By Malcolm Butler
With the regular season winding down and only two games remaining before postseason, high school coaches across the state are keeping an eye on the power ratings.
Cedar Creek head coach William Parkerson knows where his Cougars sit heading into tonight’s road game at Lincoln Prep, but he isn’t talking to his team about it.
“I haven’t said anything to them about it,” said Parkerson. “Heck, if we go 2-0 or if everybody else goes 2-0 … it could change a lot or hardly any. It’s not something we can stress about. We just have to roll with the punches.
“I know right now we are sitting at No. 21. We can probably get as high as No. 18 or fall as low as maybe No. 22 … it just all depends. We can only control what we do on the field.”
After dropping its first three games of the season, including a pair of one score losses to Glenbrook and Vadalia, the Cougars reeled off three straight lopsided wins against Delhi, Tensas, and Lafayette Renaissance. Creek then lost 35-0 against No. 2 ranked Ouachita Christian last week at home.
Creek does sit at No. 21 in this week’s power ratings which are used to create the postseason brackets. The top 24 teams in Select School Division IV make the playoffs with the top eight teams getting a first round bye.
With games against Lincoln Prep and St. Fredericks remaining, the Cougars have an opportunity to move up or down. However, the ability to move high enough to get a first round home game is a long shot as Creek would have to move up five spots to No. 16.
However, Parkerson isn’t worried about that but is focused on his team continuing to get better.
“Whoever draws us in the first round as their opponent and turns on the tape won’t be real happy,” said Parkerson. “I think we have gotten a lot better. My goal this year was to get better each week and be playing our best ball come playoff time. I think through eight weeks I can say we have done that. I know it was a losing effort last week, but it was our best game we have played.”
Lincoln Prep (2-5, 0-1) sits at No. 24 in the Select School Division IV power ratings, which is the very last playoff spot. The Panthers have Creek and OCS remaining on their schedule.
“They mix in I-formation and spread,” said Parkerson talking about Lincoln Prep’s offense. “They have a big offensive line and some kids that can really run. It’s the same as every week. We want to rally to the football and eliminate the big plays.”
The Panthers have been hot and cold defensively, surrendering 36 or more points in four games and 14 or fewer in the other three.
“We have two films on them,” said Parkerson. “One they were in a 4-2-5 and the other they were in a 3-3 stack. We have practiced against both of them this week. It’s the great thing about our offense. People will throw different things at us with our option. We never know what we are going to face. We just have to adjust on the fly.”
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. tonight at Lincoln Prep.
