RISON - While seeing improvement on the defensive side of the football in last week's loss at Bismarck, head coach Caleb Carmikle of Rison says the Wildcat offense is still searching for an identity and some consistency. With that in mind, things won't get any easier for the 'Cats this Friday, when they head to Bob Keenan Field at Dardanelle to take on the Class 5A Sand Lizards. Kickoff for the nonconference contest is set for 7 o'clock.
On a hot Labor Day, Carmikle and his staff put the Wildcats through a tough, lengthy practice session as they continue to work on a formula to get the offense perking. And even though they gave up three long TD runs at Bismarck, the Rison defense showed some positive signs of improvement in holding down the explosive Lions on the bulk of their rushing plays and limiting them to just 34 yards passing.
However, Rison gave up two kick returns for touchdowns and muffed a punt on the Wildcats' 4yard line which led to another score for Bismarck. To make matters worse, the kick returns killed Wildcat momentum each time.
Commenting about the special teams on kick coverage, Carmikle said, "It's just a matter of getting down field, finding the football and going to make the tackle. We've already made some personnel changes in that area of our game." In looking ahead to this week's game, Carmikle stated that being in Class 5A gives Dardanelle a big advantage, just on the caliber of competition the Sand Lizards see, competing in a conference with the likes of Farmington, Alma, Harrison and Shiloh Christian.
At Rison last year, the Wildcats stunned the Sand Lizards with a 30-0 halftime lead. However, quarterback Drew Vega sparked a second half rally that pulled Dardanelle within 30-28, before the Wildcats regrouped to hold on for a 44-28 win.
Although Drew Vega graduated, his little brother, Creed Vega, a sophomore has come on to take charge of the Dardanelle offense. They are sons of head coa...
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