RISON - Halloween night seems to be the perfect setting for the annual Rison-Fordyce clash as it has already been a very strange season for the Wildcats.The two teams are set to kick off their 74th meeting at 7 p.m. Friday night at George Walker Field of Champions.While the Wildcats and Redbugs don't have much in common as far as their records are concerned (Fordyce is 7-1 overall and 4-1 in conference while Rison is 3-5 and 2-3), they do have one common denominator - their most recent losses came to the Lake Village Beavers.Fordyce seemed to be ready to steamroll through the 8-3A when they rolled into Lake Village two weeks ago undefeated and ranked among the state's elite. But the Beavers pounced on some Redbug injuries and shocked the conference and the state with massive 21-6 upset victory.Those same high-riding Beavers paid a visit to Rison last week and came away with a nearly-as-shocking 52-12 win over the Wildcats.That loss was a major blow to Rison's hope of earning a playoff bid, and Coach Chris Vereen said the 'Cats will need to win at least one of their final two regular season games to even have "a chance" to get into the post season. Rison is currently in a fourway time for fourth in the conference standings with Drew Central, Lake Village and Palestine-Wheatley.One of the players that was missing from the Fordyce line-up when the 'Bugs made the trip to Lake Village was their All-State sophomore quarterback Andreal "Cadillac" Ellison. He and a few of the other starters were out in the game against the Beavers, and it hurt.Last week, however, Vereen said Ellison was back under center as Fordyce knocked off Dumas at home, 38-16, to move back into the driver's seat for the 8-3A title. Vereen said Ellison had tio play with a leg brace to address a knee issue. While it limited his mobility, he said he was still able to throw the ball.Fordyce was the overwhelming favorite to win the 8-3A conference t...
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