The 2010 Rivercrest Colts broke every pre- and post-game huddle with the same chant since the sweat rolled off their brow during the 'dog days of summer' -- "1-2-3, State Champs".
Even as the grass had browned and the temperatures plunged, the senior-laden Colts stayed true to their mantra and grabbed what just one team in the school's 40-year history has accomplished -- the elusive state title.
The prognosticators made Rivercrest among the pre-season favorites to reach War Memorial Stadium and they were correct as the Colts defeated Searcy-based Harding Academy, 14-10, Dec. 11, 2010 and posted a school-record 15-0 mark in doing so.
The team, ranked number one in the polls for much of the season, was stocked with a senior class which had experienced the highs and lows of high school football.
They entered high school to join a once-proud program languishing in a three-year playoff drought. This after a 23-year run of consecutive appearances in the post-season.
But with these players came optimism. The core group had been undefeated as the Luxora Panthers in the Missco Junior Football League, then posted an unblemished mark in their final year of junior high. The then-Junior Colts stunned Osceola on a 97-yard catch-and-run in a driving rain and denied their fierce rival on a two-point conversion as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Their sophomore season saw a return to the playoffs where they were ousted by, you guessed it, Harding Academy, 42-7. Yet, these 'Cotton Patch Kids' had sown the seeds of what would prove to be a high-yielding harvest.
As juniors, the team clinched a share of the 3-3A Conference title, becoming the first Rivercrest team to do so since 2003. They forged through the playoffs, but picked the worst time to have their worst game.
Seven fumbles prevented Rivercrest from earning a berth in the title game.
With that disastrous performance still stinging in their memory as the 2010 off-season began, these Colts began their march to the school's first state title since 1985.
"I think back to that (Prescott) game and I believed we had a shot last year," said Rivercrest head coach Kelly Chandler. "We're right there on the brink and it just got away from us.
"Then I recognized in off-season how these kids pulled together," he added. "They're such a close-knit group. Maybe, just maybe, those bad results in that game had a positive impact and bringing them even closer together."
The 2010 Colts boasted an offense which scored at a 38.9 points- per-game clip and it couldn't be characterized as a strictly run or pass offense.
The best description is opportunistic.
Miss a chance to tackle Earl Byrd, he's chewing up yardage; lose sight of quarterback Demoine Brown, good-bye; fall asleep in the secondary, whoops, there goes Terrence Banks. Need a critical first down in a short yardage situation? Here comes bullish Trevor Gregory following his blockers Scott Russell, Jason Smith, Bobby Moreira, Nick Blackman and Terrian Tyler.
And if defenses or special teams focused their attention on one, two or even three, there's a couple more Colts waiting in the wings.
And the Rivercrest 'D' was just as opportunistic forcing 75 turnovers -- an average of five per game, while allowing just 15.9 points per contest.
Think you can be successful throwing the ball against this defense? Ask opposing quarterbacks what happened 33 times this season by 13 different players. I-N-Ts by Banks, Robert Cooney, Michael Wright, Ty or Tay Baber, etc. etc. etc.
Kick off or punt to Rivercrest; mistake.
There's Banks or Brown dodging and weaving their way through the opponent's special teams. Line up for a punt, hurry here comes Cooney, Tyler or Baber bursting through the line. Need to pin the opposition deep in their own territory, how about a kick off the foot of Tevin Howard or a booming punt from Clayton Carlton?
It was a total team effort and the 14 seniors characterized the squad as just that a "team". "It was a true team effort," repeated Chandler of the team's state title. "It took everyone doing their part to do what we did."
"Football is the ultimate team sport," reiterated Russell, a three-year starter at center, of the words he heard his coach repeat many times.
"Yeah, family may even be a better word," said senior Jarrett Brown, offering an alternative to team.
"We have developed a bond, the whole team. If there were ever any issues, we worked them out immediately."
If one made a blunder, two players were there to offer encouragement and to prompt them to "forget about it and start thinking about the next play."
Chandler reminded them of that time and time again throughout the season.
It was never more evident than the Camden Harmony Grove game or what should more appropriately be called the 'Cotton Patch Comeback'.
The team was asked not to just forget about the previous play, but the entire first half as the squad trailed 27-0 in the second round of the 3APlayoffs with just 24 minutes left in the game. For those 14 seniors it might have meant the end of their high school football careers.
