And then there were eight…

And then there were eight…

Blue Devils face Russellville in Class 6A quarterfinals tonight

WM School District There are just eight teams left.

Eight teams who still have life in 2016.

After tonight, there will only be four.

Billy Elmore's West Memphis Blue Devils are one of the eight and they believe.

The Blue Devils (7-4) travel to Russellville (9-1) on this evening to take on the Cyclones in a Class 6A state quarterfinal game.

'I've said this all along; I think there are five teams that have a chance to win the state championship,' said Elmore. 'I include ourselves and Russellville in that set. We're along the same line as Jonesboro, Pine Bluff and Greenwood. If any of those teams gets hot, they can win it all.'

The Blue Devils got here via 29-15 first-round win over Texarkana last Friday night at home. From here on out, the WM will be road warriors.

As they should, the Cyclones have Elmore's respect.

'They're 9-1 for a reason,' he said. 'They're good.'

Russellville's only loss was a close 27-24 decision against undefeated Greenwood.

'There are some things, however, that we do well that we hope to take advantage of,' Elmore added.

The Blue Devil offense has been most consistent this season, and for the second week in a row Elmore has a decision to make at starting quarterback.

Last week, he gave the start to junior Michael Troxler after regular starter Amaurius Stinnett was still too banged up from a week earlier when he reinjured the same knee he had surgery on last offseason.

Elmore said it'll be a game-time decision once again.

Troxler proved able last week.

He fired two touchdown passes and after an early interception, he settled down and managed a solid game.

With two capable quarterbacks in play, the Blue Devils offer some gamechangers at the other skill positions. At running back, junior Quincy Marshall has emerged as a viable bigplay option to go with starter Devonte Dean and Martavious Thomas.

At receiver, another player has emerged in 6-foot-4 sophomore Marcus Whitaker, who caught four passes for 62 yards and a touchdown in last week's win over Texarkana.

Whitaker is very liable to attract enough attention to keep the Russellville defense from double-teaming junior Steven Stone, the team's leading receiver.

Another factor in play is West Memphis' 4-1 record on the road this season.

'Travel doesn't bother us,' Elmore admitted. 'It eliminates some of the distractions. Sometimes travel helps you a little in that regard.'

Russellville will bring a team that Elmore describes as 'solid in every area of the game.'

'That's probably the biggest compliment you can give a team,' he said.

'To say a team is above average in every phase of the game is just the ultimate compliment in my opinion. And, that's what they are. If they do anything better than the rest, it might be that they throw it on offense a little better.

But they've also had some games this year that they put up some big rushing numbers.'

The winner of Friday night's game will play the day after Thanksgiving at either Jonesboro or Benton. The other two quarterfinal games include El Dorado at Greenwood and Searcy at Pine Bluff.

By Billy Woods