Wildcats, Billies Will Scrimmage Tuesday

RISON - New Rison Head Coach Chris Vereen will have an opportunity to see how well his Wildcats have adjusted to his flexbone offense this week when they host the Class 4A Monticello Billies for a scrimmage game Tuesday, Aug. 20, at George Walker Field of Champions. The junior high teams are scheduled to scrimmage at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity teams at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 with proceeds benefiting the Arkansas Activities Association's Catastrophic Insurance fund. The Billies will be making the trip to Rison this year after hosting the Wildcats for a scrimmage last year.Monticello is coming off one of its most successful campaigns in recent years after going 8-4 last year and finishing third in the 8-4A conference. The Billies won a first-round playoff game at Highland, 21-20, before falling at Elkins, 56-6, in the second round.While Monticello lost 17 seniors from that team (including All-State center Conner Ewell, All-Conference quarterback Brooks Bowman, and three productive receivers), Coach Randy Harvey is looking to build on last year's accomplishments.Rison, meanwhile, will be looking to rebound from a disappointing 3-8 finish that ended with a first-round playoff exit against Jessieville, 40-27.While the team made progress during spring practice and over the summer team camps, Vereen said there are still a lot of starting spots that will be up for grabs in anticipation of the season opener on Sept. 6 at home against Camden Harmony Grove.Like Monticello, the Wildcats also lost their starting quarterback, Owen Morrison, to graduation. However, Vereen said he likes the progress that his two sophomore quarterback prospects, ZyKlyer Walker and Ethan Saeler, have made in picking up the flexbone and executing it during the summer camps He said he expects to play both quarterbacks during Tuesday's scrimmage. Vereen said there is also a battle at the tight end position between Tucker McKnight and Bryce Phillips.Whi...