Former Razorbacks to lead Fayetteville and Pulaski Academy into Class 7A playoff battle
BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON
FAYETTEVILLE – Two former Arkansas football players will be trying to end each other’s high school seasons on Friday.
Fayetteville (8-2) and head coach Casey Dick will host Pulaski Academy (9-2) and Anthony Lucas Friday night at 7 p.m. in a Class 7A state playoff quarterfinal clash.
“Oh, man we are excited about it,” Lucas said. “I ran into Casey at the (Arkansas-Texas) game last week in Fayetteville.
“I’ve been knowing Casey for a long time and he has done a really good job. They are the defending 7A state champions and we are just trying to get ready.
“We know we are coming until a hostile environment, but I am actually excited about the game, which should be an exciting night of football.”
Dick shared some of the same sentiments about Lucas and the match up.
“He’s a great guy and a great coach and I loved seeing him at the game,” Dick said. “When you look at PA, they are known for their offense and he’s done a great job with them. Their wide receivers and offense are really well-coached.
“They are very explosive and very disciplined throughout the team and he has done a really good job at taking advantage of that.
“They still on-side kick and go for it on fourth down, but he has also kind of put his own stamp on there. He’s a great guy and it’s a great program and I am looking forward to 7 o’clock at Harmon Field on Friday.”
The winner will move into a semifinal round game against the Bryant-Cabot victor.
Dick was a quarterback for the Razorbacks from 2005-2008 while throwing 5,856 yards and 47 touchdowns.
Lucas became one of the program’s all-time leading receivers during his 1995-1998 collegiate career.
He is second all-time in Arkansas history in both receiving yards (2,879) and touchdowns (23) and has the most 100-yard games with 10 and holds the SEC record average yards per catch at 21.0
“I know he (Dick) is going to have a lot of people there and we are going to bring a lot of people. We are preparing and just doing what we normally do.”
Ironically both teams are going in off wins over Springdale Har-Ber with the Purple Bulldogs winning 53-7 on Nov. 8 and then having a bye last Friday.
Pulaski Academy took care of Har-Ber 58-20 in the Class 7A opening round last Friday while jumping out to as 51-7 led by intermission.
“Yes and no,” Lucas said of learning anything from both teams playing Har-Ber last. “You can get a few tendencies…but both were mercy rule games and you can’t get a lot from that.
“But we also have film on them from other teams they have played this year so we have tried to look at that and find ways to outsmart them and get our kids to out play them.
“We know it is going to be tough because he (Dick) has done a great job and his team plays hard for him.”
Fayetteville’s two defeats this year were a 55-54 one to Texas High earlier and a 41-10 one at 7A-West champion Bentonville on Nov. 18.
“We are playing some really good football right now,” Dick said. “I think we have grown, taken care of the football, I think we have played really well defensively and created turnovers.”
Dick believes last week’s bye was a positive one for Fayetteville.
“I think it always comes at a good time because it allowed us to heal up and get some guys ready,” Dick said. “We were very award of what we were doing. I think we had a very intentional and purposeful practice week leading up to this.”
Pulaski Academy’s losses this season were to Bryant and Conway with the Bruins having won their first five games of their season and their last three.
“Our guys are starting to peak and it is something that we have been harping on to our kids all year,” Lucas said. “We still have peaked and we hope we can do that now. We are getting there.
“Whether we are playing at home and on the road, we are going to have to play hard and play well. The kids are dialed in and we can’t wait until Friday gets here.”
Both teams have talented quarterback leading their offenses.
Pulaski Academy’s Brandon Cobb (6-3, 162) had 347 yards and 5 touchdowns for the Bruins last week and has 3,691 yards passing and 46 scoring tosses this season.
Fayetteville’s Garyt Odom is 137 of 217 for 2,035 passing yards with 23 touchdowns and 7 interceptions
Razorback baseball signee Jason DeLamar has 55 catches for 851 yards and 11 touchdowns while Catavion Taylor has hauled in 46 passes for,766 yards and 9 TDs.
The Purple Bulldogs running game is led by. Christian Battles, who has rushed for 682 yards and 13 TDs during the 2024 campaign.
“Their defensive line is really good,” Lucas said. “They have a couple of guys up front and they have good linebackers and blitz a lot, which is going to be challenging for us.
“On offense they have a couple of talented receivers – No. 1 (Taylor) and No. 3 (Delamar) are some special kids. Their quarterback can sit back there and find those guys don’t cover them and make it a long night for us.
“The running back is really impressive – he’s aggressive.”
Photos by John D. James
« Previous
Next »