Friday night will be White Hall’s final home game this season, and there is plenty for the Bulldogs to play for.
White Hall will host Jacksonville at 7 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium looking to stay alive in the playoff race.
Over the past four weeks, White Hall (2-6, 2-3 in 5A-Central) has done better at home than on the road. In the past two home games, White Hall outscored its opponents 68-30. In the previous two road games, the Bulldogs were outscored 90-6.
Head coach Daryl Patton said they have had a tough road schedule this year with Sheridan, Warren, Joe T. Robinson and Maumelle.
“We’ve played maybe at times with a little more energy and spark at home,” Patton said. “I think that’s a positive always, playing in front of your home fans, but our schedule has been very tough… We’ve had some tough roads to hoe going on the road this year, but anyway, we want to play well at home, and our kids have definitely played with a lot more energy.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
After dropping their first two home games this season, the Bulldogs still have a chance to finish the year with a winning record at home if they can defeat the Titans. A win would also mean finishing the season on a three-game home winning streak.
One of those home victories was against Beebe, a crucial win that is keeping the Bulldogs’ playoff hopes alive. If White Hall can beat Jacksonville on Friday and Pine Bluff next week, a Beebe loss to either Searcy or Watson Chapel would see the teams finished tied for fourth, the final playoff spot. White Hall’s win would mean the Bulldogs win the tiebreaker.
Patton said though he wants his players to focus solely on Jacksonville, he has discussed their situation in the playoff hunt with them.
“I said … ‘If we can find a way to win this ballgame, then you’re going to go into week 10 with a chance,’ and that’s where we want to be,” Patton said. “We want to defend our home field and play hard and play well and, someway somehow, around 10 on Friday night, find a way to win the ballgame.”
Jacksonville (1-7, 0-5) is one of two teams remaining in the 5A-Central without a conference win, the other being Watson Chapel. The Titans’ lone win came 8-7 against Lonoke in non-conference play.
Conference opponents have shut out Jacksonville three times, and the Titans have scored 28 combined points in five conference games.
The defense has had good and bad days. The Titans held Pine Bluff, Maumelle and Beebe to 18 points or fewer but allowed 42 to Joe T. Robinson and 47 to Searcy.
Patton said the Titans are a better team than their record suggests.
“They’re a very tough team, and it’s not an easy chore looking at it on paper and trying to play those guys,” Patton said. “So, we have got to be on our best. We’ve gotta play hard. We’ve gotta protect the football. We cannot give turnovers up. Defensively, we can bend a little bit, but we can’t break. We’ve gotta be tough in the red zone area, hopefully create some turnovers.”