Sheridan heads to the bank of the Mississippi River tonight for the first of two trips to Crittenden County this fall.
The Yellowjackets will face West Memphis at 7 p.m. in their first 6A-East Conference road game of the season. Sheridan (0-2, 0-1 in 6A-East) began conference play with a 49-40 home loss to Searcy last week.
West Memphis (1-1, 1-0) is coming off a 48-7 home win against Jacksonville.
This is a rematch of last year’s overtime affair in Sheridan, which the Blue Devils won 28-21. Last week’s loss to Searcy makes this game more important for the Yellowjackets’ playoff hopes, especially with a backloaded conference schedule.
West Memphis held Jacksonville to 66 yards of offense last week, but Sheridan’s offense should have more success. Junior quarterback Brady Dillon threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns last week while rushing for 24 yards and another touchdown.
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That’s good news for Sheridan as both of West Memphis’ opponents so far have done better through the air than on the ground. Jonesboro threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 101 yards without a score. Jacksonville passed for 90 yards and a touchdown but finished with -24 rushing yards.
The challenge for Sheridan will be on defense as the Yellowjackets have allowed 43 and 49 points in their first two games. West Memphis is averaging 39 points a game.
Star City at Warren
After a week off, Warren (2-0) will begin Conference 4A-8 play at home Friday at 7 p.m. against Star City (0-3, 0-1).
Star City opened conference play last week with a 35-28 home loss to Crossett. Warren’s last outing came two weeks ago, a dramatic 34-27 victory at White Hall.
A year ago, this game essentially decided the conference championship when Warren won 28-27 in overtime in Star City’s only regular season loss. The Bulldogs have struggled out of the gate this year and face a big road test as they try to get their season back on track. Warren freshman quarterback Jackson Denton threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns against White Hall and will look to continue his hot start to the season unless the Bulldog defense can slow him down.
Glen Rose at Fordyce
Fordyce (1-2) returns home Friday to face Glen Rose (0-2) in a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m.
The Redbugs are coming off a 17-0 loss to Prescott seeking to end a two-game skid. The Beavers were off last week but fell 44-13 to rival Malvern in their most recent game.
Despite their early-season records, both teams are expected to be contenders in their respective 3A conferences. Both squads have their conference openers next week, meaning this is a great opportunity to build confidence and momentum. Fordyce has had two good offensive games and two good defensive games so far. The Redbugs did both in their win at Monticello. Doing so again will be key if Fordyce is to beat Glen Rose for a second straight year.