FORDYCE - To draw on a quote from Alabama head coach Nick Saban, commenting about a play by Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson in Saturday's SEC game, he stated, "That quarterback is a handful. I mean when a quarterback can take a major college football player and sling him off like . . . a gnat on a cow's ass, I mean, that was one of the most impressive plays I've ever seen a player make." Well, that may have been some of the same sentiment the Rison juniors had last Thursday night at Paul "Bear" Bryant Stadium when the Redbugs inserted big Andrell Ellison into the quarterback position, this after he had made a big fourth down pass catch as a receiver. And he also used his arm for a big fourth down conversion to set up a TD.
With the game on the line, Ellison took deep snap after deep snap and plowed over the right side, as the undefeated Junior Redbugs broke loose from an 8point halftime lead to down the Wildcats, 30-6, in a crucial 6-3A Conference contest. The loss left Rison at 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in the league race, with Lake Village here Thursday night and Barton on the road Oct. 26 for the Junior Wildcats' remaining games in the 2023 season. Both are conference contests. Kickoff time for the battle with Lake Village is set for 7 o'clock at George Walker Field of Champions.
Although a gritty and neverquit Wildcat defense had a difficult time containing Ellison's runs, a pair of penetrations inside the Fordyce 10-yard line when they came up empty didn't help Rison's cause. And to top it off, Fordyce executed multiple fourth down plays in the first half to help keep scoring drives alive when they established a 14-6 advantage at the break.
Rison took the opening kick, and behind the gainers of quarterback Kyson Walker, drove to the Fordyce 3 for first and goal. Here, the Redbug defense stiffened and forced the 'Cats to turn the ball over on downs at the 5 with 4:46 left in the first quarter.
Facing fourth and 2 at t...
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