White Hall has struggled through a tough schedule so far this season, but the Bulldogs are expecting a more evenly matched game this Friday night.
Beebe will host White Hall at 7 p.m. as both teams seek their first 5A-Central Conference win this season.
White Hall (0-4, 0-1 in 5A-Central) Coach Daryl Patton said his team should be more evenly matched with the Badgers than the others the Bulldogs have faced so far.
“Beebe, they’re a well-coached team,” Patton said. “They do a lot of different things, but they have seven two-way starters like we do. So, they don’t have the numbers like Searcy or (Joe T.) Robinson. Their numbers are more like ours.”
Two of the four teams White Hall has played so far are currently ranked in the top six of their respective classifications by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Searcy is ranked sixth in Class 5A, while Warren is sixth in 4A. Morrilton is currently unranked but was ranked earlier in the season.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Beebe (2-2, 0-1) has two wins this season but hasn’t played any currently ranked teams. The Badgers defeated Nettleton 32-14 and Greene County Tech 21-20 before losing 27-14 at Maumelle in their conference opener last week. They opened the season with a 6-3 loss to Vilonia in their only home game before this week.
Senior running back Curtis Goodrich, a Searcy transfer, leads Beebe with 118.8 rushing yards per game and three touchdowns. Senior quarterback Ty McCormick has also rushed for three touchdowns while passing for three more, though the Badgers run far more than they pass.
Patton said the Bulldogs must be able to stop Goodrich in the run game to win this game.
“He’s an all-state kid,” Patton said. “They are going to try to line up and run the football in a number of different formations, trick play looks. They’re going to give you all the new wrinkles in football today, they’ve got it. But at the end of the day, they’re trying to run the football. So, we gotta load the box and take that away and force them into passing situations.”
This game is important for White Hall. It is sandwiched between Searcy and Robinson on the schedule, the two highest-ranked teams in the conference. The Bulldogs have some winnable games down the stretch of the season, but an 0-3 start would be tough to come back from.
Robinson must travel to Bulldog Stadium next week, so White Hall will get a chance to face the Senators at home. Patton said beating Beebe for the first win of the season would be huge for the Bulldogs’ confidence entering the Robinson game and the ones after.
“A win now would be huge for us, like it was last year,” Patton said. “We’ll compete and get after it the next game, and we’re going to see how the schedule plays out. I still believe this team can be a playoff team. We’ve got to fix some things. We’ve got to get better in some areas, but I trust and believe in our kids, and I think we’re going to play well Friday night.”
White Hall defeated Beebe 26-18 last season for its first win of the year.
High School Week 5
Friday
(All games kick off at 7 p.m.)
Pine Bluff at Maumelle
Watson Chapel at Searcy
White Hall at Beebe
Jonesboro at Sheridan
Stuttgart at Crossett
Star City at DeWitt
Hamburg at Helena-West Helena Central
Warren at Monticello
Drew Central at Fordyce
Rison at Dumas
Lake Village Lakeside at McGehee
Dermott at Brinkley
Midland at Hermitage
Woodlawn at Strong
BYE: Friendship-Southeast
College Week 6
Saturday
Southern Nazarene at UA-Monticello (homecoming), 2 p.m.
UAPB at Texas Southern (Husky Stadium, Houston Christian University), 6 p.m.