ANOTHER 5A-WEST TITLE IS WITHIN REACH FOR GOBLINS

One home game and one road against two teams with losing records stand between the Goblins of Harrison and a 5A-West championship. This year marks the fourth-straight year that Harrison is in the running for a conference title.

Following a 35-34 double-overtime win last week against Morrilton to take the outright lead in the 5A-West, Harrison head coach Joel Wells was asked how he keeps his team from getting complacent after a big win like that.

“That is a very hard task,” said the coach. “We are still playing for the conference championship. We will clinch at least a tie with a win this week. Win both weeks and we are the outright conference champion.”


The next two weeks begin with Friday’s matchup with the Panthers of Clarksville.

Clarksville sports a 2-5 record and have lost two-straight games since a 34-14 win over Alma in Week 6.

“Clarksville is a much improved team,” Wells noted of this weeks opponent. “Their offense is hard to deal with.

“They run a Single Wing offense with a lot of unbalanced formations and a lot of misdirection plays. They have scored on everyone. Their defense has improved over last year, but it is not their strength. We will have to be very efficient on offense.”

The scales point to the Panthers when it comes to size comparison, but Wells is used to overcoming that challenge.

“Everyone we play is bigger than us it seems,” he said. “Our team speed should cause them some problems. Their skill guys have speed but we are quicker on both offense and defensive lines.”

The Harrison offense may look different this week.

“We have prepared to play without Cole Keylon this week,” Wells mentioned. “So we have put in some wildcat runs with Beck Jones. Logan Plumlee played very well last week at quarterback and I think that will continue this week.”

Progress from one week to the next has been expected from the Goblin roster and the coaching staff is seeing that from its team.


“We have gotten better each week on defense,” said the coach. “We must continue to improve going in the playoffs if we want to make a deep run.

“It’s a marathon and not a sprint to get to Little Rock,” he continued. “Our young kids have some experience now so they need to play like veterans from here on out.”

Practice this week has been cold and wet but it hasn’t prevented growth within the Harrison team.

“We have prepared well in a very difficult week weather wise,” said Wells.

The Goblins have had success by scoring early and often through the regular season. They have also scored when necessary as their 7-1 record indicates.

Wells knows what the key to the game will be for a Goblin win on Friday.

“We need to get them off the field on third and fourth down,” he elaborated. “They will try to limit the number of possessions in the game so we have to be very efficient on offense.”

The coach’s message prior to Friday’s 7 p.m. kickoff at F.S. Garrison Stadium will be simple.

“Have fun and play hard,” Wells will tell his team prior to running out on the field. “Conference champion is our first goal each year and we have a chance to reach that goal this week.”


Team members of the Goblins include: Beck Jones; Sloan Barrett; Julius Scott; Cayden Luker; Brodey Gilliam; Phoenix Whitney; Breckin Duck; Brock Bardwell; Hayden Davis; Noah Moix; Kaden Quandt; Lane Johnson; Cylan Madden; Cole Keylon; Trey Richardson; Dylan Schnidt; Logan Plumlee; Abe Estes; Talon Stephens; Gabe Paul; Vann Richards; Will Bryant; Anthony Robinson; Dylan Block; Matt Jones; Bentley Lemon; Alex Mills; Tyler Hutcheson; Wallace Crowley; Hudson Lewis; Anthony Allen; Caden Robertson; Jordin Welsh; Tristan Thompson; Marcus Reynolds; Maddox Peck; Jordan Miller; Kamran Bell; Hayden Allen; Dylan Olson; Steven Chrisman; Maliki Hilton; Elijah Lambert; Tim Gass; Josh Farris; Kohen Phifer; Chris McInturf; Jonathan Schaffer; Drayden Taylor; Skyler Graves; Mickey Upton; Evan Dixon; Jace Bardin; Taylor Baker; Kendred Thompson; Brekken Boswell; Hunter Boernson; and Charles Broome. The team is coached by Joel Wells. Assistant coaches include: Chris Keylon; Jacob Lisko; Greg Cross; Doug Cross; Dan Henderson; and Evan Cowling.