BARTON - The Rison Junior Wildcats lost a 34-28 heartbreaker to the Barton Junior Bears in their 8-3A conference opener last Thursday night on the road.It was a back-and-forth game that included a little controversy when the head official would not allow Rison running back Payne Prescott back onto the field after taking a hard hit in the second quarter.Prescott took the hit with 3:31 remaining in the first half. Officials sent him to the sidelines to be checked by coaches and medical personnel before being cleared to return to the game. He tried to return for a kickoff after the Junior Bears had a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown. However, the head official would not put the ball into play telling the Rison coaching staff that Prescott could not play.The head official eventually walked to the sidelines, which led to a discussion between he and Junior Wildcat coaches. Rison was then flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Prescott was removed from the game a second time, before being checked again and eventually allowed to play in the second half.Barton scored first on a 68-yard run with 6:17 remaining in the opening quarter, then added a two-point conversion to go up 8-0. Rison answered on the next drive with a 52-yard dash by Prescott to put the Junior ‘Cats in scoring position, leading to a four-yard touchdown run by Prescott with 4:14 remaining in the opening quarter. The Cats couldn’t convert on the two-point conversion, giving Barton an 8-6 advantage.Both teams would then trade turnovers, starting with a fumble by the Junior Bears that was recovered by Rison’s Trent Southerland at the Rison 38-yard line. Barton would pick off a Rison pass two plays later, returning it 48-yards for a touchdown with 1:15 remaining in the first quarter. The failed two-point conversion gave Barton a 14-6 lead.The Wildcats then found themselves in a fourth-and-5 situation, and decided to go for it. Prescott was able to ge...
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