FAYETTEVILLE — After surviving a double-overtime game against Brookland in a Class 4A state basketball semifinal in early March, Arkansas recruiting target and Magnolia sophomore Derrian Ford and his teammates were looking forward to defending their state title the following weekend in Hot Springs.
But a day before the unbeaten Panthers would have been going for a 32nd straight win over the course of the last two seasons, the coronavirus epidemic became the only thing to stop the program in that time.
Magnolia (26-0) was set to meet Little Rock Mills (28-9) in a title game that was first postponed and eventually canceled.