Entering this season, the Stuttgart High School seniors hadn’t won a playoff game in their football careers.
The Ricebirds achieved that goal last week, and they’ll go for another win at 7 p.m. Friday when they host Bauxite for a Class 4A quarterfinal playoff game at Ned Moseley Stadium.
Stuttgart Coach Josh Price said the Ricebirds (11-0) are excited to still be practicing during Thanksgiving week.
“Having that first-round bye and getting that big playoff win last week, the atmosphere in the field house is just very positive,” Price said. “Everybody’s in a good mood. It’s not like a week one or week two practice where it’s still hot and people are dreading practice and that kind of deal.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Stuttgart defeated Blytheville 51-12 last week for the Ricebirds’ first playoff win since 2022, when the current seniors were still freshmen. That win has sent them to the third round for the first time since 2021, and they are now seeking their first trip to the semifinals since 2020.
The offense, led by junior quarterback Cain Price, has been the story all season. Stuttgart has scored 42 or more points in every game except the season opener and has reached 51 in six of the past seven games.
The defense hasn’t always been a strength. Stuttgart allowed 20 points or more in all but one of its conference games, but the Ricebirds stepped up last week to hold the Chickasaws to 12.
Only Star City scored fewer points against Stuttgart this year.
Price said the Ricebirds had a good bye week but took a while to get going against Blytheville, who was coming off a 42-27 win against Pottsville.
“We came out very sluggish,” Price said. “Our effort was not great on defense in the first half. Had to have a little discussion about that at halftime. … That’s a good thing about our kids to put that behind them and have some maturity and go, ‘OK, Coach is right. We’re not playing like we should.'”
Bauxite (9-3) finished third in Conference 4A-7, but the Miners proved they are a dangerous opponent last week.
They went on the road and eliminated 4A-2 champion Mills University Studies, 40-28. Mills entered that game 10-1 with its only loss coming to Heber Springs.
The Miners lost a pair of conference games in early October but have won six straight games since, including last week’s win against Mills and a 28-26 first-round win against Ozark. Bauxite is averaging 43.7 points per game on this win streak.
Price said the Ricebirds must be ready to stop Bauxite’s run game, which he said can be unpredictable.
“They’re going to run the ball out of 10 million different formations,” Price said. “They’re going to give you slots and wings and run buck sweep with the quarterback, with a running back. Just very, very versatile on the offense. They run a ton of different schemes and things. They don’t have any real tendencies.”
The winner of this game will meet the winner between Elkins and Arkadelphia in the state semifinals next week. Stuttgart would host with a win, while Bauxite would travel to either opponent.