The opening round of the Class 6A state football playoffs have been completed with only one notable upset. The sixth-seeded Siloam Springs Panthers went on the road and defeated the Marion Patriots last Friday, 23-13. The Pats were the #3 seed from the 6A East and were favored to win the game.
The Panthers now become Greenwood’s quarterfinal opponent this coming Friday night at Smith-Robinson Stadium. The ‘Dogs (9-1) earned the #2 seed from the West and an opening-round bye.
Greenwood also defeated Siloam Springs earlier this season in conference play by the comfortable margin of 43-13, though the score was only 15-13 at the half.
The Panthers used a punishing ground game on the hard work of senior running back Jackson Norberg, who racked up 251 yards on 44 carries. Panthers’ kicker Harrison Losh added three field goals in the 10-point victory.
Siloam Springs led 10-0 at the half in notching its first post-season victory since beating Texarkana in 2014. At 340 miles each way, the Panthers traveled further than any other playoff team in the state last Friday.
The upset leaves some pundits and fans wondering about the relative strength of the two 6A divisions. Only a week before being upset by Siloam Springs, the Patriots knocked of Jonesboro to earn the three seed.
Earlier this season Marion lost narrowly (41-40) in overtime to #2 seed West Memphis, lost 28-21 to #1 seed Searcy, and soundly defeated #5 seed Pine Bluff, 49-28. Yet the Pats lost on their home turf to the sixth-place team from the West.
Regardless, there’s little chance of the Panthers pulling another post-season upset this week at Greenwood. The Bulldogs have appeared in the last four state title games and are the two-time defending state champs.
Their only loss was on the road at Benton, 45-38, in which they suffered an interception in the final seconds while in the red zone trying to tie the score and force overtime. These ‘Dogs are hungry for a Benton rematch in Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium in the title game.
In other 6A playoff action from last Friday, Searcy, West Memphis, and Benton all received byes like Greenwood. East five-seed Pine Bluff defeated West four-seed Sheridan, 49-48, in a game that went three overtimes. Pine Bluff travels to Searcy this Friday and the #1 seeded Lions should win easily at home.
Benton will host Jonesboro this week after the Hurricane (E4) defeated El Dorado (W5) handily, 35-7. This is one of two 6A games that could produce an upset, though Benton is favored to win the game.
The last quarterfinal contest features West Memphis (E2) hosting the Lake Hamilton Wolves (W3). Starting the season losing four of their first six games, the Blue Devils rallied to win their final four games and earn the second seed in the East.
Their head coach is former GHS assistant Billy Elmore, and the Blue Devils could be a surprise team in this year’s playoffs after five high-profile athletes and college prospects transferred in before the start of the season.
If all goes according to expectations, the semi-finals could feature Greenwood at Searcy and West Memphis at Benton on the Friday after Thanksgiving, with the two winners moving on to the state title game.
Greenwood and Benton played in last year’s championship, with Greenwood winning, 45-14. This year’s title game is set for Saturday, December 7th, at 6:30 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium. It should be fun.