HASKELL - "I'd rather have an ugly win than a pretty loss," were words offered by Rison head coach Chris Vereen.And so it was when the old momentum pendulum took a big swing in the second half at Jimmy "Red" Parker Field last Friday night. As things suddenly went from comfortable to iffy, it wasn't until less than a minute remained in the game that the Rison Wildcats were able to exhale, escaping Saline County with a 28-20 victory over Haskell Harmony Grove when the gritty Cardinals, with a "generous" spot, lacked inches in moving the chains for a first down, halting their comeback bid inside Rison territory.The non-conference win improved the Wildcats to 2-0 on the season, while the Cardinals of 7-4A slipped to 0-2. It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.Capitalizing on a botched punt attempt by Rison midway of the third period, the Wildcats' first of the season, coach Josh Smith's Cardinals cranked up their effective Dead T offense (over 32 minutes of ball possession) to erase a 21-point halftime deficit to make it a touchdown game with just over 4 minutes left to play. This all unfolded after the 'Cats dominated the opening half, when they hammered the Cards for 285 yards on just 16 plays in building a 28-7 advantage at the break. After the huge offensive production during the first 24 minutes, Rison managed just 28 net yards on 19 scrimmage plays during the final half."We have to learn to put away an opponent when we have the opportunity," Vereen commented. "Sure, there were some questionable calls made, but letting it get close, we allowed that ourselves. The biggest play of the game was the high snap, giving them the ball at our 12. Against their run, until the momentum shifted, I thought we did an awesome job. On offense in the second half, we had a lull, and they were bringing more than we could block, sending guys off the edge. We wanted to throw the ball, and we need to be able to throw when we ...
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