No. 1 Tigers Stand In Way of Wildcats' State Title Bid

RISON - Another No. 1 ranked opponent stands in the way of Rison's quest to advance to the final round of the Class 3A state football playoffs, as the Charleston Tigers visit George Walker Field of Champions Friday night for a 7 o'clock semifinal battle. Rison is 11-0, while Charleston is 12-1. Over on the other side of the bracket, Booneville will go to Melbourne, with the two winners advancing to Little Rock next week for the state title game. Hooten's Arkansas Football has Charleston and Booneville picked in the semifinal games. Many fans statewide, and especially those in the 1-3A Conference region of the state, are clamoring for another meeting between the two conference foes - Charleston, league champ, and Booneville, runner-up. Hooten's Arkansas Football elevated Charleston to No. 1 in Class 3A after the Tigers polished off Newport, 48-6, at home in the quarterfinals last week. Meanwhile, Prescott, the consensus pick before the season started to hoist the trophy at Little Rock in December, was upset, 34-29, at Rison in another quarterfinal clash. The new ranking placed Rison behind Charleston. "In my opinion, they (Charleston) will be the best of all the teams we've faced to this point," Rison head coach Clay Totty said. "They are well disciplined and very well coached. They are coached up and we don't see any weaknesses. These are the toughest kind of opponents you can play." Of course, the two schools have met four times previously, all in the playoffs, three of the meetings with Totty at the helm of the Wildcats. Back in 1991 when Mark Whatley was coach at Rison, the Wildcats edged Charleston, 24-20, on the road in the playoff semifinals. In 2004 at Little Rock, the Wildcats downed the Tigers, 30-15, for the state title. The next season at Charleston in a third round game, the Tigers ended Rison's 27-game winning streak with a 23-14 victory, and in 2009, also at Charleston, the Ti...