Wouldn't you know it, I thought the team to beat in 2014 had to be the Warren Lumberjacks on the strength of their being the best returning team from 2013 with most of their team intact. Turns out I was right as Warren turned the state final into a rout.
The Lumberjacks cut a large swath through Mena, racing out to a 35-0 score by the middle of the third quarter to invoke the mercy rule on their way to a 48-14 victory in Little Rock last Saturday.
Warren finished second to Booneville last year in the state finals but the Bearcats changed classifications this season leaving the 'Jacks the top returning team. The Lumberjacks played the 7A West champion (Ft. Smith Southside) and 5A state champion (Pulaski Academy) in their non-conference games so you knew they were planning for a big season.
They lost well-played games to the higher class teams and their only stumble against 4A teams was against fellow conference foe Pine Bluff Dollarway. Warren suffered many turnovers in the loss to Dollarway who was then eliminated in an early round by Clinton in the playoffs. Ironically, the Lumberjacks won their state but failed to win their conference.
The game officially ended the 2014 high school football season. Malvern was voted by some as the state's second best team in the state in the preseason and they wound up third, so the preseason was fairly accurate. Dollarway had a good year until they were dumped by Clinton. Dardanelle was perhaps the surprise team of the state, losing in the final minutes to Warren.
Dardanelle was led by Kristian Thompson, the Sand Lizards' quarterback who was, unbeknownst to me, the MVP of the National Underclassmen Bowl held in Myrtle Beach, S.C., last January. Thompson was virtually unstoppable this fall as the Lizards went 13-0 before falling to Warren. Dardanelle was really the second best team in the state based on results of games.
The year 2015 will be another year. Warren will be good, they are always good. Dardanelle will be hard pressed to replace their quarterback and the usual suspects (Dollarway, Malvern and Nashville) will be in the hunt next year as they usually are. Who will be the best will be borne out by who works the hardest between now and next season, as is usually the case.
Vanderbilt, the only SEC school not in a bowl
This was a banner year for the SEC with three of the top four teams in the nation at one point in the conference. As it is, 13 of the 14 teams wound up in bowl games this, a record number for this of any conference. It is a record that will likely never be broken.
Arkansas had the tough challenge of playing in by far the toughest division in all of college football. Of the seven SEC West Division teams, all but one (Arkansas) was ranked in the nation's top 10 at some point this season. Arkansas is probably the first team in the history of college football to finish last in their division but still get a bowl invitation, and on top of that, be rated to win.
The games will start rolling when South Carolina plays Miami on Dec. 27 in the Independence Bowl. Two days later, Arkansas locks horns with Texas in the Texas Bowl on the same day that Texas A&M battles West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl.
On Dec. 30, Georgia tackles Louisville (remember Bobby Petrino?) while Louisiana State takes on Notre Dame. On Dec. 31, Ole Miss will play much maligned Texas Christian, a team many thought deserved to be in the final four playoffs and on Dec. 31, Mississippi State will play Georgia Tech.
On New Year's Day, the first ever NCAA national championship bowl playoff series begins with semi-final action. Top-ranked Alabama will seek to eliminate fourth-seeded Ohio State, while Florida State hopes to get a return trip to the final game by playing third-seeded Oregon in the other semi-final game.
Also on New Year's Day, Auburn will be playing Wisconsin while Missouri will compete with Minnesota.
The other games involving SEC teams occur on Jan. 2 with the Tennessee/Iowa game, with the Florida/East Carolina game to be played the same day.
College football will end Jan. 12 in Jerry's Palace also known as AT&T Stadium in Dallas with the winners of the semi-final games on Jan. 1 meeting for all the marbles. This will mark the first year for a four team playoff format and the rumor is that we are not far off from an eight-team format in the near future. Time will tell.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 12/17/2014