Friday Night Title Fight

Friday Night Title Fight

Blue Devils face Pine Bluff for Conference Championship

WM School District In year 3 of the Billy Elmore Era, the West Memphis Blue Devils are playing for a conference championship.

But that's not enough for the Blue Devil mentor.

'You can't be happy getting to the big game because if you do you'll never win the big game,' said Elmore.

So, the Blue Devils are all in for this one on Friday night at Hamilton-Shultz Field as the hosts entertain the Pine Bluff Zebras in a contest that will in all likelihood determine the 6AEast Conference champion. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

The benefits that come with the conference championship are many. From putting up another banner at Hamilton-Shultz, to the status it provides and finally to provide prime seeding in the forthcoming state playoffs.

'We've spent some time talking to our kids about the playoff seeding that goes along with winning the conference,' Elmore added. 'Everybody's ultimate goal is to win a state championship.'

Although the winner of Friday night's game will have a leg up on winning the conference title, there will still be work to do for both teams.

The Blue Devils travel to Mountain Home on Nov. 4 while Pine Bluff hosts Jacksonville the same night. Both teams, however, will be favored in those contests.

The Zebras' high-powered offense is keyed by senior quarterback Simeon Blair, a transfer from Pine Bluff Dollarway. Blair guided the Class 4A Cardinals to 15 wins over the past two seasons.

'He makes their offense go, throwing and running,' Elmore said of Blair. 'For some reason he didn't have the reputation of throwing good deep balls, but on film every time you see him he's throwing deep passes for touchdowns.'

Like last week.

Blair hit Jyrimee Thompson with a perfectly thrown 65-yard touchdown pass with 51 seconds left to beat Marion 44-42.

'(Blair's) a big-time playmaker, no question,' Elmore added. 'He's the best running quarterback we've seen all year and you combine that with his throwing ability it makes him the best quarterback we've seen.'

Pine Bluff won the last two Class 6A state championships behind quarterback LaDarius Skelton, but he was among a large graduating class.

However, head coach Bobby Bolding has pieced together another strong group for this season.

Elmore said the Zebras lean a little toward the run on offense, which plays into one of the strengths of the West Memphis team.

The Blue Devils (6-2 overall, 4-1 in the 6A-East) have defended the run very well this year and they've averaged 2.125 sacks to go along with 11 interceptions. 'This is the type of game where you don't worry about your kids' mental preparation,' said Elmore. 'You may worry about how we're going to execute and if we're going to take care of the ball, but we won't have to worry about focus. It'll be all there.'

By Billy Woods