Wow, are we really about to head into the fifth week of the 2012 football season? It seems like yesterday that time was dragging by and we was begging for the season to get here!
Let me start with the game I covered, Rison vs Parkers Chapel.
I picked Rison by one this week due to home field advantage. Parkers Chapel is a solid football team with a heck of a play maker in Arkansas State commit Philip Hay.
Little did I, or anyone else know, that this game was going to be Rison's coming out party. They recovered two onside kicks, and recovered one they kicked deep. They contained Philip Hay with the exception of a couple of good runs and a two-yard touchdown run.
Rison had two defensive TD's, two passing TD's, two running TD's a safety, and then on the ensuing kick after the safety, it was returned for a touchdown. Rison also intercepted a pass on the final play of the game and returned it 84 yards for a score, but a flag on the play negated the score and ended the game.
Allow me to say that Parkers Chapel's head coach James Housdan is a man of class. He went to Rison's huddle after the game and complimented the Wildcats, told them to keep their heads up following the tragedy they faced right before the season, and said a few other words I wasn't able to catch. The Wildcat football team, coaches, and fans showed their appreciation by giving him a round of applause.
As a sports writer, I gained a ton of respect for Coach Housdan tonight after seeing him do something he didn't have to do following such a big loss. My hat is off to him.
Now, on to other games.
How about the Camden Harmony Grove Hornets knocking off the #1 ranked McGehee Owls? It is early and I haven't seen any stats, but this win could help propel the Hornets towards a conference championship.
Greenwood picked up a nice victory over Ft Smith Northside. It certainly looks like the Bulldogs will be a team to contend with in Class 6A.
Watson Chapel head coach George Shelton is now two wins away from 100 career victories after a win over Hot Springs.
Keep your eye on Mineral Springs. They picked up a big win over Redwater, TX tonight!
How about Monticello knocking off Star City? I have to be honest, I didn't see that one happening at all!
Pine Bluff and Texarkana played a close one tonight. Don't count out the Razorbacks, they have a tendency to sneak up on you, and Pine Bluff nearly found out the hard way tonight.
Stuttgart continues to show why they are the best team in Class 4A. Now with Nashville losing two in a row, there is no doubt about it who the #1 team in Class 4A is. ArkansasVarsity.com ranked them #1 this week, before anyone else had the opportunity.
How about Corning picking up an impressive win over Earle? This may be one of the biggest upsets of the night!
I have to give a shout out to Des Arc and head coach Dustin Prescott. I mentioned the Rison tragedy earlier in this thread, it was Coach Prescott's little brother who was killed in that wreck. He had held his head high, and earned some quality wins with his team this year, to include one tonight over tradition rich Clarendon.
Keep you eyes on a few teams. They seem to be showing some promise early on in the season.
El Dorado is beginning to bounce back.
Clinton has looked solid.
Rison is gaining some confidence and momentum, as is Bearden. Their match-up in a few weeks is going to be huge.
Fordyce continues to roll.
Bentonville is ranked in the Top 25 in the nation, and continues to take care of business.
I'm sure I'll have some more thought's later, but I've got more work to do, photos to edit, and a story to write. I hope your Friday night was a great one this week!
Let me start with the game I covered, Rison vs Parkers Chapel.
I picked Rison by one this week due to home field advantage. Parkers Chapel is a solid football team with a heck of a play maker in Arkansas State commit Philip Hay.
Little did I, or anyone else know, that this game was going to be Rison's coming out party. They recovered two onside kicks, and recovered one they kicked deep. They contained Philip Hay with the exception of a couple of good runs and a two-yard touchdown run.
Rison had two defensive TD's, two passing TD's, two running TD's a safety, and then on the ensuing kick after the safety, it was returned for a touchdown. Rison also intercepted a pass on the final play of the game and returned it 84 yards for a score, but a flag on the play negated the score and ended the game.
Allow me to say that Parkers Chapel's head coach James Housdan is a man of class. He went to Rison's huddle after the game and complimented the Wildcats, told them to keep their heads up following the tragedy they faced right before the season, and said a few other words I wasn't able to catch. The Wildcat football team, coaches, and fans showed their appreciation by giving him a round of applause.
As a sports writer, I gained a ton of respect for Coach Housdan tonight after seeing him do something he didn't have to do following such a big loss. My hat is off to him.
Now, on to other games.
How about the Camden Harmony Grove Hornets knocking off the #1 ranked McGehee Owls? It is early and I haven't seen any stats, but this win could help propel the Hornets towards a conference championship.
Greenwood picked up a nice victory over Ft Smith Northside. It certainly looks like the Bulldogs will be a team to contend with in Class 6A.
Watson Chapel head coach George Shelton is now two wins away from 100 career victories after a win over Hot Springs.
Keep your eye on Mineral Springs. They picked up a big win over Redwater, TX tonight!
How about Monticello knocking off Star City? I have to be honest, I didn't see that one happening at all!
Pine Bluff and Texarkana played a close one tonight. Don't count out the Razorbacks, they have a tendency to sneak up on you, and Pine Bluff nearly found out the hard way tonight.
Stuttgart continues to show why they are the best team in Class 4A. Now with Nashville losing two in a row, there is no doubt about it who the #1 team in Class 4A is. ArkansasVarsity.com ranked them #1 this week, before anyone else had the opportunity.
How about Corning picking up an impressive win over Earle? This may be one of the biggest upsets of the night!
I have to give a shout out to Des Arc and head coach Dustin Prescott. I mentioned the Rison tragedy earlier in this thread, it was Coach Prescott's little brother who was killed in that wreck. He had held his head high, and earned some quality wins with his team this year, to include one tonight over tradition rich Clarendon.
Keep you eyes on a few teams. They seem to be showing some promise early on in the season.
El Dorado is beginning to bounce back.
Clinton has looked solid.
Rison is gaining some confidence and momentum, as is Bearden. Their match-up in a few weeks is going to be huge.
Fordyce continues to roll.
Bentonville is ranked in the Top 25 in the nation, and continues to take care of business.
I'm sure I'll have some more thought's later, but I've got more work to do, photos to edit, and a story to write. I hope your Friday night was a great one this week!
