Just a year ago, a 3-game win streak following an overtime loss to Mills University Studies sealed the 5A-Central Conference championship for a Pine Bluff High School football team that didn’t make the state playoffs the season prior. The Zebras rode that wave to the state semifinals.
Now at 1-2 in the 5A-Central (and 1-5 overall), the Zebras face an uphill climb in the 2024 playoff chase with games against two archrivals and two championship contenders remaining.
Searcy (5-1, 3-0 in 5A-Central) is the first contender Pine Bluff must face, and the Zebras will head north on U.S. 167 for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday at Searcy’s Lion Stadium. Pine Bluff will visit Watson Chapel for the Wildcats’ homecoming next Friday, then close out the regular season with home games against conference co-leader Robinson and White Hall.
Not so long ago, both the Lions and Zebras were powers in Class 6A. The Zebras last played for a 6A state title in 2017 but lost badly to Greenwood. Searcy won the championship two years later, narrowly beating Benton.
As the Zebras head into the stretch run of the regular season, they have seemed to settle on sophomore Davonte Wallace as their No. 1 quarterback. Wallace gave the Z’s a nice return, throwing for both touchdowns and putting them ahead 12-0 against Beebe — before the Badgers scored 34 unanswered points in the final 29 minutes and handed Pine Bluff a second straight loss.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Season statistics were not immediately available for Pine Bluff, but Wallace has found a rhythm with senior Tristan Helloms and junior Quinton Roy in the passing game, while allowing senior D’Juan Hayes to carry the load on the ground. Senior Danny Johnson has been a stalwart on the defensive line.
Pine Bluff began 5A-Central play three weeks ago beating Jacksonville 15-0 on the road, but narrowly lost its homecoming game to Maumelle and then lost at Beebe.
Always high-powered offensively, the Lions have found an extra boost in their first year of 5A action after making the 6A playoffs with a 5-4 conference mark. Searcy, which has outscored Jefferson County teams 97-27, has scored fewer than 20 points once in the last two seasons, and much of its success on offense can be attributed to junior running back Curtis Goodrich, who rushes for 96.5 yards per game. Goodrich ran for 121 yards and 4 touchdowns and caught an 8-yard TD pass against Watson Chapel two weeks ago.
Pine Bluff will also have to contain senior Rickey Love (72.5 yards per game rushing) while also trying to solve Searcy’s passing game. Lions senior Johnny Bell, who averages 186.7 yards per game passing, has totaled 10 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He likes to connect with senior Jesse Sumpter (71.7 yards per game).
Searcy averages 41.7 points per game on the season and scored a season-high 55 against Watson Chapel two weeks ago. Pine Bluff has yet to play a dominant game on offense, with 18 points against Maumelle its season high.