McGEHEE - Old habits can be hard to break, and the Rison Wildcats may be learning that the hard way.
Rison put the ball on the ground six times against the McGehee Owls Friday night and lost three of them, including one that was returned for a touchdown. The result: McGehee 32, Rison 26.
It was the Wildcats’ first loss of the year as they fell to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in 8-3A conference play. McGehee improved to 2-3 overall and 2-1.
The turnovers were a real source of frustration for Wildcat Coach Chris Vereen. “You can’t give them three or four turnovers and a scoop-and-score,” he said after the game. “You just can’t do it.”
Turnovers played a big role in Rison’s 3-7 overall record last year as the ‘Cats went -11 in the turnover department.
Vereen said that was a point of emphasis over the offseason, and the message seemed to have gotten through because the ‘Cats did not have a turnover over their first two games this season.
But that began to change in the final non-conference game against Junction City when the Wildcats lost four fumbles. Over the past four games - Junction City, Helena, Dumas and McGehee - Rison has lost 10 of 15 fumbles.
Vereen said the turnovers were really costly at McGehee since they stymied the Widcats’ momentum and even led to points for the Owls.
“The big thing is we get momentum and fixing to go down and score, and all of sudden - bumph - scoop and score,” he said. “Looking at it, we punted one time tonight. You can’t put it on the ground.”
McGehee, a young team that starts five sophomores and has only two seniors on offense, seemed confident from the start.
After a squib kick to start the game went out of bounds at the McGehee 44, the Owls used 11 plays to cover the 56 yards, including a 14-yard run on fourth-and-5 at the Rison 39. Azar Whitaker hit Jachai Lee for a 28 yard touchdown on third-and-11 with 7:01 left in the first quarter. The Owls fumbled the conversion attempt, leaving them with a 6-0 lead.
Rison came back with a sco…