Ridgway Christian is getting ready to play its first-ever varsity football game and travels to Southwest Christian at 5 p.m. today in Little Rock.
It will be a tough task for Ridgway right out of the gate since Southwest Christian is the defending champion in the Arkansas Association of Christian Schools.
“They are a tough test,” Ridgway coach Trent Young said. “We are not where we need to be yet, but for our first game, we are as prepared as we can be.”
Ridgway brings 12 varsity players to the game and will start four ninth-graders.
Young has been happy with the practices lately and most of them have consisted of instilling the basics.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We have had so much to put in from the beginning and we are stressing the fundamentals,” he said. “I think we are in decent shape and we will find out (today).”
McGehee at Dumas, 7 p.m.
McGehee is coming off a 12-0 win over a Monticello team that has not missed the playoffs in eight years. Dumas lost 41-13 to Mayflower last week.
But McGehee coach Marcus Haddock is not taking Dumas lightly in today’s game even after its lopsided loss.
“They went to Mayflower and had some things not go their way, but we are expecting a dogfight as usual,” he said. “We know we will have to play hard or we will get beat.”
The two teams may be in different classes, but they are familiar with each other. McGehee was part of the 8-4A Conference with Dumas last year before moving down to Class 3A this year.
For the Owls, it is one of the last familiar opponents they will face before conference play begins in two weeks.
“The familiarity helps, especially since it’s the land of the unknown soon,” Haddock said. “It’s going to be who can block and tackle the best, and that will be the team that wins.”
Dumas coach Mark Courtney was unavailable for comment.
Magnolia at Monticello,
7 p.m.
After failing to score in its preseason scrimmage against Camden Fairview or its first-week 12-0 loss to McGehee, Monticello is looking to find the end zone for the first time this season and get that monkey off its back when the Billies host Magnolia (0-1) today.
“We are trying to address some things and get the ball to the guys that can make plays,” Monticello coach Greg Tiner said. “It’s a big deal to us. The past couple of years, something we have not had trouble doing is scoring.”
Magnolia should be able to cure the Billies’ offensive drought after allowing 51 points to Crossett last week.
Sheridan at Arkadelphia,
7 p.m.
Last year Sheridan pulled out a 10-0 win against Arkadelphia, but Sheridan coach Louis Campbell is expecting a much better Badgers team today.
“Their quarterback was their wide receiver last year, and he is a much better quarterback than what they had last year,” Campbell said. “They have better skill players around him and they present a lot more challenges than last year.”
Sheridan’s defense was up to the task last week as the Yellowjackets beat Little Rock Hall 26-6. Dylan Flores threw a 19-yard touchdown pass and ran for a 3-yard score.
Arkadelphia beat Class 6A Benton 42-20 last week.
Star City at Camden
Harmony Grove, 7 p.m.
Star City rushed for more than 400 yards as a team in its 44-35 win over Lonoke lat week, including three players with at least 100 yards rushing.
Star City is at Camden Harmony Grove this week, and Star City coach Blair Brown expects to learn even more about his team after tonight’s game.
“I think we caught Lonoke flat-footed in some things and they did not expect us to run the read-option as much,” he said. “People start figuring you out after that first week and it now boils down to executing. The biggest thing is that improvement between week one and week two.”
Brown would like to see an improvement out of his team’s defense. Lonoke’s offense was able to get going in the second half.
Last week, Harmony Grove beat Bearden 34-6 for its eighth win in the past nine games.
Crossett at Fordyce, 7:30 p.m.
Fordyce’s game against Crossett will be a memorable one as the school is going to dedicate and rename its field after former Alabama coach and Fordyce native Paul “Bear” Bryant.
“We have a lot of stuff going on for that,” Fordyce coach Tim Rodgers said. “His son is supposed to bring some players that played for Bryant. We are going to have a big ceremony before our game, too.”
Even with all of the festivities going on, Rodgers is going to make sure his team does not overlook Crossett, which beat Magnolia 51-26 in the opening week.
“They have been down the last couple of years, but always have had athletes,” he said. “Anytime you score 51 points, you have to be good. We’ve been working on defense to slow them down.”
Fordyce is coming off a 45-14 win over Rison last week, and Rodgers was very impressed how his team played in the win.
Junction City at Rison,
7:30 p.m.
With Rison moving back down to Class 2A, it reunites the Wildcats with Junction City. The two teams are more than familiar with each other, though.
Last year, Rison beat Junction City 27-14 and the two are now conference foes in the 8-2A.
In 2004, Rison beat Junction City in the 2A semifinals and went on to win the state title. That was a year after Junction City beat the Wildcats in the semifinals as the Dragons won the state title.
Both teams are coming off losses to start the season as Fordyce beat Rison 45-15 and Junction City fell to Earle 14-7. Rison managed just 124 total yards and Junction City had only 166 total yards.
Stuttgart at Valley View, 7:30 p.m.
Stuttgart, the No. 3-ranked team in Class 4A according to Hootens.com, got out to a good start to the season with a 49-22 win over Central Arkansas Christian in the season-opener.
Defensively, the Ricebirds had six interceptions against CAC.
“They were a result of the pressure on the quarterback and the defensive backs in the right position,” Stuttgart coach Billy Elmore said. “Valley View (1-0) could do a better job at taking care of the ball.”
•
Also tonight: Woodlawn (0-1) at Norphlet (0-1) at 7 and Palestine-Wheatley (0-1) at Drew Central (0-0) at 7:30.