BAUXITE --Not much has changed between former conference foes Nashville and Bauxite.
Quarterback Sloan Perrin rushed 20 times for 135 yards and 3 touchdowns and sophomore Tre Hopkins ran 23 times for 129 yards and a touchdown as Nashville rolled to a 28-7 victory over Bauxite on Friday night at the Pit to open the Class 4A playoffs.
In the two teams' 14th meeting since 2010, the Scrappers improved to 14-0 against the Miners. Nashville limited its former 4A-7 Conference opponent to 153 yards of offense on Friday, with 60 of those coming in the second half.
"Our defense played great," Nashville Coach Mike Volarvich said. "We felt like we played good defense all year, and I knew coming into tonight that was gonna be a big deal. They really stepped it up and did a great job."
It didn't take long for Nashville (8-3) to get on the scoreboard. The Scrappers drove 56 yards on 10 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Perrin capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring run.
Bauxite (7-4) leveled the game 10 seconds into the second quarter on a three-yard run by running back Noah Britton, making it 7-7.
But that was the last time the Miners, hosting their first playoff game in 13 years, would see their score total change.
Six minutes later, Perrin was back in the end zone. He capped a 16-play, 68-yard drive with a 4-yard run to make it 14-7.
Just before halftime, Hopkins broke through a sea of arm tackles to run 27 yards and make it 21-7.
Bauxite was held to a punt on its opening drive of the second half. It was a sign of things to come, not only for the Miners but for the Scrappers as well.
The two combined for four turnovers on downs and four punts before Nashville scored its final touchdown.
Perrin ended his night the way he started it, running past Bauxite defenders to the end zone. His final score came from 22 yards to make it 28-7.
Combined with Hopkins, Nashville had a duo that kept Bauxite guessing for all 48 minutes.
"Our team kind of comes and goes with them," Volarvich said. "They did a great job, both of them. Not huge nights for them but when we needed them, they got it done."
Nashville's defense allowed for its offense not to have those huge nights Volarvich has come to expect.
Nashville and Bauxite ended the 2021 regular season together on the outside looking in.
With that disappointment in the rear-view mirror, the Scrappers felt they had something to prove Friday.
"We slipped up last year, and it was something that [was] very uncharacteristic," Volarvich said. "We were in the [quarterfinals] for three years in a row prior to that. And last year, down year. We're excited about moving on to round two, proud of the way that the guys played tonight night and looking forward to being able to play next week."
"Last year we didn't make the playoffs at all for the first time in 31 years, so we have a lot to prove this year," Perrin said. "We're starting that streak back up."
Gallery: HS Football: Nashville vs Bauxite
