RISON - With a huge 8-3A conference showdown with Fordyce looming just over the horizon, it would be easy for the Rison Wildcats to be looking ahead as they make the trip to Lake Village this Friday to take on the 1-6 Lakeside Beavers. Kickoff for the league game is set for 7 p.m. Lake Village has struggled in recent years with the Beavers' best season coming in 2022 when they finished 4-6 overall.The Beavers' lone victory so far this year came in the season opener when they knocked off the West Bolivar (Miss.) Eagles, 16-8. The Beavers have since lost six straight, including their first four conference games.Among those league losses are to two teams competing for the 8-3A championship. The Beavers lost 54-8 last week at Fordyce, and fell at home against McGehee, 40-0, on Oct. 4. Their other two 8-3A losses were to Drew Central (47-8) and Dumas (28-6).Rison, meanwhile, rolls into the week's game still undefeated after using a second-half surge to put away the Drew Central Pirates, 56-13, last Friday night to move to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in 8-3A conference action.While this week's matchup seems one-sided on paper, Rison Coach Chris Vereen isn't taking anything for granted. "Anything can happen on any given Friday night," he said.And if the Wildcats don't take care of business this week, he said next week's game at Fordyce is a lot less meaningful.The 'Cats got a little taste of not being focused last week in their homecoming game against Drew Central. Rison jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead only to see the Drew Central Pirates close it to 14-13 by the end of the first quarter after picking up a loose football for a scoop-and-score. It was still just a two-score game midway into the third quarter before Rison finally got it together to score 29 points in the second half to post a 56-13 victory.After reviewing film of the game, Vereen said it wasn't a matter of execution or effort from the Wildcats, but more a matter of...
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