McGEHEE - Long first half scoring drives, spiced with big plays by the offense, and another stellar defensive job helped propel the Rison Wildcats to a key 33-20 victory over the McGehee Owls at Rex Denton Stadium last Friday night. Five different players scored Rison's five touchdowns.The win improved the Wildcats to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in the 8-3A Conference standings to keep pace with the undefeated Fordyce Redbugs, as the two teams remain on a collision course for their post-Halloween Day battle. Meanwhile, McGehee, which will host Fordyce in the final week of the regular season, slipped to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference. Rison’s victory over McGehee gives the 'Cats a 6-5 series lead over the Owls, the two schools which have a combined 16 state championships at eight apiece. Also, it was Rison’s second win at McGehee’s homecoming in the past six years.Heading into the game, in which he knew McGehee’s defensive front could cause his team some problems, coach Chris Vereen’s Wildcats received two big pass plays on scoring drives in the opening half when Rison built a 25-13 advantage at the break, but all along, leaning on a strong defensive effort that limited the wing-T Owls to just a pair of first downs until late in the fourth quarter.Rison’s five scoring drives in the game were 92 yards in 7 plays; 54 yards in 5 snaps; 94 yards in a half-dozen plays; 77 yards in 10 snaps; and 61 yards in 9 plays. And for just the second time in six outings this season, the ‘Cats played the game without a turnover, something Vereen placed an emphasis on heading into the big road encounter. The Wildcats received a balanced rushing attack, distributed among 6 different ball carriers.Vereen said of his team’s play at McGehee, “We didn't throw it as much as I thought we would have to. We got better offensively as the game went along. The two pass plays we hit (Spencer Towery for 54 yards and Jaquis Rauls for 40 yards) were h...
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