The Gosnell Pirates begin the 4A state playoffs with a trip to Malvern to take on the Leopards.
Malvern finished the regular season with an 8-2 mark and 6-1 in the tough 7-4A.
The Leopards' two losses came against 5A Lakeside and league rival, Pulaski Academy. Pulaski Academy is currently ranked number one in the 4A in most polls and a big favorite to run the table and win the state title this year.
The Pirates are trying to win their first playoff game since 2008, when they defeated Farmington, 46-13 in round one at J.W. Rea Field.
This will be the fourth time in five years that the Pirates have begun the state playoffs against a team out of the 7-4A with the Pirates not coming away with a victory in any of them.
In 2007 and 2010, Nashville got the best of the Pirates and, in 2009, DeQueen became the first team to shutout a Pirate team coached by Brian Sims.
"They love their football down in Southwest Arkansas," said Sims. "Down there, football is King and it's just a different brand than anywhere else in the state. And Malvern has a great tradition."
The strength of the Leopards is on the defensive side of the ball. Malvern has allowed a 7-4A conference low, 16 points a game.
"They've got great technique up front, they have great team speed and they don't miss their assignments," Sims said.
Led by defensive end Devin Kirk, Malvern sets up in a basic 4-3 set.
"The most impressive thing is that they don't blitz very much," said Sims. "They just line up and play defense."
The Leopards forced eight turnovers in their 27-7 win over DeQueen last Friday.
In their eight wins, Malvern didn't allow a team to score over 19 points. They posted one shut out and held teams to just seven points three times.
Offensively, Malvern averages 25.7 points a game. The Leopards are led by junior quarterback Austin Warford.
"He's got a cannon for an arm and is also a decent runner," said Sims.
Out of the spread, the Leopards are primarily a run team with running backs Trent Block and Jahkery Dupree. Dupree is slightly faster than Block. When Warford passes the ball, he looks to Briston Barnes to take the Leopards down the field.
For Gosnell to advance, the Pirates will need another strong effort from their running game.
"We can't make mistakes. Our lineman have to block who they're supposed to block," said Sims. "Everybody has got to block. This is too good of a defense to miss assignments against."
Gavin Sullivan returns to the starting lineup after playing only two series against Valley View because of a sprained ankle.
Jake Westmoreland will be cleared to play for Friday's game but sophomore Ricky Gable will get the nod at starting quarterback.
Gable filled in well for the injured Sullivan and Westmoreland in their regular season finale.
"He (Gable) did really well for us," said Sims. "He only had to two bad snaps in the game. In our offense, if you can just get the snap off, you're already ahead."
Sims said that, obviously, the team will need to be ready from the opening snap or it could be a long night.
"Everybody on our team has to come to play," he said. "It's going to take a total team effort from here on out. We have to play 'lights out' every game or the season will be over quickly."
Friday night's game starts at 7:30 p.m.
afitzpatrick@blythevillecourier.com