Frankston Will Try To Punch Its Own Postseason Ticket By Snapping Arp’s 10-Year Playoff Streak

DISTRICT 8-3A DIVISION II

Frankston Indians (6-3, 3-3)

vs.

Arp Tigers (4-5, 3-3)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Bill Herrington Tiger Stadium, Arp

Coaches

• Frankston: Mike Owens
• Arp: Dale Irwin

Last week

• Frankston: lost to West Rusk, 27-0
• Arp: def. Elysian Fields, 36-20

Next week

• Frankston: TBD
• Arp: TBD

Playmakers

Frankston

• WR/DB Kendrick Rogers, Sr., 6-5, 190 (27 catches, 532 yards, 6 TDs, 25 carries, 355 yards, 3 TDs; 65 tackles, 4 INTs; committed to Texas A&M)
• WR/DB Justice Bean, Sr., 5-10, 170 (37 catches, 683 yards, 10 TDs, 47 carries, 453 yards, 6 TDs; 31 tackles, 3 INTs)
• OL Josh Porter, Soph., 5-10, 250
• LB Dylan Hokit, Sr., 5-8, 160 (94 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries)
• LB Drew Lewis, Soph., 5-9, 184 (85 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 forced fumble)
• DE Brice Harrington, Sr. (99 tackles, 1 sack)

Arp

• QB Kayce Medlock, Jr., 6-0, 180 (24-62, 366 yards, 2 TD, 10 INTs; 70 carries, 808 yards, 12 TDs)
• RB Julian Herndon, Sr., 6-0, 195 (130 carries, 1,094 yards, 14 TDs)
• WR Tray Baker, Jr., 5-7, 150 (11 catches, 201 yards, 2 TDs)
• WR/DB Tommy Reese, Sr., 6-1, 185 (12 catches, 217 yards, 3 TD; 47 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 forced fumble)
• LB Demarvion Overshown, Soph., 6-0, 175 (91 tackles, 3 INTs)
• LB Jacobe Hunt, Jr., 5-9, 180 (82 tackles, 1 for loss)
• OL/DL Mack Stroupe, Jr., 6-1, 215 (27 tackles, 4 for loss)

Just the facts

• It's a play-in game. Arp and Frankston are the two final teams in the hunt for District 8-3A Division II's last playoff spot.
• The winner of Friday's game will join Waskom, West Rusk and Winona as the league's representatives in the playoffs.
• Elysian Fields, New Diana and Troup have been eliminated from postseason competition.
• Frankston missed the playoffs last season.
• Arp has not missed the postseason since 2004.
• The Tigers are on a three-game winning streak.
• Frankston is 3-1 on the road with its only loss coming against defending state champion Waskom.
• Arp is 1-4 at home.
• Against district competition, Arp has outscored Frakston 210-131. The Tigers also have performed better defensively, allowing 142 points to the Indian's 153 points.
• Arp defeated Frankston, 65-38, last season on the road.

Key matchup: Arp's offense versus Frankston's defense.

The Tigers lean heavily on their run game and use it to set up a boom-or-bust passing facet. If the Indians can choke Arp's runners near the line of scrimmage, they will be in outstanding position to win District 8-3A Division II's final playoff berth.

But there is a giant gap between the teams that have stopped the Tigers offense and those that have not. The teams that have -- Waskom, West Rusk and Winona -- are bound of the playoffs. Each opponent held the Tigers to 23 or less points.

Against district competition not advancing beyond this week's slate of games, the Tigers have averaged 48 points through three contests.

Frankston's defense, fittingly, sits somewhere in the middle. The unit has averaged 21.9 points given up in district games.

There's reason to be optimistic for Indians fans. The defense has recorded 21 tackles for loss and has forced 17 fumbles of which 12 were recovered.

However, Arp has been very good at holding onto the ball en route to 38 ground touchdowns through nine games.

Defensive end Brice Harrington leads the Indians with 99 tackles while Texas A&M receiver commitment Kendrick Rogers is one of four players on the unit with two forced fumbles.

Senior running back Julian Herndon leads Arp's rushers with 1,094 yards on 130 carries. Quarterback Kayce Medlock has 808 net yards on 70 attempts to round out the top.

Don't be surprised if: The game lives up to the billing. This is both teams' final chance to reach the playoffs, so expect a great deal of urgency and for both sides to take chances to get the W. This is a de facto playoff game, so the bright side to this stressful situation is the winning team will have a more of a been-there-done-that attitude than its first round opponent. That could be beneficial early in next week's bi-district playoff game.