RISON - Last Friday, Rison faced one of the top teams in Class 3A. This Friday, it will be one of the top teams in Class 2A.
So, for the second straight week, the Wildcats will go up against an undefeated squad, when they travel to Bigelow this Friday where they will clash with the Panthers. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. Kickoff time is scheduled for 7 o'clock.
Head coach Luke Starks' Bigelow team entered this season with its sights set on a December game at War Memorial Stadium after going 9-2 a year ago in capturing their third straight conference title.
"They (Bigelow) really feel like they've been getting closer and closer to getting there," Rison head coach Caleb Carmikle said, commenting about the Panthers' expectations of a deep playoff run, and possibly a trip to the championship game in 2A. "He (coach Starks) feels like he now has every piece to make a run." Bigelow is favored to win its fourth straight conference title.
Rison is coming off a loss to Hoxie, which also "looks the part" as a team that can make a deep post-season run.
Carmikle said, "This has been a tough stretch, no doubt. We are playing some of the best teams (Bismarck, Hoxie, Bigelow) in their classifications. But we've got to keep working, getting bet-ter with our offensive execution and alignments on defense. Those two areas continue to hurt us. I feel like we showed some flashes on offense (against Hoxie), but we just didn't execute on some plays that had potential for a big gainer, or even a score. We pushed inside their 30 three times in the first half, so we had positive things. This is our last non-conference game, so I think it's important to be as prepared as possible heading into conference." Rison will travel to face Camden Harmony Grove on Oct. 6, the Hornets a pre-season pick to capture the 63A Conference title, followed by the rivalry game with Fordyce.
Bigelow is 5-0, w...
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