This was the first week that the White Hall Bulldogs could practice after a win this season. Not just any win — an emotional rivalry win.
“The mood of the school, the mood of the kids, seeing a smile on their faces, that was a million dollars’ worth,” second-year Bulldogs Coach Daryl Patton said Thursday. “These kids worked extremely hard, and to see them finally taste victory on a Friday night brought tears to my eyes. I was so excited.”
With the 32-28 win at Watson Chapel, the Bulldogs (1-6, 1-3 in 5A-Central) found a hop in their step, as Patton put it, going into a big stretch of games to close the regular season.
They will host Maumelle (5-2, 4-0), which has won five straight and shares the conference lead with Searcy and Joe T. Robinson. The homecoming game for White Hall will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday at Bulldog Stadium.
White Hall is a game out of playoff contention, but just maybe, the Bulldogs can shake up the championship race. Patton said the Bulldogs believe they have a chance against the Hornets.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“Hopefully, they overlook us a little bit. It’s homecoming,” Patton said. “We’ve got a lot of distractions, but if we can focus on what’s important – and that’s the game — we think we’re going to see a great football game Friday night.”
Maumelle will go for a Jefferson County season sweep after beating Pine Bluff 21-7 on Oct. 3 and Watson Chapel 42-0 on Oct. 10. Senior Levi Warrior ranks 11th in passing across all Arkansas classifications with 1,811 yards to go with 19 touchdowns. Senior Marshaun Wiley, whom Patton coached at Little Rock Southwest, rushed for two touchdowns and caught for another TD against Watson Chapel.
“He is so fast that if you put him in a phone booth — you put five coaches in there with him — we wouldn’t catch him for an hour,” Patton said. “He’s just cat-quick.”
The Bulldogs are not without big playmakers.
Senior Wyatt Golden has 1,237 yards, 31st-best in Arkansas, and 8 touchdowns on 120-of-228 passing. Senior Xavier Wallace had 118 of White Hall’s 220 rushing yards against Watson Chapel. White Hall, as a team, had been averaging about 65 yards per game, by Patton’s estimation.
“We tweaked our offense a little bit … actually before Robinson,” Patton said. “It’s more of a run game-under-center-type deal.”
White Hall had planned to rely on the Pro-T offense during the offseason, but injuries to some playmakers and other team departures led the team to switch to a Spread set. A couple of receivers were injured during the season, and White Hall went back to the Pro-T.
“Our offensive line came off the ball really well,” Patton said. Our backs hit it the way they were supposed to and made the reads as far as the run game. And we kind of sprinkled in our some of our Spread stuff, and it was a really nice mix Friday night.”
Patton believes the Bulldogs took away from last week’s victory that the team in front of them always can be beaten.
“Maumelle is a good team and well-coached, but they’re beatable,” Patton said. “They’re still 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kids. Like I told our kids when we went into Watson Chapel last week, I said, ‘Guys, they’re going to play the best game of football they ever played. They’re fired up. They’re going to be ready for you. … This is a winnable game. You’re going to have to fight. You’re going to have to compete. You’re going to have to play extremely hard and do it the right way. It’s going to be for four quarters.’ That’s what our kids did.”
Southeast Arkansas Football Schedule
High School Week 8
Friday
(All games kick off at 7 p.m.)
Watson Chapel at Pine Bluff
Maumelle at White Hall
Friendship-Southeast at Marshall
Marion at Sheridan
DeWitt at Crossett
Monticello at Helena-West Helena Central
Star City at Hamburg
Warren at Stuttgart
Drew Central at Barton
Dumas at Fordyce
Lake Village Lakeside at Rison
McGehee at Palestine-Wheatley
Marvell-Elaine at Dermott
Woodlawn at Strong
College Week 9
Saturday
UAPB at Bethune-Cookman, 2 p.m.
UA-Monticello at Harding, 2 p.m.