Barton Bears To Play 8-Man This Season

The Barton Bears, a member of the 8-3A conference along with the Rison Wildcats, announced in a social media post last Thursday that the Bears were playing eight-man football for the 2026 season due to low numbers. 
That left Rison, along with the rest of the 8-3A conference, with an unexpected open date. The Wildcats and Bears were scheduled to play in the final game of the regular season on Nov. 6.
Vereen said it was a blow to the Rison football program because it was one of five home games the ‘Cats had on the schedule this year. He said that home gate is figured into the overall budget.
Vereen said he may look into possibly scheduling a junior varsity game with a higher classification school for the Week 2 (Sept. 11) date that was already open.
Woodlawn, which plays eight-man football, has not been contacted by Barton to schedule a game, Head Coach Doug Means. The Bears gave nine games on their regular season schedule.