It is good to be king.
Thanks to Greenbrier’s defeat of Alma on Friday night, the Goblins are the 2018 5A-West champions.
This marks the second year in a row that Harrison has won a league title. However the 2017 title was a four-way tie with Greenbrier, Morrilton and Alma.
This championship marks Harrison’s first outright league championship since 2003. This is the Goblins’ 21st title since 1940.
“It feels great to win a very tough league outright with our toughest teams on the road,” said Harrison coach Joel Wells.
Harrison will conclude the regular season on Friday night with a trip to Farmington. This will be the last game in Farmington’s current stadium. The Cardinals will play next year in a new stadium on the campus of their three-year high school.
Harrison defeated Huntsville, 56-14.
The 14 points by the Eagles were the most scored against Harrison since the first game of the season when Pea Ridge scored 14. The Goblins didn’t take any chances getting anyone hurt in the second half.
“We didn’t play any starters in the second half,” said Wells.
Wells pointed to some bright spots in Harrison’s effort.
“We were very efficient in the pass and run offensively,” he started. “It was not our best defensive performance, but we kept them out of the end zone with our first team. We did struggle for the first time this year on PATs.”
With the win, Harrison’s seniors close out the regular season at home.
“The seniors have contributed a lot to the success of our program in their time here,” said the coach. “It will be an honor to put their number by the conference championship.
“Conference championship are difficult to win,” continued Wells. “We can’t really celebrate it until the season is over because we have other goals to accomplish. We will be ready to go for a undefeated regular season this week at Farmington.”
The playoffs start on No. 9. Harrison will play the fourth place team from the 5A-Central. Currently, White Hall and Little Rock Parkview are tied for third place.
White Hall will be playing Pulaski Academy and Parkview will play Little Rock Fair who is winless in league play.
Harrison will be playing the first playoff game in F.S. Garrison Stadium. Should Harrison win the first game, the Goblins would play the winner of the No. 2 team from the 5A-East and the winner of the 5A-South. This game would also be in F.S. Garrison Stadium.
Currently the 5A-East is a mess. Nettleton is at the top of the race with a 5-1 record. Wynne, Valley View, Blytheville and Batesville are all tied for second with a 4-2 mark.
Blytheville, who was on top of the standings had to forfeit a victory over Nettleton for the use of an ineligible player. The Chickasaws also had to forfeit a season opening win over Osceola.
The No. 3 team from the 5A-South will be the loser of the Little Rock McClellan and Camden Fairview contest.
GOBLINS NOW CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
