After enjoying an open date for the first round of the state playoffs, the defending 6A state champion Greenwood Bulldogs (10-1) hosted and dispatched the Searcy Lions (9-3) with relative ease (35-0) last Friday night to advance to the next round, also to be played at Smith-Robinson Stadium.

The surprising opponent with be the Sylvan Hills Bears (5-7), the #6 seed from the 6A East. After beating Russellville in the opening round, 31-29, the Bears defeated Marion last Friday night, 17-14. The Bears seem to have captured some post-season magic, pulling off two upsets on the road.

Other victors this past weekend included unbeaten West Memphis (11-0) winning big (34-6) over Pine Bluff and Benton (9-2) squeaking by Jonesboro, 38-37. The West Memphis-Benton winner will advance to the finals against the Greenwood-Sylvan Hills survivor.

The Sylvan Hills’ win was the only surprise in the second (quarterfinal) phase of the playoffs, unlike the opening round where the four 6A East teams (Searcy, Sylvan Hills, Pine Bluff, Jonesboro) defeated four teams from the West (Siloam Springs, Russellville, El Dorado, Lake Hamilton).

All four games were extremely close, each decided by seven points or less, with the average margin of victory being 4.5 points. That left only two 6A West teams (Greenwood, Benton) remaining in the battle for the state title after the opening round.

But this past weekend’s results rectified that situation, eliminating two more teams from the East, leaving two representatives from each conference in the running for the championship.

According to Hooten’s Arkansas Football magazine and website, Greenwood, Benton, and West Memphis are the top three teams in Class 6A, with Sylvan Hills far behind in the rankings with a losing record, but somehow still alive in the playoffs.

The Bears are to be congratulated for a pair of surprising post-season victories, but barring a miracle of epic proportions, their season ends next Friday at Greenwood’s Smith-Robinson Stadium.

On the other side of the bracket, West Memphis will host Benton in what shapes up to be one of the premier games in the state next week, and the outcome is hard to predict.

The Blue Devils are unbeaten, but have endured several close calls, while Benton’s losses were to Greenwood (62-33) and Class 7A Bryant (28-14) in their season opener.

West Memphis has home field advantage and probably should be a slight favorite given its unblemished record, but the Panthers are more than capable of pulling out a victory. Stay tuned.