KEYS TO TODAY’S GAME

1. Fast Start Charleston sputtered offensively in a 9-0 win over Smackover on Nov. 11. Since then, however, the team is averaging 44.5 points per game, including 27 points in the first half. The defense has been great, limiting opponents to 2.3 points per game in the first quarter and 11.7 points per game. Prescott is averaging 39.9 points per game while giving up just 13.4 ppg.

2. Turnovers Charleston is plus 18 in turnover ratio, intercepting 15 passes and recovering 16 fumbles. The vaunted Tigers’ defense held Glen Rose to 138 total yards last week, with 55 of that coming in the final minute. Led by Phillip Hampton’s 11 quarterback sacks, Charleston has 28 sacks and a collective 73 tackles for loss. Prescott’s been just as good, collecting 28 quarterback sacks and forcing 37 turnovers. The ball-hawking secondary has 23 interceptions.

3. The Quarterbacks Charleston quarterback Jackson Rowland has passed for 5,174 career yards and 55 touchdowns, with all but 118 yards of that coming in 2015-16. Rowland has been intercepted just seven times in 288 attempts in 2016. First-year Prescott starter Derrick Flynn has passed for 2,221 yards and 16 touchdowns, and like Rowland he doesn’t throw many interceptions — just six in 206 attempts.

4. Sean Michael Flanagan Just a junior, Flanagan is averaging 15.4 points per game, scoring 30 touchdowns and scoring 10 times on the Tigers’ effective 2-point conversion rate of 69 percent. Flanagan’s returned five punts for touchdowns, one kickoff for a score, and last week he had a pick six. Then there is his 23 offensive touchdowns.

5. Coaches Charleston coach Greg Kendrick has played in or coached in nine championship football and baseball games. He was a center on Van Buren’s 1996 title team, and was a graduate assistant on Gus Malzahn’s 2002 Springdale team that lost to Southside, 17-10. Kendrick was an assistant on Greenwood coach Rick Jones’ 2005-06 state title teams, and an assistant baseball coach for Craig Jones’ 2007 Greenwood state title team. This is Kendrick’s fifth title game since joining Charleston’s staff in the fall of '07. Kendrick is 8-1 in championship games. Tommy Poole is a hometown Prescott boy (class of ‘94), returning to coach the Curley Wolves after a successful run at Spring Hill.

TODAY’S KEY MATCHUP: PRESCOTT’S MARKS AND COWLING VERSUS CHARLESTON’S YOUNG AND WILLIAMS The right side of Charleston’s offensive line is manned by junior Dain Young and senior Jared Williams. They’ll have their hands full with Prescott seniors Jay Marks and Chris Cowling. Marks has 10½ sacks and Cowling has a team-high 55 solo tackles. KEY STATISTIC: The Tigers’ defensive starters have allowed just 79 points in 13 games. That averages out to one touchdown per game. Only one team (Dardanelle) has scored more than two touchdowns against Charleston’s vaunted starting defensive unit. However, strength of schedule also shows that the Tigers’ first 13 opponents have a winning percentage of just .500 (75-75). Prescott plays in a far tougher conference, but their opponents’ combined winning percentage is just slightly higher (52 percent).

EDGE: CHARLESTON

HISTORY LESSON: Charleston is playing in its seventh title game, all since 2004. The Tigers are 5-1 in championship games, with wins over Dierks (22-9) in 2005; Fountain Lake (47-20) in ‘06; Barton (31-10) in ‘11; and back-to-back championship wins over Glen Rose (42-19) in 2013 and Smackover (33-26) in ‘14. Prescott has played in eight title games (4-5). The Curley Wolves played in five of those games (1970, ‘72, ‘73, ‘75, ‘76) during an extraordinary run in the 1970s. They lost to Augusta (14-7) in ‘83, beat Nashville (14-8) in ‘95; and they lost to Shiloh Christian (48-6) in 2006 and to Fountain Lake (37-7) in 2009. Since 1986, Charleston is a remarkable 318-62-2. Over that same span, Prescott is 239-118-3. The two schools have never played, but came close in 2011. Charleston beat Fountain Lake, 26-23, in the semifinals, while Prescott lost to Barton in the semifinals 42-27. Had they won, Charleston and Prescott would have a history. Today is also just the second time in the modern era (1968) that two programs with 60 or more playoff wins have met; Prescott has 62 and Charleston 60. Last year, Booneville (61) and Harding Academy (65) became the first teams with 60 or most postseason wins to meet in the playoffs.

