RISON - It was a quick threeand-out for the Dumas offense to start the game at George Walker Field of Champions last Friday night. After that, though, about the only thing that got in the way of the Bobcats was their 15 penalties, as they generated over 400 yards on offense and held off the Rison Wildcats, 20-14, in the season-opening game staged on a very hot, sultry evening which gave way to an 8 o'clock kickoff.
For anyone who witnessed last year's season opener at Dumas, they can attest to the fact that it was a totally different band of Bobcats that showed up to face Rison here last Friday, the visitors blending a superior balance of run-and-pass to avenge their 19-point setback in Desha County a year ago.
So, a new era of coaching was launched at Rison, as head mentor Caleb Carmikle watched his "new look" Wildcats spit-andsputter out of the gate before managing to make things interesting in the closing moments of the non-conference tussle. Rison is now 33-37-7 in season openers in the post WWII era of Wildcat football. Also during this span starting in 1946, new head coaches making their debut at Rison are now a combined 515-2 in their initial games.
Starting the season, a concern for Carmikle and his staff was a deficiency that has plagued the Wildcats for the last few years, and carried over into last Friday night's opener - yielding big plays. Particularly big scoring plays by their opponents. On the flip side, offensively for Rison, it marked the first time since 1997 - Clay Totty's first year as head coach - that the Wildcats failed to crack the 100-yard mark in net rushing.
"They (Dumas) were just bigger, faster and stronger, just more athletic than us," coach Carmikle stated. All across the board, on both sides of the football, he stated that the Wildcats have a lot of work to do to get better against an imposing schedule.
"We had a lot of inexperience out there, and it showed," Carmikle added. "We ha...
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