RISON - Coach Caleb Carmikle will get to see exactly how well his Rison Wildcats have grasped his new offensive and defensive schemes when they travel to Monticello to meet the Class 4A Billies in a scrimmage game at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, at Billies Stadium.
While Carmikle said he is pleased with what he has seen in practice, he said he really won't know exactly how well they have picked the new offense and defense up until they suit up against another opponent in a live game situation. Rison had been under former Coach Clay Totty's veer offense for 25 years before his move to Wynne after the 2022 season.
Monticello should provide a nice test for the 'Cats as Rison prepares for its Aug. 25 season opener at home against Dumas. The Billies were young last year and bring back a lot of experience. Monticello returns eight starters on both sides of the ball off a team that went 4-6, according to Hooten's Arkansas Foot- ball.
Carmikle said the Billies are nearly a mirror image of his Wildcats in that they have a multiple/spread offense and use a 43 on defense.
Monticello's senior quarterback, Brooks Bowman, started eight games last year connecting on 69-of-143 passes for 1,006 yards. He is joined in the offensive backfield by senior running back Jon'tavion Lambert, who racked up 1,025 yards on 204 carries.
Carmikle said he will be taking a cautious approach to the scrimmage. "You don't want to put too much salt in it because it can give you an unrealistic expectation of where you are at," he said.
A couple of things that Carmikle said he will be looking for Tuesday will be more consistency on both offense and defense, and see how the opposition attacks their perceived weaknesses. Offensively, he said he wants to see more consistency in catching the ball, and defensively, how well they tackle in space.
While most of the starting spots have been penciled in, Carmikle said there are still some...
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