MAUMELLE, Ark. — "It's a heck of a way to start conference out," said Maumelle head football coach, Kirk Horton.
Both Little Rock Christian and Maumelle enter Friday's conference opener at 2-1. The Hornets sandwiched wins over Sylvan Hills and Vilonia with an eight point loss at defending 4-A state champion, Joe T. Robinson.
"We have to be prepared to the best that we can be based off our non-conference schedule," Horton said, "and I think those three teams have gotten us to where we need to be."
But to beat Little Rock Christian, who has won five of the last eight meetings between the two, they'll have to be solid in every facet of the game.
"We know that we are capable of being very good," said Horton. "We're very talented. We think that the only thing that can get in our way is our own selves."
The Warriors come into Friday back to full strength after missing eight players in their three point loss to Magnolia two weeks ago -- including their top two running backs Jayvean Dyer-Jones and Brian Giddins.
"The Central and Searcy games took their toll on us," Eric Cohu said.
Little Rock Christian isn't a team that's used to losing, and it's lit a fire under a program that's made the 5-A state championship game in back-to-back season.
"We knew we didn't play a very good game," said Cohu, "the consensus was just roll up our sleeves and get back to work."
Expect a hard fought contest on Friday, because the result could have playoff implications down the line.
Said Horton, "this will really give either one of us a step forward as far as conference seeding."