Having their best season, record-wise, since 2003, the Gosnell Pirates will try for their eighth straight win Friday night when they travel to Jonesboro Westside for a key 3-4A game for both teams.
The Pirates (7-1, 5-0) are battling Valley View (8-0, 5-0) for the top spot in the conference. Before those two teams meet next week at Gosnell's J.W. Rea Stadium, the Pirates will face a much improved Westside team that enters 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the 3-4A.
"They're having their best season in a long, long time, coming in 6-2 and their only two losses are to Highland and Valley View and we certainly know how good those two teams are," Gosnell head coach Gary Moody said.
"Westside has a lot to play for," he added. "Potentially, they could improve their playoff positioning maybe even up to third place. They certainly want to finish as high as they can."
Meanwhile, Gosnell, which has won 13 straight over the Warriors, is still in the mix for its first conference championship since 2010. The Pirates have been working towards that goal since spring practice.
"From day one, we've talked about putting ourselves in a position to play for a conference championship," Moody said. "This is kind of the last step that we have to take in order to put us in that game. If we don't play well and don't focus on this game, it could definitely throw a wrench in our plans. Again, they're a quality team, very well-coached. Coach (Chad) Mitchell has done a very good job over there in two years of convincing those kids that they can win."
Moody said Westside, an option team, has played well, offensively, averaging more than 30 points per game.
"Their quarterback has rushed for over 1,000 yards already on the season," he said. "They've got another running back that's around 600, 700 yards. They've really been very productive on offense."
The Pirates haven't seen much of the option this season. However, they have played solid defense most of the year against a variety of schemes. Gosnell has been preparing all week for the option.
"Their quarterback does a really good job of running their offensive scheme," Moody said. "They have a tough full back that can run the ball inside. The quarterback is a really good runner, tough kid. They also pitch the ball on the option some and have thrown the ball a little bit with some success. They're primarily a running team."
He said the Pirates will have to play good team defense again as they did last week in shutting out Pocahontas.
"Each level on our defense is going to have to play real well -- d-line, linebackers and our secondary," he said. "We can't give up big plays and we have to do a great job of tackling. It will be another test for us."
The Pirate defense will likely be without talented sophomore linebacker Carlos Blackman, who is also a key piece on offense at running back.
During last week's 28-0 win over Pocahontas, Blackman re-aggravated an ankle injury in the second quarter, and then he had to leave again in the third quarter, hobbling off the field following a catch. Justin Mann is expected to start at Blackman's linebacker spot.
"We've got a couple of guys banged up from our last two physical ball games," Moody said. "Carlos probably will not play this week with a bad ankle. We've got a few other starters who will play, but they're a little bit banged up and bruised. We've been really fortunate to be healthy all season and we're kind of going through right now what other teams have at earlier points in the year of having a few guys that might not quite be full speed. We've got to have other players fill in and step up and do a good job for us. Hopefully, we'll have everybody back in the next week. We haven't had a starter with a serious injury that would cause them to miss more than a game."
Nicked-up Gosnell will need to play well on both sides of the ball to leave Jonesboro with another victory on Friday night. Even with the de facto conference championship game with Valley View looming next week, the Pirates are focused on the Warriors, who have played well at home this year.
"We just need to focus on playing a great game, really putting one together," Moody said. "Two weeks ago we played tremendous offensively. Last week we played very good defense and so we'd like to have a game towards the end of the season where we do a great job on both sides of the ball. I think we're tough to beat when we do that."
"I anticipate it being a very good ball game," he added. "If we can be the more physical team, I think it will give us a great shot at getting another victory."
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com