RISON - Before the season started, Rison Coach Chris Vereen said all of his peers in the 8-3A conference were feeling pretty good about their chances heading into this season.After the first week of conference action, it seems like he had some pretty accurate information.The Rison Wildcats will visit the Dumas Bobcats at 7 p.m. Friday for their first 8-3A road test of the season. Both teams come in at 1-0 in league play and 2-2 overall.While Rison managed to survive a second-half rally to post a 40-35 win over previously unbeaten Palestine-Wheatley last week, Dumas was squeaking by the Lake Village Beavers, 14-7, in its conference opener at Lake Village.Vereen said most fans would judge the Bobcats escaping with a narrow win over what has traditionally been one of the worst teams in the conference. But he is quick to point out that Lake Village was coming off blowout wins over Star City and Little Rock Hall, and the Beavers' only other loss before came in a 27-6 setback against Carlisle in the season opener. The Bison are currently undefeated and ranked fourth in Class 2A by Hooten's Arkansas Football.Instead of looking at it as Dumas dodging a bullett, Vereen said he sees it more as a quality win for the Bobcats.Dumas played a rugged nonconference schedule that included road trips to Class 4A powers Hamburg and Monticello, both currently ranked among the Top 20 by Hootens. The Bobcats opened the season with a 39-0 shutout of Class 4A Star City.Last week's game at Lake Village represented Dumas' third straight road trip, which means the Bobcats will be playing at home for the first time since Sept. 5 this Friday night.Dumas Coach Antonio Lovelady mixes up his spread offense with about a 50/50 split between the passing and running game, Vereen said. Vereen admits that the Bobcats' passing game concerns him, especially after his Wildcats gave up 299 yards through the air last week against Palestine-Wheatley. O...
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