RISON - Rison Coach Chris Vereen hopes his Wildcats have a better understanding about how deep the 8-3A conference is this year as they prepare for the winless Drew Central Pirates this Friday night for homecoming. The game kicks off at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats should be fully focused on the Pirate after dropping a 32-26 decision to McGehee last week. The Owls entered that game with a 1-3 overall record, but they are now 2-1 in league play and are in a four-way tie for second in the 8-3A with Rison, Fordyce and Helena all sitting at 2-1. Lake Village sits at the top of the standings at 3-0.
Despite his efforts to warn them otherwise, Vereen said he felt his ‘Cats were probably overlooking the Owls. He said that should be a lesson not to look anyone, including a winless Drew Central team.
The Pirates will enter Friday night’s game 0-6. Despite that record, they have shown signs of life in their last two outings against conference contenders Fordyce and Lake Village.
Two weeks ago, Drew Central put up 50 against what was then top-ranked Fordyce, eventually falling by a 62-50 margin. Last week, the Pirates were down by four and posed to take the lead in the second half when league-leading Lake Village had a 95-yard scoop and score. That turned the game around, and Lake Village survived for a 46-32 win.
“They’re just the opposite of McGehee,” Vereen said about Drew Central. “McGehee has not put up a ton of points all year long, but McGehee particularly plays pretty good defense. They haven’t been giving up 50 points a game.
“Drew Central is on the opposite side of that spectrum,” he added. “They are giving up some points but they are putting up a lot of points too.”
To prove his point, Vereen pointed out that the Pirates put up 50 on Fordyce while Prescott, a perennial Class 3A power, managed just seven against those same Redbugs.
“I don’t know if Fordyce has given up 50 all year,” he said.
Drew Central is under new head coach Joe Spatafora, who took Union Parish (Farmerv…