Rison Faces ‘Big’ Challenge in Bobcats

RISON - Don’t count Rison Coach Chris Vereen among those who already have his Wildcats penciled in for a second-round playoff game next week.Vereen said the Walnut Ridge Bobcats, Rison’s first-round opponent this week, will literally present some very big  matchup problems for his ‘Cats when they kickoff at 7 p.m. Friday at George Walker Field of Champions.“It’s a terrible draw, to be honest with you,” Vereen said about getting Walnut Ridge in the first round.  Walnut Ridge comes in as the no. 4 seed from a very tough 3-3A conference. The Bobcats did not know their seeding until last Friday night when they blanked rival Hoxie, 35-0, in a battle of side-by-side communities.The Bobcats are 7-3 overall and went 4-3 in the 3-3A conference. Walnut Ridge is currently one of four teams from the 3-3A that are ranked among the Top 11 in Hooten’s Arkansas Football Week 11 Class 3A rankings. The Bobcats’ three losses were to sixth-ranked Osceola (26-14), seventh-ranked Rivercrest (51-20) and 10th-ranked Newport (53-35). And all three of those games were on the road.Other an a one-point win over Trumann in week 1, Walnut Ridge beat its other six opponents by two scores or more. In addition to blanking Hoxie last week, they also shutout East Poinsett County (37-0) and Manila (38-0).Rison comes as the no. 2 seed from the 8-3A after going 9-1 overall and 6-1 in league play. The Wildcats only loss was a 30-28 nailbiter at the rival Fordyce Redbugs in week 9.What concerns Vereen the most about the Bobcats is their massive size along the line, their All-State running Enrique Perez and their 6-5, 260-pound tight end Trevor Augustine. And Vereen also quickly points out that Walnut Ridge may finally be completely healthy again after playing some of their toughest games without a full compliment of players.The Bobcats operate out of the single wing, and Vereen said they can be handful to stop once they g...