FAYETTEVILLE — West Fork (5-5) will be making its first state football playoff appearance in five years when it takes the field Friday at Glen Rose (8-2).
Sophomore offensive lineman Eli Edens (6-3, 263) is one player in a group of young Tigers who have helped the school move past a winless season in 2019.
That began with wins over Hazen and Berryville to start the season and will end with a push into the playoffs.
“It feels good,” Edens said. “We had the freshmen move up, we’ve won some games and gotten better and now hopefully we can go to Glen Rose and win and just keep going in the state (playoffs).
“We have more talented players on our team now – bigger and stronger players – and it’s just started to come together for us.”
West Fork head coach Justin Smith knows he has a good, young and developing player in Edens, who wears hearing aids on the field and has been labeled a gentle giant.
“Edens is a beast,” Smith said. “He’s just a sophomore, but he is a big kid, a strong kid and has a great motor. He is going to be a great blessing to have the next two years in the Tiger football program.”
Smith, whose team enters the state playoff as the Class 3A-4 conference’s No. 5 seed, said his young squad is developing as a team in terms of mindset and confidence.
“I mean, we have had some tough losses," Smith said. “I feel like our losses this year have all been respectable, but we just have to get some mindsets fixed to where kids go in believing they can win each game.
“We have had a huge turnaround and we are happy about that, but we are still hungry to keep getting better and pushing toward the top.”
Edens was happy to hear his coach call him a beast.
“That makes me feel great for my coach to compliment me like that,” Edens said. “I just want to keep getting better and keep the trust I have earned from him. I just want to continue to work out more and take my skills to the next level, get better and try to be the best player on our team.
"I want to keep working hard and not give up and continue to move on.”
West Fork comes into its playoff game with Glen Rose off a bye, which they had a week after falling to Greenland 41-21 in the teams' regular-season finale.
It was matchup that saw Edens go head-to-head against his friend, Greenland junior and Arkansas 2022 defensive end commitment JJ Hollingsworth (6-4, 250).
The two have played youth football against each and on the same team over the last several years.
Greenland's JJ Hollingsworth (left) and West Fork's Eli Edens are shown following a football game five years ago. Hollingsworth was in sixth grade and Edens was in fifth.
“There is a friendship between us and we love to compete against each other and try to win 1-on-1," Edens said. "He is a pretty good athlete, works hard and doesn’t give up. I am not going to lie about that. He never gives up on a play.”
Hollingsworth, whose 8-2 Greenland team host Perryille (6-4) on Friday, returned the respect.
"I've known Eli for a long time and he's a pretty good player," he said. "I'm looking forward to playing him again next year."
Edens would love to join Hollingsworth at Arkansas in a few years.
“I really want to go to Arkansas and play for them,” Edens said. “I have liked Arkansas my whole life and it would be a dream to play. I want to go there and help them build a future and show people what I can do.”