive the field and not give up big plays.”
Sophomore Connor Willis guides Barton’s offense.
Willis was 11-of-16 passing for 313 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Bears’ loss at Rison three weeks ago, but he has struggled some over the last two weeks having thrown for just 60 yards total.
Willis also ranks second on the team in rushing yards and has six touchdowns on the ground for the Bears.
Junior Jordan Thomas is the Bears’ leading rusher and he averages 5.1 yards per carry.
Sophomore Ne’Taveus Johnson is a playmaker at wide receiver having caught 13 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. Against Rison, he caught seven passes for 264 yards with a pair of scores.
“They are mainly a spread team,” Osborn said. “They will get under center some but they seem more comfortable getting in the spread. They have a big quarterback who throws a really good ball. He’s a sophomore but plays like a senior. He is very hard to bring down and you can’t arm tackle him. Johnson is one of the fastest kids we have seen all year. He can do a lot for them from running the jet sweep to catching passes and turning them into big plays. The more I watch, the better they look each time. They can move the ball well and don’t make many mistakes.”
Defensively, the Bears are led by sophomore Dequincy Wilson, who leads the Bears with 42 tackles, and Osborn also singled out Kamron Gonner, also a sophomore, who has 28 stops including four for a loss.
“They are more of a five-front look and they will even walk extra guys down in the box to try to take away your strengths,” Osborn said.
“They are very aggressive all over the field. Wilson flies all over the field and makes a lot of plays from safety. Gonner is very physical from his linebacker spot and likes to blitz.”
With this week being homecoming, Osborn is concerned about the Bucks keeping their focus on the Bears.
“Homecoming is always a week that concerns you,” Osborn said. “When you play a team like Barton, you have to be completely focused on the task at hand. With all the activities of homecoming, sometimes that can be a chore in itself.
“Our guys need to get the most they can out of practice time and not let it all get to them. We still have a football game to play at 7 p.m.”
Against the Wildcats last week, the Bucks had plenty of success through the air with all four of their touchdowns coming via that route.
“It’s something that we looked at and thought we needed to do a better job of,” Osborn said. “Teams have been stacking the box on us and daring us to throw. We refocused and we’re trying to take advantage of what they were giving us. As coaches, our job is to breakdown what the other team is doing and make those adjustments.”
The result from the Bucks’ air attack was senior quarterback Brandon Lockhart going 8-of-19 passing for 237 yards with three touchdowns with junior D’Kylan Hildreth having a big night with five catches for 176 yards and three touchdowns, including one spanning 91 yards.
Given their success against Rison through the air, Osborn said the Bucks’ offense, which had scored just six points against Lake Village and Harmony Grove combined, got a boost in confidence.
“It helped for sure,” Osborn said. “We threw for around 300 yards and it kept us in the ballgame. We still have to be able to establish some type of run game as well. We need to be more versatile with our offense mixing up the run and pass with misdirection as well.”
If the Bucks are to pick up their first conference win, Osborn said his team must do three things.
“It sounds like a broken record, but it’s the same thing,” Osborn said. “We need to limit mistakes and get the ball in the hands of our playmakers. On defense, we cannot give up the big play.”