CLASS 7A

Little Rock Catholic at Bentonville High

Tiger Stadium

KICKOFF: 7 p.m.

SEEDS: Catholic is the No. 4 seed from the 7A-Central; Bentonville is the No. 1 seed from the 7A-West.

COACHES: Little Rock Catholic -- John Fogleman. Bentonville -- Jody Grant.

RECORD: Little Rock Catholic 7-4. Bentonville 10-0.

POSTSEASON RECORD: Little Rock Catholic 17-19; Bentonville 30-14.

LAST PLAYOFF RESULT: Little Rock Catholic defeated Van Buren 35-27 last week. Bentonville lost 30-17 to Fort Smith Northside in the 2018 state Class 7A quarterfinal round.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Little Rock Catholic -- QB/NG Jordan Eddington (Sr., 6-1, 250); WR/QB Nathan Johnson (Sr., 6-5, 195); WR Robert Bayvon (Sr. 6-3, 170); LB Cole Black-Ocken (Sr., 6-2, 220); LB Lance Hockersmith (Sr. 5-11, 215); S Grant Smithson (Sr., 6-0, 150); OL/DL Sam Plafcan (Sr. 6-2, 250). Bentonville -- QB/FS Ben Pankau (Sr., 6-2, 180), RB/LB Colby Reid (Sr., 5-11, 160), RB Preston Crawford (Sr., 5-11, 190), WR Trenton Kolb (Sr., 5-11, 170), LB Cole Joyce (Jr., 6-0, 215), LB Keegan Stinespring (Jr., 5-11, 180)

BETWEEN THE LINES: These two teams met in the 2016 Class 7A quarterfinals, and Bentonville came away with a wild 38-31 victory. ... Little Rock Catholic's win last week was the Rockets' first in a playoff game since 2008 and broke an eight-game playoff losing skid. ... Catholic scored the last 28 points in its come-from-behind win over Van Buren. ... Eddington threw two touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to fuel the Rockets' comeback. ... Bentonville had a bye last week, which it has done 11 of the last 12 playoffs. ... QB Ben Pankau has thrown for 1,540 yards and 12 TDs and has run for 450 yards and 7 scores. ... RB Preston Crawford, one of three brothers on the Tigers' roster, needs 105 yards rushing to reach 1,000 this season. ... Bentonville's defense, the stingiest in the 7A-West Conference, is led by LBs Cole Joyce and Keegan Stinespring.

HOOTEN'S RANKINGS: Little Rock Catholic is No. 5 in Class 7A. Bentonville is No. 2.

UP NEXT: The winner advances to the semifinals and plays the winner of the Springdale Har-Ber vs. North Little Rock game. If Bentonville wins, the Tigers will host. If Catholic wins, the Rockets will either travel to North Little Rock or host Har-Ber.