EDGE: CHARLESTON

CHARLESTON INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS

PASSING (C-A-INT-YDS-TD) Jackson Rowland 189-288-7-2,960-38; Brayden Caudle 23-27-1-190-0

RUSHING (ATT-YDS-TD) Brayden Ketter 147-879-9; Sean Michael Flanagan 18-135-6; Jackson Rowland 55-197-2

RECEIVING (NO.-YDS-TD) Sean Michael Flanagan 54-991-17; Mason Wisdom 52-704-8; Brayden Ketter 33-344-4; Colton McDonald 17-341-3; Phillip Hampton 12-247-2; Josh Zimmer 14-229-2

PRESCOTT INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS

PASSING (C-A-INT-YDS-TD) Derrick Flynn 128-206-6-2,221-16; Cade Haynie 13-30-1-150-0; 2-13-1-19-0

RUSHING (ATT-YDS-TD) Carlos Vanhook 172-1,273-29; Derrick Flynn 126-735-13; Laroderick Walker 68-504-10;

RECEIVING (NO.-YDS-TD) Cameron Cox 35-763-7; Kadarius Pearson 39-718-5; Tyler Rucker 23-407-2; Bailey Adams 16-183-0

POSITION MATCHUPS

Quarterbacks Charleston quarterback Jackson Rowland has passed for 2,960 yards and 38 touchdowns. Statistically, Rowland has played in just 26 of 52 quarters this season. Prescott’s Derrick Flynn has passed for 16 touchdowns (2,221 yards) and he’s also run for 13 scores.

EDGE: EVEN

Running backs At 5-foot-7 and 180 pounds, Prescott senior Carlos Vanhook is built like the modern day running back: strong, quick, good vision. He’s run for 1,273 yards and 29 touchdowns this season, but he has 516 yards and 11 touchdowns in four playoff games. In a different system, Charleston’s Brayden Ketter might be that back, too. He’s rushed for 879 yards (5.9) and nine touchdowns, and Ketter has caught 33 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns.

EDGE: PRESCOTT

RECEIVERS The trio of Sean Michael Flanagan, Mason Wisdom and Brayden Ketter have combined for 139 receptions and 29 touchdowns, and all three are juniors. Don’t sleep on Colton McDonald, Phillip Hampton or Josh Zimmer, either.

EDGE: CHARLESTON

OFFENSIVE LINE Senior center Alex Forbes anchors Prescott’s offensive line. The Curley Wolves’ potent offense has not missed a beat despite multiple injuries and a constant rotation of different starters, Poole said. Charleston’s offensive line overcame some untimely penalties in last week’s win, including five illegal linemen downfield calls - though video showed two were questionable at best. Though much of Charleston’s skill-set is young, the offensive line is not. Four of the five starters (center Jeremiah Cadena, tackles Ryan Keener and Jared Williams and left guard John Singleton) are seniors.

EDGE: CHARLESTON

DEFENSIVE LINE Seniors Michael Howard, Jeremiah Cadena and Clinton Leweling do the dirty work, plugging up the offensive lines to allow the Tigers’ active linebackers to make plays. Prescott defensive end Chris Cowling leads the team with 55 unassisted tackles (148 total) and averages 14 stops a game. But the player Charleston is really concerned about is Jay Marks. He’s averaging 10 ½ tackles a game and offensive line coach Ryan Meyers called him "hard to block."

EDGE: PRESCOTT

LINEBACKERS Much of Charleston’s skill players won’t be playing their final game today. That’s not true of the experienced Tigers’ linebackers, however. Drew Young, Garrett Loughridge and Colton Ketter have combined for 208 of the Tigers’ 731 tackles.

EDGE: CHARLESTON

DEFENSIVE BACKS Senior Deonte Jamison gives new meaning to the phrase ‘ball-hawking.’ The Curley Wolves’ cornerback leads the team with eight interceptions. He had two, plus a fumble recovery in last week’s 41-8 rout of Newport. Peyton Chandler has four interceptions, and even the quarterback, the aforementioned Flynn, has three in part-time play.

EDGE: PRESCOTT

OVERALL: Charleston 36, Prescott 27