Brent Crenshaw got an up-close view of the Mountain Home boys soccer team on Saturday in the semifinals of the Class 6A state tournament. And what he saw was impressive.

Crenshaw was on the sidelines as the Bombers rallied to knock off Russellville 1-1 (4-2 penalty kicks) to earn their chance to play Siloam Springs in the Class 6A State Championship game, which will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Razorback Field in Fayetteville.

Mountain Home (18-0) kept its undefeated season alive with the victory, and the Bombers are making their fifth appearance in the state title game but still searching for their first title.

"I saw a little bit of film here and there, but seeing them live I'm even more impressed with how they look," Crenshaw said. "Their kids, every one of them play hard. They're athletic. They're physical. They play simple. They play team soccer. I mean there's a reason they're 18-0. They're a very, very good team."

Mountain Home played for the 6A state championship in three straight seasons in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and lost to Searcy each time. In 2012, the Bombers lost to Russellville in penalty kicks in the title game.

Mountain Home is making its first title game appearance since then, and head coach Bryan Mattox believes this team has a bit of magic on its side.

Before the Bombers defeated Russellville on Saturday, they had beaten Little Rock Hall in penalty kicks in the 6A-East Conference championship after rallying from a 2-0 hole in the final minute to force the shootout.

"I think God is doing something special with our boys," said Mountain Home coach Bryan Mattox. "That's what I think. All the credit goes to Him."

The Bombers are led by midfielders Xaco Baonza, Mitch McDonald, Ewan Platt and Talyn Benton.

"We have a special group of boys," Mattox said. "We have the heart of a champion. That's all I know to say. You can tell by watching the game, we're not the best in possession. We don't play the prettiest soccer, but we play hard. We play good defense and we pick our spots to strike."

The Bombers' style of play has been discussed at length in soccer communities. Mountain Home is known for playing a bunker-down style of defense and hoping for a counter attack.

Against a team like Siloam Springs, with more speed and more technical ability, Mattox said the goal is to keep the score as close as they can until 20 minutes are left in the game.

"Then we adjust from there," Mattox said. "If we're down, we go chase the game, whatever it is. These kids have worked really hard in conditioning where they can go chase a game as the game stretches and legs go."

That style of play has worked for Mountain Home, too.

"That's been their bread and butter for years," Crenshaw said. "But I was really impressed with how disciplined they were and how hard those kids played. They didn't take any plays off. Sometimes you know our kids may be more skilled and faster, but you know you probably saw on Saturday, some kids took a couple of plays off in the game because they were tired. We can't do that against this team. We can't take any plays off."

Siloam Springs players took notice of what they saw from the Bombers.

"I was honestly impressed," said senior captain Austin Shull. "Statistics showed that Russellville should have had it in the bag, but (Mountain Home) came out and played really hard. That's something that we'll have to watch out for because I don't think we should come into it thinking it's going to be an easy game.

"They work hard. That's something that we like to do too. We know how that shows in a game, like when we beat Russellville 2-1 in a game. All because we worked hard all the way through."

Mountain Home and Siloam Springs aren't strangers to each other.

The Bombers eliminated the Panthers in the opening round of the 2014 playoffs with a penalty kicks victory, but Siloam Springs returned the favor in the 2015 quarterfinals when it defeated the Bombers 3-1 in regulation.

Just as Crenshaw got a good look at the Bombers, Mattox was able to get a look at Siloam Springs too as the Panthers defeated Little Rock Hall in penalty kicks.

"They're a phenomenal team," Mattox said of the Panthers. "We are going to have another major challenge, but our kids have proven they're up for it. Hopefully we can go over to Fayetteville and have a good showing."

The defending 6A champion Panthers (20-5-1), meanwhile are making their eighth appearance in a state championship match and playing for their fourth title overall to join championships in 2011, 2012 and 2016.

"It's going to be a battle," Crenshaw said. "It's going to be a big-time battle, but I think we've got some kids that can compete with that level too. We've hopefully got a good game plan put together for the kids."