‘ Moving on up… to the West side’

‘ Moving on up… to the West side’

The Blue Devils have progressed every year under head coach Billy Elmore and will attempt to stay with the tradition tonight against Benton

WM School District The progression has been steady for the West Memphis Blue Devils under head coach Billy Elmore.

Now in his fourth year, Elmore has seen his clubs go from not making the postseason his first year in 2014 to making the playoffs and losing a first-round game in 2015 to winning a first-round game in 2016.

On Friday night, the Elmore and the Blue Devils (9-1) have a shot to take it one step further in year four. West Memphis hosts Benton (7-4) Friday night in a Class 6A state quarterfinal game. Kickoff is set for 7.

A victory over the Panthers would put the Blue Devils in the semifinals for the first time under Elmore.

'Of course, West Memphis had a lot of success before I got here and I know that all too well,' Elmore stated. 'But when we came in we brought in a new system, and players were doing things they'd never done before in West Memphis. It was just a different system. We feel like now we've made enough progress in our system that the kids feel very comfortable doing the things we like to do.'

The Blue Devils got to the quarterfinal round by finishing in second place in the 6A-East Conference and drawing a first-round bye, the program's first opening-round bye since 2011.

Elmore said the off week was plenty beneficial to his club and the coaching staff. 'It was outstanding, especially since we played our last (regular-season) game on a Thursday,' he said. 'We all got a three-day weekend and a little break to recharge the batteries.'

A break yes, but not before the coaching staff traveled to Benton last Friday night to scout the Panthers' 42-0 victory over Jacksonville.

'We've seen a lot of video on Benton, but actually we prepared some for them (during the bye week),' Elmore added. 'We'd already played Jacksonville, so we felt we knew them well enough, so we just spent some time on Benton.'

Elmore said Benton will present a 'huge challenge' to his team Friday night.

'Parts of their defense remind me of Searcy with their odd front and the fact that they blitz quite a bit,' Elmore said. 'They run and throw equally well. I feel like we have to slow down the running game. You can't let them have both the run and the pass.'

Offensively, the Blue Devils will have to establish their ground game against Benton. Led by senior Guren Holmes, West Memphis has been run-first all season, but Elmore points out that his unit has had the ability all season to both run and throw.

'We honestly feel like we can run and throw, but there have been too few games this year that allowed us to do both equally,' Elmore stated. 'The game dictates what we end up doing.'

Benton's record doesn't tell the whole story.

The Panthers lost 49-42 on opening week to Bryant, one of the top two teams in Class 7A. They also lost to the top-ranked team in 6A, Greenwood, 33-17, and they fell to El Dorado, one of the top two or three teams in 6A, 27-20.

Brad Harris, in his second year at the helm in Benton, has had to endure extreme injury problems this season. But the Panthers' depth has answered all distress signals thus far.

Plus, Harris has been somewhat of a riverboat gambler as a play-caller, according to Elmore.

'They like to go for it on fourth down,' Elmore said. 'In fact, once last week against Jacksonville they had a fourth-and-12 from about their own 25 and they converted to keep a scoring drive alive.'

The winner of Friday night's game will travel in the semifinals to play the winner of the Greenwood-Texarkana contest.

Tickets for Friday night's game can be purchased early at West Memphis High School's office for $6. Only Arkansas Activities Association passes will be accepted at the pass gates.

By Billy Woods