By todd traub
Leader sports editor
Right now, Jacksonville is still scheduled to play Sheridan in the first round of the 6A state football playoffs at Jan Crow Stadium on Friday.
Right now.
A lawsuit filed by Van Buren against the Arkansas Activities Association, which governs high school athletics in the state, could change Jacksonville’s seeding and opponent, or possibly postpone the first round.
But as of Tuesday, Jacksonville athletic director Jerry Wilson said, the Red Devils, seeded No. 3 in the East, were still set to play the Yellowjackets at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
“Right now we’re going on as if we’re playing Sheridan as scheduled,” Wilson said. “From the people that I talked to, I don’t think Van Buren is trying to postpone.”
Van Buren was reclassified 6A for this season but an appeal by 6A member Searcy led to a late change in the conference lineups, forcing Van Buren to play in the 7A-heavy 7A/6A-Central.
There was also a change in the way the new power rankings were tabulated, and Van Buren said it was not notified that it could not earn points for non-conference games.
Arguing that those points should be counted and itshould be a higher seed, Van Buren, currently the No. 4 seed from the East, filed suit against the AAA in the Circuit Court of Crawford County.
If Van Buren’s non-conference games were counted, it would have enough points to be a No. 3 seed, bumping Jacksonville to No. 4. The Red Devils would still have a home game, but it would be against Benton, the No. 5 seed from the South.
On Monday judge Mike Medlock ruled the venue was improper and transferred the case to Pulaski County.
As of Tuesday, there had been no decision.
“They may hear it before Friday,” Wilson said. “But from what I’ve been told from a higher level the payoffs will go on as printed. Right now everything is the same. So we’re planning on playing Sheridan. Everything is status quo.”
Jacksonville (6-4, 4-3 7A/6A-East) won just two games last year after winning six the year before but is back in the playoffs under first-year head coach and former defensive coordinator Rick Russell.
The Red Devils reached the playoffs thanks in part to a stretch in which they won six of seven, including a victory over Mountain Home that aired on statewide television Sept. 23.
The Devils’ losses were to Jonesboro, the 6A’s top seed, West Memphis — which played in the 7A/6A-East but is classified 7A and is the top seed in the Central — and to Marion, another playoff qualifier, in the season finale.
“We’ve got a good group of coaches that worked extremely hard on both sides of the football,” Russell said. “We’ve had the kids buy into what we were doing. At times we’ve performed extremely well.”
Sheridan, the No. 6 seed from the South, checks in with a 4-6 record and was 3-4 in the 7A/6A-South. The Yellowjackets have conference victories over Little Rock McClellan and Little Rock Fair and edged Texarkana 17-14 in the season finale to earn the No. 6 spot.
Sheridan won just three games last season and forfeited one, its season opening, 31-28 victory over Arkadelphia, but is back in the playoffs under first-year coach and former Arkansas Razorback player and assistant Louis Campbell.
“They’re a spread,” said Wilson, a member of the Jacksonville coaching staff. “They run a lot of pro style. Defensively they do a lot of blitzing. Similar to Benton, what we’ve played against earlier.
“One back, two back. We’ll have our work cut out for us.”
Because the playoffs are AAA functions, no season tickets will be honored and admission is $5.
