CASSVILLE — Buffalo head coach Ed Phillips had a feeling Jamen Smith was going to be special ever since the first seven-on-seven he watched him participate in.
"I was like 'this kid's going to be special,'" Phillips said. "We hadn't even practiced yet."
On Saturday, he coached Smith in his last Buffalo football game. Afterward, he said Smith was the best player to ever put on a Bison uniform.
Buffalo fell 41-16 in a state quarterfinal matchup at Cassville on Saturday afternoon at a muddy Wildcat Stadium. It's the third-consecutive year Cassville has reached the state semifinals.