At long last, the state football playoffs begin this week in high school football stadiums across Arkansas. Schools that finished in the top five of their conferences and teams who won play-in games last week will officially begin their quest for playoff runs this Friday. And for the Paris Eagles, the road to Little Rock and the Class 3A championship game begins this week at Eagles Stadium when Paris hosts the Salem Greyhounds from the 3A-2 conference. The playoffs are a one week at a time proposition, and for the Eagles, the only team that matters is the Salem Greyhounds. Any team in the playoffs that looks past an opponent to the next round is endangering themselves to lose and be eliminated from the title chase. Thus the finality of playoff football; one loss, and it is time to clean out your lockers…the season is over. So every team wants to win and survive to play another week, and that will be the mission of the Eagles starting this Friday night.
The Salem Greyhounds are coached by first year head coach Josh Watson. Watson, a former assistant at Salem, recently returned from a coaching stint on the staff at high school football powerhouse, Hoover, Alabama. Watson has guided the Greyhounds in their first year in Class 3A football. Salem has had previous success at the state playoff level in Class 2A and was picked by Hooten’s Arkansas Football publication to finish fifth in the tough 3A-2 conference. Salem exceeded expectations by finishing fourth and thus earning the four seed from their conference for the playoffs.
The northeast Arkansas community of Salem is approximately 147 miles from Paris in Baxter County, and is approximately three hours and thirty-two minutes by car. The Greyhounds are located near Mountain Home and will have a long trip into Paris on game day. Home field advantage can be significant in the playoffs, and the reward for earning a high seed in conference play is to avoid making long trips during the playoffs.
Salem finished the 2020 season 6-4 overall and 2-3 in their conference. The results of their games in 2020 were:
Salem 34, Walnut Ridge 14 (W)
Salem 46, Dover 0 (W)
Corning 32, Salem 14 (L)
Salem 34, Riverview 8 (W)
Melbourne 41, Salem 22 (L)
Newport 51, Salem 14 (L)
Salem vs. Cross County, Forfeit (W)
Harding Academy 55, Salem 9 (L)
Salem is 10-14 in their state playoffs history, and their last appearance was in 2019 in the Class 2A playoffs. Their playoff history indicates that the Greyhounds will be a tough out in the playoffs in any year.
Salem plays in a very tough conference and played their first year in Class 3A in 2020. But the Greyhounds will come to Paris on Friday with good talent and will be extremely aggressive in their game planning against the Eagles.
Leading the Greyhounds will be their “all everything” wide receiver, Darius Brown. Brown is listed by Hooten’s as 5-8, 161 lbs., and “skies over corners with athleticism and long arms.” Hooten’s also lists Brown as having 4.8 speed and reportedly has been offerred a scholarship from Hendrix College. Brown will line-up both in the offensive backfield and as a wide out on the line of scrimmage.
When I asked Paris coach Tyler Clark what stands out to him after watch video of the Greyhounds, Coach Clark said, “They have a receiver, number 18 (Darius Brown), who can go. He is a really good football player. I think they are good up front. They’ve got a defensive end / tight end that is a stud. He’s every bit of 6’5”; he’s a big kid. Offensively, they are in the “I” formation most of the time. Once in a while they will get into the spread formation. Defensively, they are a four front, play a lot of cover four. So, they are a good football team. They play in a really good conference.”
For the Eagles, a win at home in the first round of the playoffs will result in Paris hosting a second round game on November 27 against the winner of Friday’s contest between Perryville and Greenland. People like me can afford to look ahead, but the players and coaches cannot. Salem, in the famous words of Coach Clark, is this week’s “nameless and faceless opponent”, and the Eagles have to approach this game like they have every game for the past ten weeks. The Salem Greyhounds are the only team that matters, and simply put, it is all over for the Eagles if they do not focus solely on Salem and defeat the Greyhounds.
As an observer of this team for the entire season, the hallmark of the Eagles this year, in my opinion, has been the unselfishness of the team. No player seems to care who plays or how much they play. The only thing that has mattered to this team is winning as a team. And the reward for their unselfishness has been a two seed in the playoffs and a chance to play at home in front of their adoring fans. I believe this team will be 100% focused on Salem and will be ready to fly over the goal posts on Friday when they take the field for a state playoff game. All of the work, all of the sacrifice, and all of their dreams are now coming true, and I believe this special group of Eagles will not take Friday for granted. They will come ready to play, and like they have all season, they will play their hearts out in front of the home fans.
Kickoff Friday is at 7 p.m., and the weather should be perfect for a game that is one of the biggest in program history. The Weather Bug forecast calls for a high of 72 degrees and a low of 55 with no precipitation. Perfect weather for a perfect group of Eagles that have earned the right to play in the state playoffs at home.
Resident Press wishes Coach Clark and the entire Eagles team the best Friday night and throughout the playoffs. And as we have all season, RP will be there to bring you all of the action. A recap of this game will be published on Resident Press on Saturday, and additional photos from the game will be posted on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports on Saturday night.
See you at Eagles Stadium on Friday night!
