Home-field advantage for the opening rounds of the playoffs will be at stake when Junction City and Hampton renew acquaintances in their 8-2A clash tonight.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Hampton
The Dragons (3-4, 1-1) ended a three-game losing streak with a 60-28 win over Parkers Chapel, while the Bulldogs (2-4, 1-0) opened conference play with a 43-0 win at Bearden last week.
The winner of tonight’s showdown will grab the inside track to landing the conference’s No. 2 seed for the playoffs and the potential for being at home for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
“You’re guaranteed two home playoff games if you’re the two,” Junction City coach Brad Smith said. “You’re just going to have to go and fight for it if you want it.”
A year ago, Junction City outlasted Hampton 30-22 with Jamal Johnson’s 10-yard run with 17 seconds left being the winning points.
“We made a bunch of mistakes early,” Smith said. “We let them hang around, and they outplayed us in the second half. We just happened to win the ballgame.”
Johnson had a terrific outing against Parkers Chapel last week, accounting for five touchdowns total while going 6-of-7 passing for 128 yards while adding 109 yards rushing on just six carries.
“That’s what we expect out of Jamal,” Smith said. “He’s our best player and a three-year starter. He played very, very well. He threw it well, read it well, made great decisions on both sides of the ball.”
AJ Ivory had 147 yards on 14 carries, while Jordavion Williams had 118 yards on 16 carries to give the Dragons a trio of 100-yard rushers in the win, and Smith is hoping that trend will continue with the postseason looming.
“Most definitely,” Smith said. “You want your stuff to look good. It’s getting down toward the end of the year, and it looked a lot better. The kids are learning. We haven’t always hit the right spots a lot, but they did a good job of that Friday night, so we’ll hope it carries over.”
Junior quarterback Jonah Phillips guides the Bulldogs’ offense, and Smith was impressed with what he saw.
“Really good skill players,” Smith said. “Two great big backs, two good-looking receivers, a real fast, accurate quarterback. They’re in about 10 or 12 different formations. Sometimes they spread you, sometimes they bring you in close. We have to make sure we line up right.”
Hampton coach Doug Means took high-powered offenses at Norphlet to the playoffs a decade ago, but Smith said he believes the offense Means has now is better.
“These skill players are better than what he had then,” Smith said. “The quarterback is faster, throws better.
“The running backs are very big, very tall. I think he has another decent-sized receiver. They’re going to be hard to contain.”
The Bulldogs’ defense scored a touchdown in their win over Bearden, and Smith said they will give Junction City a variety of looks.
“You’re going to see them in a 40, a 50 and a 30. They’re in all sorts of stuff,” Smith said.
As the Dragons look forward to the playoffs, Smith said he is focusing on the team continuing to improve and getting healthy.
“We’ve got to get ourselves better, try to get all of our walking wounded back,” Smith said. “That’s the key is getting all of them back.”
If the Dragons are to win their second straight, Smith said his team must play for four quarters.
“Concentration,” Smith said. “A full four quarters because we did not play a defensive second quarter. We played three pretty good ones, but we just have to be more consistent.”