"When we came in at half-time," mentioned senior receiver Tevin Howard, "it looked like it was time to put on the basketball jerseys."
"We may have been underestimating (Harmony Grove) a little bit," said Tanner Lloyd, who happened to be listed as a starter for the first time all season during the game. "One play at a time and go as hard as you can is what we live by."
Most of the seniors, like Howard, confessed they had some doubt they may not be able to overcome the deficit, but as Moreira said, "We didn't want to go out like that."
"We certainly didn't want it to be our last game," agreed Wright.
"Yeah," remembered Russell of Chandler's half-time words, "Coach said, 'if you aren't ready to go out there and give it your all, don't come out (locker room) at all'."
"I've been a part of locker rooms where the coach is yelling trying to get his players fired up," said Chandler, "but I thought that wasn't the way to go in this situation. There wasn't anything special about what anyone said. We just pointed out some things we could improve on and get back to playing like we knew we were capable of."
"There wasn't a blame game going on at all," said all-conference performer Jason Smith. "We knew we had to come together and play like we were coached."
Byrd described the locker room as "quiet. We were mad and frustrated. But when we stepped back on the field for warm ups, I could feel something.
"And when we scored that first touchdown," he added. "I knew we were on our way back."
"With our ability to score instantly," offered Brown, "I knew we could make up that difference."
And an offense which could be labeled as stagnant in the first half, showed signs of life from the nine minute mark of the third quarter on.
The Brown-to-Byrd combination got the team on the board early in the third quarter, before Brown chose Banks as his target on a 77-yard touchdown throw.
With 1:39 left in the third period, the Colts had sliced the margin to 14 at 27-13.
A Harmony Grove miscue added two points to the RHS total as a bad snap on a punt yielded a safety.
Following the free kick, Brown reached pay dirt from two yards away and that had been preceded by a big third down pass completion to Howard.
And then the defense thwarted Harmony Grove's attempt to run out the clock.
A two-yard punt had the Colts sitting pretty inside Hornet territory, but only a precious few seconds remained.
And facing a 3rd-and-23 with 33 seconds remaining, Chandler signaled to Brown to call 'Bronco'. It was a play the team had never run in a game.
"It certainly hadn't worked that well in practice," admitted Chandler, "but it was third down and I knew we had another play coming."
"I'm thinking to myself, 'that's a dang good call'," said Wright.
From a trips set to the right, with John Worsham the lone receiver on the opposite side, Russell snapped the ball to Brown and the line bought just enough time for the quarterback to release the football.
Worsham, the intended receiver, caught the pass at the 20 as Banks approached him at full speed.
"I really didn't have time to think about it," confessed Worsham. "It happened fast and I just did what I did out of pure reaction. So many things fell into place for that play to happen. It was tailor-made and it just went perfect."
The pitch to Banks was indeed flawless and the speedy senior had only a couple of things on his mind.
"I'm gone," he said. "I'm running to the end zone."
Banks tight-roped the sidelines and scored the game-tying touchdown.
Gregory still had to boot the extra point through the uprights.
And, it too came with its own share of drama.
"Yeah, I was nervous," admitted Gregory mentioning what happened next as he changed to his kicking shoe. "The shoelace broke when I was tying it. I thought my shoe's going to come off when I kick the ball."
It didn't and Gregory's kick was true.
The Colts had completed their miraculous comeback.
"No, I don't think you need to get 27 points down," replied Chandler laughing as he answered if teams need to experience games such as this. "Goal line stands and stuff, yeah, I can see teams needing to rise to the occasion there, but you really don't want to put yourself in a position to have to come all the way back from 27 down."
"When we won that game," added Howard, "I knew there was no stopping us. We were going to get us a ring."
A victory at West Fork sent the Colts to War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
"When we earned that trip," said Chandler. "It kind of validates what you are doing. It's a confidence booster."
"I felt we were as prepared as we had been all year long," he continued. "The kids handled the pressure well and they we're ready to go."
The Colts dispatched Harding Academy riding the backs of its defense which Chandler says, "carried us all year long. It goes back to a team effort."
"I wasn't ready to celebrate until there was no time left on the clock," the coach said, 'but what this team accomplished is a tribute to the kids and this coaching staff. We had a quality group of kids who didn't mind working hard and a quality coaching staff as well. If you look at our roster, there aren't any All-Americans and only a few with potential to play college ball. What we had was just a solid group of high school football players who have been a pleasure to coach."