RISON - The scenario is simple for the Rison Wildcats when they make the 19-mile trip to Paul “Bear” Bryant Stadium to face the Fordyce Redbugs this Friday night in another 8-3A conference showdown.
Win and the ‘Cats have at least a shot at winning the conference title.
Lose and Rison will likely finish fifth in the league and expect a long road trip for the first round of the playoffs.
Rison Coach Chris Vereen said that is the scenario he is laying out for the Wildcats this week in preparation of Friday’s 7 p.m. kickoff in one of the state’s longest and most storied high school football rivalries. The ‘Bugs hold a 41-28-5 advantage in the series.
Both teams enter the game with 6-2 overall records. The Redbugs are tied with Lake Village and Helena for the 8-3A lead with 4-1 conference marks. The Wildcats are 3-2 and tied with McGehee for fourth.
This will be the Wildcats’ final regular season game of the year. Rison was scheduled to play Barton in the regular season finale, but the Bears dropped down to eight-man football due to low numbers.
Fordyce, meanwhile, will finish out with Rison this week and a road trip to McGehee next week.
The two teams have played four common opponents in conference. Both have beaten Dumas and Drew Central while splitting their games with Helena and Lake Village. Rison won at Helena (40-24) while falling at Lake Village (44-39) last week. Fordyce lost at Helena (48-42) but beat Lake Village (60-8) at home.
Vereen said he is seeing a different Fordyce team since that Helena loss back on Oct. 9. The Redbugs have rebounded with two blowout wins, drumming Lake Village by 52 and knocking off Dumas 60-28 on the road last week.
The Redbugs are averaging 49.1 points per game while giving up an average of 26.4 points per game. The Wildcats are averaging 45.5 points per game while giving up 29.8 points per game.
Fordyce seems to have hit its stride with heralded junior quarterback Andreal “Cadillac” Ellison, Jr. back behind center. The Redbugs have put up …