The playoffs are nothing new to the Booneville Bearcat football program. Their first round opponent in 2024 is however. Magnet Cove will become the 114th different opponent in the now 105 years of Bearcat football.
Magnet Cove is the 63rd different foe for a playoff game. The Bearcat program record in their 125 playoff games to date is 83-42, a winning percentage of .664.
Starting in 1997, the Bearcats have now appeared on a postseason bracket 28 consecutive seasons. Overall, the 2024 season marks the 48th time a Bearcat team has earned a playoff berth with the first in 1947 and a second in 1952 before the postseason was discontinued until 1969.
The Bearcats have won a first round game or had a bye the last seven years and are 32-11, (.744), with four byes all time in first round games, whether those were rounds of 32, 16, or, in the 1947 and 1952 seasons, of 8. With the byes, the Bearcats have played at least on the second playoff date at a clip of .837.
With Doc Crowley at the helm the Bearcats are 14-3 (.824) in playoff games and a perfect 9-0 at Bearcat Stadium.
Including all five seasons with Crowley as head coach, the Bearcats are hosting a playoff game at Bearcat Stadium for the ninth straight year and for the 65th time in program history. The playoff record at home for the Bearcats is 51-13, a winning percentage of .797.
For Bearcat seniors who have played all three seasons this is the 11th time they have been on a playoff roster. For juniors who moved during or after their junior high season as freshmen, it is also the 11th time to have dressed for a playoff game.
The Panthers will be the 68th different team to take the field at Bearcat Stadium, where the to-date program record is 283-63-1, (.817).
• Mascots: Booneville Bearcats; Magnet Cove Panthers
• When: 7 PM, November 15, at Doug Scheel Field at Bearcat Stadium
• Series: Teams have never met.
• Streak: Teams have never met.
• Last Meeting: Teams have never met.
• First Meeting: Teams have never met.
• Conference Affiliations: Booneville is 3A-1; Magnet Cove is 3A-4.
TODAY IN BEARCAT FOOTBALL HISTORY: The Bearcats are 8-3-2 all time in games documented to have been played on November 15, including a 4-0 mark when those games are playoff games. James Lee kicked is school record 50-yard field goal against Berryville in a 36-0 win in the playoff opener on November 15, 1991. Randy May also returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown that night. Most recently on the date it was Cody Harrel with 65- and a 48-yard runs, and 158 total rushing yards, Bryson May a 62-yard run, and Josh Smith a 58-yard run in a 42-13 win over Clinton in 2013. In 2002, Kyle Arnold ran for 134 yards and recovered two fumbles and Josh Holloway ran for 107 yards and had two interceptions in a 36-8 win over Prairie Grove.
NOTES: Including the pictured Chase Shelton, there were 14 different Bearcat ball carriers Friday, combining for 455 rushing yards. Jace Washburn’s 69-yard touchdown pass to Rhett Nietert was the 14th of his career, moving him into eighth place all time. The scoring toss also gave him over 1,000 passing yards in his career. Callen Montalvo became the 11th different Bearcat to run for a touchdown when he scored last Friday. Overall he is the 13th different player to reach the end zone. By converting seven point after kicks, Oliver Loaeza became the 16th different Bearcat kicker to make at least 40 extra points in a season. He is 41 of 47, 87.2 percent.
THE 3A-1: Across the rain soaked 3A-1 it was the Bearcats beating Lavaca 49-6, Charleston beating Greenland 44-13, Mansfield handling West Fork 42-8, and Cedarville closing the season with a win over Hackett, 13-12.
This week the 3A-1 is paired with the 3A-4 and 3A-2. As the two seed from the 3A-1 this week the Bearcats host Magnet Cove, the four from the 3A-4; and Mansfield, the 3A-1’s top seed, will host Paris, the five seed from the 3A-4. Charleston is the three seed from the 3A-1 and hosts Melbourne, the three seed from the 3A-2; Lavaca is the 3A-1 four seed and travels to Mayflower, the two seed from the 3A-2; West Fork is the 3A-1 five seed and travels to Salem, the 3A-2 champion.
THEME: The pep rally theme is Jungle.
BEARCAT PLAYOFFS, BY THE NUMBERS
