After beating Springdale on Friday, November 1st, Southside Varsity Football advanced their way to the high school playoffs which they will play in Jonesboro. The team has a 6-4 record so far this season. The team has been able to make it to the playoffs by winning enough games in conference play. Only the top 12 teams in the 7A conference, six in the 7A West and six in the 7A Central, make it to the playoffs and Southside made the top six in the West conference. They made the first round, so they will travel across the state to Jonesboro for the second round. If the Mavericks win the game this Friday, they will make it to the quarter-finals. 

     Southside´s head varsity football coach, Coach Dameron, says, ¨We´re expecting to go over and play well and win. Jonesboro has a good team, but I really feel like if we show up and we play the way we’re supposed to, we´ll come back with a W.¨ Dameron then says, ¨I’m excited about the season! I´m glad that we´ve been able to do something they haven’t done here since 2018 in winning six games, so anytime you can have a winning record, that’s a good thing.¨ He adds, ¨This senior class has been pretty special. They have been the group that has driven that for the last three years of getting better and better. It’s fun to see their development and be able to see them put it together and have six wins in a season and now, hopefully, number seven.¨ 

     When asked about what the team needs to do to win Friday night, Dameron responds, “We need to take care of the ball, not have turnovers. We need to run the ball effectively like we have pretty much all year long and we need to stop the run on defense, and just make sure we play a real clean game as far as penalties and things like that are concerned.¨ He continues, ¨We don’t have to do anything that is out of the realm of possibility or anything like that. We just have to play our game and play clean.¨ Lastly, Dameron states, ¨I think a lot of what I’m most proud of is that they have stayed together. It’s a good group, they´re close, and they really play hard for each other, and so it’s been real fun to be around. It’s been a fun year so far and hopefully, it can continue to be that.¨

     The winner of this first-round game will go on to play Fayetteville. If Southside can win the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, they can make the state championship in Little Rock. The football team will be leaving at 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Parents are encouraged to come send the players off and bring posters and their Maverick spirit.