The Bauxite Miners are a long shot to make the 4A State Playoffs, needing a number of scenarios to play out into their favor Friday night — plus beat Nashville on the road.
Sitting with two wins in conference play, the Miners hit the road south for its final regular-season matchup Friday.
“Our kids still have a great attitude and they work hard,” Patton said. “The one thing about the Bauxite Miners from this year that I will always remember is, win or lose Friday night, they play hard from the first quarter until the end and they don’t let up.
“That is what our kids will do Friday night. They will play hard and compete. We will be outmanned in some positions because Nashville is very, very good.”
Despite being picked at the top of the 7-4A Conference to start the season, the Scrappers have not put together the Nashville-type year people are used to seeing.
Sitting at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in league play, Nashville is vying for an unfamiliar No. 3 seed with Robinson and Arkadelphia reigning supreme at the top.
The Scrappers are led by senior Tyler Hanson, who has thrown for 2,579 yards and 23 touchdowns this season, completing 157 of 265 attempts.
On the ground, Nashville turns to senior Trent Harris more often than not, who has led the club with 862 yards on 135 carries and 16 scores.
The Scrappers also own two other backs with nearly 400 yards each in Hanson and Carmillias Morrison. The two also have combined for 13 TDs through nine games.
Nashville is coming off a blowout victory over Malvern, 64-28. Hanson shined in the rout, throwing for 422 yards and five scores, completing 14 of 21 passes in the process.