Sports

WHITE HALL ANXIOUS TO RETURN TO BIG STAGE

By Sean Saunders/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Thursday, November 5, 2009 12:21 AM CST

WHITE HALL — White Hall coach Mike Vaughn knows there is a lot riding on tonight’s game with Little Rock Mills at Bulldog Stadium. He’s even gone as far as saying it’s the biggest game of the year for the Bulldogs.

Simply put, the winner of the game gets the 5A-Southeast Conference’s No. 2 playoff seed and gets to host a game next week in the first round. The loser receives the No. 3 playoff seed and has to travel to the No. 2 seed from the strong 5A-West.

“It comes down to if we win, we finish second and have a home game, and if we lose, we have to go on the road,” Vaughn said. “It’s also parents night and it’s also senior night, so there’s a lot going on (tonight) that’s important to our players and our fans.”

The Bulldogs (7-2, 5-1) have already improved upon their win total by two games over last year. But if they lose to Mills (6-3, 4-2), their playoff positioning won’t see any improvement, and they lost 32-19 at Batesville last year.

Vaughn said senior running back Larry Walls, who broke the school’s career rushing record at Little Rock McClellan two weeks ago and has more than 1,600 yards on the season, is rearing to go every snap against the Comets. But Walls injured his hamstring last week against Beebe and didn’t play the second half.

“I keep telling Larry that we have one more game no matter what,” Vaughn said. “If you don’t play next week, we might not have any more games.”

Vaughn said Walls will be a game-time decision. That leaves junior A.J. Richardson as White Hall’s premier back, but Richardson is capable with his season rushing total close to 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“White Hall really isn’t fair,” Mills coach Patrick Russell said. “They have a bunch of big, physical kids up front and a bunch of kids with speed behind them. We’re going to have our hands full trying to contain them.”

White Hall’s points given up per game has slightly improved since coach Wade Reynolds moved from offensive line to defensive coordinator, but it’s the defense’s performance in big games that has improved this year. The Bulldogs shut out Sylvan Hills, a team that could be the league’s fourth playoff seed if it beats Beebe, to begin conference play and only gave up 10 points to two-time conference champion Monticello in a 12-6 loss Oct. 16.

The Bulldogs gave up 28 points to McClellan and 20 to Beebe because of what Vaughn called being “not very fired up.” But facing Monticello and Beebe in a span of three weeks has prepared White Hall for what Mills brings to the table offensively.

The Comets hit their opponents with multiple options out of the flexbone formation. Though Vaughn raves about athletic quarterback Chris Hampton, Russell said nobody really stands out on his offense.

“We have a bunch of kids who can run the ball,” Russell said. “We just line up in the flexbone and let our offense do its work.”

That offense has put up more than 24 points per game, and it has done it on a fairly consistent basis. The Comets have scored 28 points four times this year, including three weeks in a row in the middle of conference play.

Mills finds itself in a similar situation to what White Hall faced last year. The Comets lost a midseason home game to Crossett just like White Hall, but that 29-28 setback didn’t affect a later matchup that would determine seeding.

“That game was rather disheartening,” Russell said. “We kind of let our foot off the gas a little too early, and they came back and beat us. It was also bad because we left quite a few points out on the field.”

White Hall beat Mills 32-8 last year at Mills Stadium to lock up its No. 3 seed, but Vaughn said he’s dealing with a totally different opponent this year. The Comets missed out on the playoffs after losing to five playoff teams, but they’re already 2-2 against four of those teams this year.

Vaughn is hoping that tonight isn’t the final game at Bulldog Stadium for his 16 seniors. But he isn’t going as far as to say the whole season is riding on a winning result.

“We’re in the playoffs,” Vaughn said. “Any time you’re in the playoffs, you’ve had a good year. I think it’s something that can solidify it. It’s been a special year because we’ve done some good things, but a win could really solidify it.”

What is known is that Bulldog Stadium is set for its second straight 5A-Southeast Conference showdown.

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