Little Rock Mills looks to cap off perfect regular season with win over Lonoke
BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON
With a share of the Class 4A-Region 2 conference title already in hand, Little Rock Mills will look to grab the undisputed crown and finish off a perfect gridiron regular season on Friday night.
The Comets (8-0, 6-0) will host Lonoke (5-4, 5-1) in a 7 p.m. game with the Jackrabbits and Heber Springs currently tied for second.
It’s been a special year for head coach Cortez Lee’s program, fresh off a 49-7 road win over Central Arkansas Christian and winning each game by at least 41 points while outscoring its opponents by 396-32.
“Everything is going pretty good this year,” Lee said. “I am proud of the effort the young men are playing with, the energy is up and I’m just liking everything we are doing. Now I’m just trying to make sure we finish the job.
“…The goals we set forth at the beginning of the season were conference champs, state champs and undefeated season. Getting the conference championship will bode well for us going forward, but we have a formidable opponent in Lonoke.
“We just need to go out and execute and do what we do best and the goal is to 1-0 at the end of the day.”
Lonoke started the season 0-3, but has won five of its last six games with the lone loss to Heber Springs 33-14 two weeks ago.
Mills was 9-3 last season while losing to eventual Class 5A state champion Little Rock Parkview in the second round of the state playoffs.
The Comets’ offense has been bolstered this season with the addition of freshman starting quarterback Elijah Moody (6-0, 195).
Moody has completed 74 percent of his passes while going 87 of 117 for 1,429 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for 1,148 yards and 14 more scores.
“He is a special player and executes the game plan that we put in front of him,” Lee said. “He is blessed with size and speed and the intangibles that are needed to play the quarterback spot.
“He has weapons in running backs Rodney Jackson and Za’marion McDonald and our offensive line play is exceptional and led by senior Nick Carter.
“We have got exciting wide receivers led Chauncey Haynes and Malik Evans and a host of other guys and they all just mesh together really well.”
Zion Smith has racked up 8 sacks and Isiah Chambers 7 while Azayvonne Stribling has five interceptions and Desmond Higgins, Jr. has swiped four.
“Our defense is incredible this year and has been playing lights out football this season on all accords,” Lee said. “The defensive line is playing great at the point of impact, playing well in the trenches and our secondary is making a lot of big plays on the back end, with intercepting the ball and helping in run support.
“Overall I think our defense has been our bright spot.”
A Mills win on Friday night will clinch a first-round bye in this season’s state playoffs for the Comets, who Lee notes is not something his team is looking ahead at yet.
“We just need to keep football simple, work our habits, deal with the things we can control, which is our game plan and keep growing in the certain spaces that we are in while playing solid football,” Lee said.
“That’s been our focus every game, not worrying about our next opponent and I think if we can stay in that same mindset, we will have a chance in the end.”
Photo courtesy of Little Rock Mills
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