After a one-year hiatus, the border rivalry between two of the top programs in Arkansas and Louisiana returns.
Junction City and Haynesville (La.) renew acquaintances in a series that has had plenty of swings in the previous five meetings between the schools.
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. from Haynesville.
The last two meetings have been one-sided with the Dragons winning 41-0 in 2019, while the Golden Tornado came away with a 33-0 win in 2018.
The Dragons (2-1) have posted wins over Smackover and Lake Village following a season-opening loss to Harmony Grove.
The Golden Tornado (0-2) have won three of the last five meetings in the series, but have been limited to just seven points in losses to Minden (La.) and North Webster (La.).
“They’re Haynesville. Big, strong and fast,” Junction City coach Brad Smith said. “They do such a great job of doing what they do. They run the Wing-T and about 40 versions of it. They run it, they go to the same places and they’ve done it since they’ve been in pee wee there, so they know their offense like the back of their hand.”
A week ago, Junction City had to contend with Lake Village’s Dead-T offense.
When asked what differences there were between the Beavers and Golden Tornado, Smith said it starts up front.
“Better offensive line play,” Smith said. “Haynesville’s offensive line isn’t easily confused. They pull well, they take correct angles, they get good pad level, they run their feet. That was one thing we thought we could take advantage of with Lake Village was we thought their offensive line got high. We thought that they could be confused by different fronts, so we ran three different fronts at them and had a lot of success with penetration, which you have to do against that offense.”
Smith said the Dragons have a small advantage having seen the Dead-T last week.
“Sort of,” Smith said. “You have to look for completely different things. You can get split flow like you did last week out of the backfield, but there’s no one thing you can hang your hat on. They have something that’s not a 100 percent read for anybody. That’s what makes it so tough.”
Junction City’s defense limited the Beavers to just 189 yards of total offense last week in a 54-8 win.
“It was pretty much a four-quarter effort, something we haven’t had around here this year and most of last year,” Smith said. “We played with great intensity. We made mistakes, but we shut down an offense that nobody had shut down. They had their way with people in both of their opening games, but they did not have their way with us.”
Smith said getting after the Beavers early was crucial to the success of Junction City’s defense.
“We blitzed early and tried to put them back on their heels and get them not coming off the football, which we succeeded in doing,” Smith said. “Our defensive line played outstanding. This is a week you had to eat up blockers and they made some tackles, but we stressed that they had to eat these guys up and not let them get to the next level. That starts with the outside linebackers and the inside three. We had to outnumber them where they were going, and that’s what football is all about.”
Smith was also pleased with the offense, which racked up 433 yards of total offense, but 92 of those of yards came through the air with Jakob Smith catching a 40-yard touchdown pass.
“We blocked cleaner,” Smith said. “We had to clear up penalties, and we still had some, but not the gross amount we had against Smackover. We definitely cleaned up holding on to the football. Still, one turnover is one too many. We threw the ball well. I think every throw was over 20 yards, and that’s what we like to do.
“We don’t like to throw it to possess it, we like to throw it to score. Hayden Hudson caught two balls. Jakob Smith has been in the program forever, and he got a big 40-yarder, which was big for him. The little guy has worked, and worked, and worked and got himself into a position to play for his senior year. He ran a great route, caught a great football from Cory (Dubose) and outran the corner, which if you would’ve known Smitty in his early days, you wouldn’t believe that could happen, but that’s what happens when you work.”
If the Dragons are to win their third straight, Smith said they must stay focused when adversity strikes.
“We must be disciplined,” Smith said. “Haynesville is a hard place to win. They have a rabid fanbase, so we’re going to have to be aware of that. We’re going to have to be aware that they’re not used to losing. We have to hold our composure when something goes wrong and we’re going to have to hold on to the football.”