By RAY BENTON Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills will carry its two-game winning streak to southwest Little Rock this Friday to take on the physical McClellan Lions in the 5A-Central Conference opener for both teams. The two teams’ seasons have been almost a mirror image of each other.
Just like Sylvan Hills, the Lions are 2-1. They have two blowout wins, just like Sylvan Hills, and a loss to a 7A-Central team, also like Sylvan Hills.
McClellan stomped Sheridan 51-13 in Week 1, lost 48-30 to defending Class 7A runner up North Little Rock in the second week, and then beat the breaks off of Hall, 63-8 in the home opener last Friday.
Sylvan Hills lost to 7A-Central and 7A state quarterfinalist Catholic High 44-7 in Week 1, then hammered Hot Springs Lakeside and Jacksonville in its more recent games.
The offense was the story against Lakeside. The Bears rolled up over 400 yards of offense in that48-22 win. In the 28-3 victory over Jacksonville, Sylvan Hills didn’t pile up the yardage, but allowed only 92 total yards of offense.
The McClellan Lions present a different set of problems, from their gigantic offensive line to the athleticism on the perimeters, The Lions are talented. They lost major playmakers like Dalvion Childs at quarterback and Pierre Strong at running back, but Bear coach Jim Withrow has some concerns.
“They are huge,” began Withrow. “I don’t know if they have the big-time playmakers they had last year, but they’re definitely physical and they have some weapons. All those guys they have touching the ball look to be 4.5 or better kind of guys. It’s just a typical Maurice Moody coached team. They’re big. They’re physical. They got speed. They play tough on both sides of the ball. It’s going to be a fight that we have to meet.”
McClellan averages 316 pounds across the offensive line. That goes well with the style of ball the team plays, especially with the 220-pound quarterback Bennie Kemp running the offense. He and 200-pounder Tommy Crumpton III will handle most of the totes.
“They get up under center and try to jam it down your throat,” Withrow said. “I think they have a running back playing quarterback, and that bodes well for what they’re doing. I don’t know if they have anybody as good as Strong was, but that Crumpton kid looks like he’s got some serious jets. There’s no doubt it’s a huge game early in the season.”
The 5A Central has, in recent years, earned a reputation for being the toughest in the 5A classification. Pulaski Academy has won the last three state titles.
McClellan has been their foe in one of those, while Sylvan Hills beat the Bruins in every aspect but the scoreboard last year, holding them to 284 total yards of offense.
Beebe has made a recent trip to the state semifinals, while Little Rock Christian was undefeated when vanquished by PA in the semis two seasons ago.
Parkview, this year, is showing signs of vast improvement with the hiring of Brad Bolding and the influx of transfers from nearby schools.
All that makes this week’s conference openers even more important. There will be at least two playoff level teams sitting at home when the postseason begins, and which two that will be will begin to be worked out this week.
“That’s the deal with this conference, man, it’s so tough,” With-row said. “We’ve got be ready this week for what’s coming. This is a big game, even though it’s early.”
The Bear offense has been solid since the loss to Catholic. It was outstanding against Lakeside, and impressive enough against the Titans.
Lakeside plays similarly to McClellan in that, the Rams brought a lot of pressure with stunts and blitzes. Jacksonville relied more on its talented front four to apply pressure while dropping more into coverage.
McClellan has Jacksonville’s talent, combined with Lakeside’s philosophy, at least that’s been the case in the past.
This year’s team hasn’t shown as much pressure, but Sylvan Hills is preparing for it anyway.
“I think it’s just a case of them being young and inexperienced on defense,” Withrow said. “They had a lot of seniors on defense last year. These guys don’t look like much drop off to me. I think he’s giving them a chance to get the feel of things before he turns them loose. So it looks like they’re kind-of pulling the reigns back a little, but we’re preparing for the pressure.”