By jason king
Leader sportswriter
Leader sportswriter
The third act of the trilogy begins Friday.
It’s not a pitch for a science-fiction movie, rather it is Beebe’s philosophy as it prepares to host 5A-West No. 3 seed Alma in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs at Bro Erwin Field.
The Badgers (6-4) were forced to settle for a No. 2 seed from the 5A-Southeast Conference following a 17-13 loss to Batesville on Friday in a game that decided the league championship.
Beebe had a 13-10 lead to begin the second half, but could not hang on in the final minutes as Batesville rallied to claim its first outright conference title since 2005, which was the last time the two teams faced off with the championship on the line.
Friday’s setback was Beebe’s only conference loss of the season and its first defeat since Week 3 at Vilonia.
Alma (7-3, 5-2 5A-West) finished its regular-season run with a 52-21 loss to conference champion Greenwood on Friday.
Beebe lost its first three non-conference games before catching fire at the start of league play and winning its first six 5A-Southeast games. With their only conference loss coming at Batesville, the Badgers were successful enough to earn a first-round playoff game at home.
“We told them there are three seasons,” Beebe coach John Shannon said. “We completed the second season on Friday, and the new one starts on Monday. Everybody’s 0-0; it’s a brand newseason. We’ve got to get back to work.”
Alma brings plenty of size to its single-back offensive set, including left tackle Jordan White, 6-6, 265 pounds, center John Davis, 6-0, 245, left guard Austin Gregory, 6-3, 360 and senior right guard Tyler Biggs, 5-11, 310.
Senior Isaac McCoy bases at tailback, but he had almost 450 yards and scored nine touchdowns as a slot receiver for the Airedales last year.
McCoy, 6-1, 165, can also run the offense out of the trendy, wishbone style formation the Alma coaching staff calls the “Wild Dog.”
“They’re big,” Shannon said. “And that McCoy kid, I haven’t seen anyone tackle him yet. They line him up anywhere. They definitely put you in a bind.”
Beebe’s running game has been stout through most of its conference stretch until it met the Batesville defense. The Pioneers held Badgers senior fullback Colby Taylor to 58 yards rushing, and made Beebe’s option game a non-option.
“They really did a good job of taking away our option game,” Shannon said. “We moved it at times, but just couldn’t go on any long drives. They are statistically the best defense in the conference, and they hemmed us up.
“The challenge for our offense now is to go and get back on track.”
Alma’s defense doesn’t have the mammoth players found on the offensive line, but it has plenty of playmakers, including linebacker Jason Hensley, 6-3, 255, who finished last season with 120 tackles.
“It’s hard to tell how they will be defensively against us,” Shannon said. “I don’t think they’ve seen a lot of run. They’re typically pretty good defensively, but our philosophy with the Dead-T is to keep their offense off the field.”
