The 2023 Arkansas 6A Football Playoffs are upon us, and Little Rock Christian Academy is ready. “We’re a team that has one goal, and that’s to win a State Championship,” said Captain Cooper Jones.
For the class of 2024, this season has been long anticipated. This group of 26 seniors have had two 3-loss seasons in their varsity career, and they don’t intend to have a third. “Most of us (seniors) have been playing together since 5th grade. We know this is our last chance to bring a state championship to the program that gave us everything. We want to leave a legacy,” said Cooper.
“The seniors this year are very cohesive. They grew up together, they get along, they’ve got great comradery,” Head Coach Eric Cohu said, when asked about this senior class. “We’ve got a combination of good team chemistry, hard work and focus, and that makes them very special.”
Despite the team’s positive attitude, they have had their fair share of adversity throughout the season. After a 63-0 win over Central to open the season, the team suffered a 22-43 loss to Shiloh Christian School in their second game. Many on the team believe this loss propelled them to their successful season. “We needed the Shiloh loss. We needed adversity to fuel the fire to win,” said Cooper. “We had gotten comfortable in winning and thought that it was going to be handed to us. After that, we knew that we were going to have to work for it this season. It made us hungry.”
The Warriors followed up their loss to Shiloh with seven wins, scoring 40 points or more in each. “Any time you fail, it’s really a corrective device. Our guys really took to heart that that was not our identity against Shiloh, and we didn’t play our best game,” said Coach Cohu. “The weeks after, however, we dominated week in and week out, and we used that failure to make us stronger.”
That streak ended in the last game before the playoffs versus Greenwood, which resulted in a 39-56 loss. That being said, the Warriors still managed to go 7-1 in conference and clinch the second seed in 6A West and a first round bye. While higher seeds such as Greenwood and Benton loom in the back of their mind, the team is laser-focused on the next game. “We don’t wanna look ahead. All of us want a rematch with Greenwood, but we have to take care of business in the quarterfinals,” said Coach Cohu. “There’s almost a State Championship each week because if you don’t win, you’re done.” Captain Preston Davis agreed. “We’ve got to take care of who we’re playing next, whether it be Van Buren or West Memphis,” Preston said, referring to the possible matchup next week against one of those teams.
This team has the potential to go all the way this year, but many feel that the coming weeks are greater than football. “We’re doing it for each other; we’re not playing for ourselves,” Preston said. “When you’re not selfish and you’re playing for somebody else, you’re also kind of representing Christ.” Captain and Auburn commit Walker White emphasized how his relationship with God affects his play. “Between drives or between plays, I actually pray to the Lord and it has really given me this peace when I play,” Walker said. “The question I think we all have to ask ourselves, whether we’re football coaches, players, in the band, in the arts or just an outstanding student is, ‘What is my main purpose? What is my identity?’” Coach Cohu said, agreeing with Walker. “And if my identity is in serving the kingdom of God, then whatever I’m doing, I’m going to do with all my might.”
This story was originally published in the Warrior Times Volume 13, Issue 5.
