When Mitchell Polk transferred to Smackover from El Dorado toward the end of the summer, the junior didn’t have much time to get acclimated to first-year coach Don Harrison’s offense.
The lack of time didn’t seem to affect Polk much, as he earned All-State honors in his first season with the Bucks.
The Arkansas Activities Association announced the honorees earlier this week.
Polk had a smashing debut, completing 68% of his passes for nearly 2,200 yards along with 27 touchdowns while rushing for 388 yards and nine more scores.
“Mitchell Polk had an amazing year,” Harrison said. “He had a ton of touchdowns, and he was the catalyst of our offense. He played really well every night. We had a lot of yards and we moved the ball really well this year. He was the guy that got all of that done. We were super excited when he moved here. You can say he lived up to the billing. We thought we had something, and it turned out he was as good as we thought. I can’t say enough good things about that kid. Good leadership, great poise, just a great kid.”
Polk engineered a balanced attack that had a plethora of weapons.
Two of those weapons earned second-team All-State honors.
Jamari Robinson, a junior who led Smackover’s receivers with 48 catches for 788 yards and 12 touchdown receptions, received a second-team nod.
“He came here injured, but he worked his way through rehab and finally got to play in our second game,” Harrison said. “From then on, he got his legs underneath him and really had a great year. He played defense for us down the stretch at safety and was solid there, but he got the votes that he got for his offensive output. A special player and I’m excited he’s coming back.”
Peyton Harrison, a senior who finished just behind Robinson with 47 catches for 634 yards and 10 touchdowns, also earned second-team recognition.
“He was our team captain,” Harrison said. “Until the end of the year when he was injured, he led our team in tackles. He was a huge part of our team. We went into that last game with Fouke knowing that we had to win, and we didn’t know if he was going to play. He was injured pretty bad. He rehabbed all week long. He didn’t practice a bit.
“On Friday night, they got him all taped up and he went out there and didn’t look that great in warm-ups. We were really concerned, but he went out there and had six receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown. We really needed him that night, and he had a huge game. He made some great plays. He made a couple of key blocks that extended big plays for Jamari and Speedy (Oliver). He’s graduating and it’s going to be a big role to fill, but getting those other two guys is huge as well. I can’t say enough good things about those three guys. Those three deserve these accolades here at the end of the year.”
The trio also earned All-Conference honors along with senior Martravin Jones.
Jones, a senior two-way stalwart for the Bucks, caught 38 passes for 447 yards with three touchdown catches.
“He’s a really good kid,” Harrison said. “He played both ways for us as well. Just a very quiet young man, but he came to work every day and he worked on his craft. From the day I got here and saw him run routes and catch the ball, I was like, ‘OK, he might see some playing time.’ By the middle of the summer, he really bought in to what we were doing, and I was like, ‘OK, this guy is going to be a player.’ He just worked his butt off, honed his craft, got really good at running his routes, learned the offense and defense.
“We got to a point where the majority of the time we would put him on their best receiver and ask him to man them up. That was a lot. We’re asking you to be out there on the island by yourself, and he did a really good job with that. Overall, he was our best defensive back. He was hurt all year long. He’s just super competitive. He won’t jump out at you on film, but he was very sneaky. In big moments, we would use Jamari and Peyton as bait because we knew all eyes would be on them, and he would have a big play. Another great kid, and it stinks that we’re losing him. He’s a really good kid that worked really hard. We’re going to miss him as well.”