Blue Devils escape Titans, ready for Zebras

Blue Devils escape Titans, ready for Zebras

West Memphis edged out Jacksonville in preperation for a big game this Friday against Pine Bluff

WM School District The West Memphis Blue Devils can start thinking about Pine Bluff and the game that will determine the 6A-East Conference championship.

Of course, it is debatable whether they had already been thinking about Pine Bluff, judging from their performance against Jacksonville last Friday night at Hamilton-Shultz Field.

The Blue Devils (8-0 overall, 5-0 in the conferencE) didn't make a lot of plays, but made enough of them for a 2414 victory over the Titans.

West Memphis head coach Billy Elmore wasn't overly pleased with his team's effort, but he also won't give back the win, and more importantly the bigger picture is his team can not dwell on anything but the Zebras of Pine Bluff.

'We didn't plays as well as we'd like, but you move on and you know you got a big one (this week),' said Elmore. 'It's hard to tell what's going through a 17year-old's mind. Maybe they were thinking ahead, maybe they weren't. For whatever reason we didn't seem to have that much focus before the game. But again, we're having this conversation after a 10point win.'

Pine Bluff (7-1, 5-0) warmed up for the big match by pounding Marion 41-12. For the second straight season the Blue Devils and the Zebras will decide the league champion.

It's questionable, at least at press time, whether one of West Memphis' biggest offensive weapons will be playing at Pine Bluff.

Senior Guren Holmes, the team's leading rusher, had already put up 101 yards on only 14 carries in the first half against Jacksonville before he tweaked an already troubled knee. He limped off the field with the aid of coaches and didn't return for the second half.

'We'll have to evaluate him during the week to see where he is,' Elmore said of Holmes. 'He's had this knee problem going back to last year and he even had it bother him in the Searcy game and Jonesboro games. He's played through it, really, the last couple of years.

He's a tough kid. If he can go, we know he'll go. If he can't, then somebody's going to have to pick up the slack.'

Jacksonville (3-5, 2-3) threw the kitchen sink at the Blue Devils and its strategy was good enough to give the Titans a shot at an upset in the fourth quarter.

Head coach Barry Hickingbotham tried to shorten the game by utilizing the play clock through the first half. Secondly, he switched quarterbacks. He started Shavarris Curley over regular starter H.D.

Martin because, Hickingbotham said, Martin was banged up from the previous game.

Martin played sparingly, and when he did, he played at running back and didn't look banged up at all. He breezed past the West Memphis defense for a 69yard touchdown with 9:39 to play in the game to cut the Blue Devil lead to 2414.

With Holmes out the entire second half, the Blue Devil ground game lacked the crisp running through the middle. And when senior quarterback Michael Troxler, who threw for a TD and rushed for another, took a vicious helmet hit to his chin, breaking open a cut, it looked like the game couldn't end soon enough for the hosts.

'We went out for some concussion protocol and (Troxler) was alert,' said Elmore. 'He took a clean shot to the chin. You don't like seeing him taking a hit like that, but he makes so many yards for us in those situations.'

However, Troxler sat out only a few plays before going back in on the team's next possession.

WMHS had no trouble breaking out to a 24-7 halftime lead.

Placekicker Dylan Wiggington opened the scoring by connecting on a 32-yard field, his longest of the season, in the first quarter.

Then after Holmes put the Blue Devils in position by the end of the first quarter, Troxler bowled into the end zone from a yard out for a 10-0 lead with 10:29 to play in the second quarter.

Jacksonville's Curley got his team on the scoreboard with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Debious Cobbs with 6:45 to play in the second quarter, making it 10-7.

'We prepared for (Martin) at quarterback, but (Curley) gave us some problems,' said Elmore.

Curley completed 18 of 24 passes for 155 yards and no interceptions.

West Memphis closed out its scoring in the first half when Kelvin Love, who replaced Holmes at running back, galloped two yards for a touchdown with 4:10 to play in the first half to make it 17-7.

Without question the prettiest play of the night saw Troxler dance away from pressure in the pocket and to his left. Throwing across his body he waited for Amaurius Stinnett to get open downfield and then threw a dart to the senior receiver for a 37-yard touchdown pass for the 247 halftime lead.

Troxler finished completing 6 of 11 throws for 154 yards.

By Billy Woods