HARMONY GROVE - Four one-play touchdown drives fueled a first half touchdown parade, as the Harmony Grove Hornets stung the Rison Wildcats, 56-13, in a 6-3A Conference clash at Bill Manning Field last Friday night. Rison still owns a commanding 27-10 lead in the overall series that dates back to 1970.
It was the conference opener for Rison, which remained winless after six outings, while Harmony Grove, the pre-season favorite to capture the league title, improved to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in 6-3A action.
After the teams exchanged touchdown bombs before the game was even 4 minutes old, Rison received a pass interception from defensive back Za'Kyler Walker that gave the Wildcats possession at their own 27, and ignited excitement among the large following of fans, who never let up in their support of the underdog team.
However, the momentum couldn't be maintained by Rison after the Wildcats advanced for one first down, as a high snap from center on a punt attempt led to a Hornet touchdown from point blank range that started a big scoring spree by the hosts.
"The fans we had at the game were great in their support of us, and I thought the kids played as hard as they could," Rison head coach Caleb Carmikle said. "But just like in our other games, it seems like when things start to go south, that's when we start to struggle, and things kind of spiral out of control. Almost like putting a band aid on a gun shot wound. But I do think in some areas of our game, we're not two blocks away from turning the corner, but just one block away from making that turn. We've got to find a way to overcome the things that continue to hurt us, especially when we have things that don't go our way." Looking at some positive takeaways from the game, Carmikle said he thought offensive linemen Cole Dedman and Thomas Wilson had their best game of the year blocking. The emergence of sophomore Braylin Bennett among the receivers also stood out, and Carmikle ...
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