Photo by Rick Nation
Though neither will be officially eliminated, a loss for either the Bryant Hornets or the Van Buren Pointers tonight at Bryant Stadium would put their respective hopes for post-season play in a considerably tenuous place.
They are two of the four Class 7A teams in the 7A/6A-Central Conference vying for three State playoff bids. The Hornets come in with a 30-10 win over one of the other 7A teams, Little Rock Catholic, with arch-rival Conway looming on the road in week 10. The Pointers lost to Conway, 42-35, and finish against a revitalized Catholic team in two weeks. Conway’s playing at Catholic tonight.
The Hornets have a chance to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs with wins over Van Buren and Conway but they could also be left out with losses to both. They’re coming off their first loss of the season, 38-7, at Greenwood. Van Buren lost a heartbreaker to Russellville 32-31 and is desperate for a victory to snap a four-game losing streak in which they’ve lost by 1, 2 and 7 points.
Thundershowers are in the forecast for the game, which will be Homecoming for Bryant.
Already hobbled by injuries, Bryant will be without Philip Isom-Green, who suffered a knee injury against Greenwood. He’s a key player on defense at safety and, in passing situations, linebacker, getting in on 50 tackles this season, third on the team. He also has proven to be a considerable threat on kickoff returns. His 88-yard return in the final minute provided the winning edge at Russellville earlier this season.
Good news came when linebacker/defensive tackle Hayden Knowles and outside linebacker Marvin Moody were cleared to play after being knocked out of last Friday’s game.
Those guys and their cohorts on defense will be challenged with slowing down Van Buren’s big-play receiver Jaylyn Dye who averages over 15 yards a reception and, though listed as a wide receiver, leads the team in rushing, averaging 10 yards per carry. He’s fourth in the Central Conference with 567 yards on just 56 rushes, trailing only Ricky Hughes of Siloam Springs (698 yards on 122 carries), Bryant’s DeAmonte Terry (592 yards on 91 attempts) and Greenwood’s Jordan Green (576 yards on 78 tries).
The Pointers have returning starters at running back, Ethan Hudspeth, and quarterback, Jordan Barlow who has already passed for over 1,000 yards. The senior signal-caller has also rushed for nearly 300 yards. Wideout Zach Wornkey is his top receiver with 25 catches for 510 yards and six touchdowns.
Defensively, the Hornets have been among the most stingy in the league all season. They’re led by their front seven including three-year starters Mario Waits and Cameron Murray on the line. Waits is second to safety Jaelyn Jones in tackles with 51 stops (to Jones’ 57) including a team-high 10 for losses.
Even though the yardage the Hornets have allowed against the run nearly doubled after Greenwood piled up 398 on the ground, they’re still at the top of the league, the lone conference team that has allowed less than 1,000 yards rushing with 922.
Van Buren is fourth in the league in total offense, averaging 362 yards a game.
The Hornets’ offense is fifth, averaging 332 yards a game including over 1,600 on the ground. Terry, a junior, has been a big part of that particularly since Bryant’s other two top rushers, Savonte Turner and Cameron Coleman, were lost for the season to injury.
Bryant will continue to look for someone to step up and help Terry and quarterback Gunnar Burks move the ball on the ground.
Head coach Paul Calley, who coaches the offensive line, said earlier in the week he’s looking for a bounce-back performance by his group, which has been splendid most of the season.
Though the Hornets are last in the league in passing, they showed signs of improvement there against Greenwood with Aaron Orender, Landon Smith and Austin Kelly each hauling in Burks passes in key situations.
The game will probably be the last between the two teams for a while. Van Buren will be moving back to the 7A-West next season while Bryant plays in a reconfigured 7A-Central. It will be the sixth meeting between them. The Hornets have won the previous five.
