Six wins down, four more left

“10 was our number coming in, now we’re down to four.”

The Houston County Bears are closer to glory with their return to the State Championship Final Four, the program’s first time back in the Final Four since its 2016 state title run.

It’s getting real now and the they know it.

When Bears head coach Matt Hopkins mentioned they were down to four—he didn’t mean the final four teams. He was referencing the final four wins needed to claim the Class 6A state championship.

“It’s definitely not the goal,” said Hopkins of their advancement to the Final Four. “You can’t play the state championship until you get to the Final Four, so we’ve got two more games that are a step to get us (there). Only three teams in our classification get to say they are where we are and that is a big accomplishment, not something to be overshadowed. But we’re not satisfied.”

The Bears haven’t come all this way to leave empty handed. That unsatisfied feeling from Hopkins is reverberated in his team’s performances being that they’ve dominated the playoffs so far.

Houston has outscored opponents 67-5 through this postseason. They’re in excellent form and like Hopkins mentioned after their Sweet-16 win, they’re peaking at the perfect time.

What’s scary for the competition is Houston’s play seemed to elevate yet again in the Elite Eight series against the East Paulding Raiders.

Game one was the calm before a literal storm approached the area.

But it couldn’t have been calm in the Raiders’ dugout as they quickly trailed 5-0 by the second inning of game one.

The Raiders couldn’t find an answer against the Bears’ pitching that allowed just one hit until the umps enforced the mercy rule after five innings.

Enough was enough. The Bears ran up the count 12-0 and game one was in the books.

Game two saw the steam off the Bears’ bats begin to dissipate a bit.

Houston only held a 1-0 lead in the third inning.Just when things seemed to brighten up for the Raiders­—the storm clouds moved in.

Inevitable lightning delays lasted so long that game two was paused and forced to resume on Wednesday.

Houston’s return to the ballpark the following day was a true testament of their fortitude.

They won 7-1 with little resistance from East Paulding.

“The fact that they were able to reset—and I’ve been worried because earlier in the year we had a few games where we, for a lack of better words, blew a team out,” said Hopkins. “Then we’d play them a week or two later and I think our guys remembered that we beat them really bad so we didn’t take it as serious.”

“We were able to come out (today) and put up four runs on the (pitcher) that was shutting us down for three innings,” Hopkins continued. “I didn’t think he was as fresh today, which is what was so big about us being able to throw another arm. (Andrew Dunford) hadn’t pitched at all in the playoffs so we were able to bring him out. I thought he threw good velocity and I think their guy actually lost a little bit of what he had last night.”

The dynamic pitching duo of Chestnutt and Coleman Willis has held down the mound through the postseason.

Willis pitched the little bit of game two that was played on Tuesday and Dunford got the go-ahead nod on Wednesday following the layover.

Dunford came up big for the Bears by giving up just three hits and sitting down six batters on the night.

All three hits came in the sixth inning and that’s when Coach Hopkins’ anxiously focused mindset was on display, like it always is.

If you hang around the Bears’ dugout during games, you could bet your savings that you’ll hear Coach Hopkins tell his guys to stay focused.

No matter if the Bears are up 12-2 in the seventh inning, Hopkins isn’t relieved until the game is said and done.

After Dunford gave up his third hit in the sixth, Hopkins calmly stepped to the mound and regrouped his guys, reminding them to keep a levelheaded focus.

It’s not like Dunford had bases loaded or seemed to be gassed. It’s just in Hopkins’ nature, no matter what the score is.

His repeated sentiments have been installed into the player’s minds and it shows.

“Focus,” said Willis when asked to use one word to describe the team’s approach to the Final Four. “I really feel like we need to be focused in these final few games and really take it to ‘em.”

“It’s a huge part in what we do,” said junior centerfielder Gage Harrelson about the focus that Coach Hopkins stresses. “Because in this game, if you’re not focused for every second of the game it can eat you alive at any moment’s notice.”

“Well we deal with 15 to 18 year old boys you know, and it’s so easy to lose focus,” said Hopkins when asked about his quirk. “You know, we’re playing really well right now and I think sometimes I worry about them taking it for granted how well we are playing. This game can flip in a hurry. They can start getting a couple balls to fall—just like they did in the sixth. The game can change in the blink of an eye.”

That message of focus could be the driving force to a state championship.

There’s not one thing the Bears have struggled in throughout this entire postseason, so remaining focused is a key as they prepare to play Allatoona (31-5) in the Final Four.

The Bears will take their first road trip of the postseason to Acworth, Georgia to play at Allatoona on Monday, May 17.

If game three is needed, it’ll be played on Tuesday, May 18.

The start times haven’t been determined yet.

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