LAKE VILLAGE - Lake Village’s Arlan Wilson, Jr. scored from a yard out with 21 seconds left in the game as the Beavers squeezed out a 44-39 victory over the Rison Wildcats last Friday night in a wild showdown between two of the five teams in contention for the 8-3A conference championship.
Rison fell to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play with the loss, while Lake Village improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in league play. Both teams entered the game with 2-1 conference marks along with Fordyce, Helena and McGehee at the top of the 8-3A standings.
The game saw some huge momentum swings as Lake Village built a two-score lead in the first half, only to see Rison seize the upper hand in the third quarter to take its own two-score lead.
There was also some controversy in the game as Rison Coach Chris Vereen challenged the clock management at the close of both the first and second halves. (See related story on this page.)
The tempo for the game was set early on as the Wildcats needed just three plays to go 52 yards for a quick 7-0 lead on Kyson Walker’s 22-yard touchdown run with 10:46 left in the opening period. After a six-yard run by Aidan Bitely to get it started, quarterback Logan McGarity took it 26 yards down to the Beaver 22 to set up Walker’s TD. Bitely kicked the extra point.
Lake Village quickly answered as Wilson used his speed to rip off a 49-yard run down to the Rison 18 on the Beavers’ first snap. After an unsportsmanlike flag against Lakeside, Chad Dixon, Jr. broke through for a 31-yard touchdown run. Vincent King ran in the two-point conversion, and the Beavers were on top, 8-7, with 9:47 still left in the first quarter.
The ‘Cats responded with a nearly five-minute drive that took them from their own 48 down to a first-and-goal at the Lake Village 5. Bitely powered down to the 2 on the next play, and an offside penalty against the Beavers on the next made it second-and-goal from the 1.
But Walker was then caught in the backfield for a three-yard loss, and Bitel…