RISON - A rash of five balls on the ground, three of them lost fumbles, along with a pass interception, allowed Rison’s homecoming guests to hang around for almost 32 minutes of Friday night's 8-3A Conference contest at George Walker Field of Champions. Then a precarious two-touchdown lead quickly turned on a long pass interception return, as the floodgates opened for the Wildcats during about a 10-minute span, and they went on to “mercy rule” the Drew Central Pirates, 56-13.The win sent Rison to 7-0 on the season and 4-0 in the conference, while Drew Central fell to 1-6 and 1-3. The Wildcats are now 71-7 in homecoming games in the post World War II era of football at the school, and they lead the overall series with the Pirates, 11-0.“You can’t put the ball on the ground four times in one (the first) quarter and expect to win many games, especially against a team like Fordyce, or a playoff game,” Rison head coach Chris Vereen said, as he reviewed the shaky start against Drew Central. “And it’s not a one person thing. We had four different guys put the ball on the ground. We have to do better at securing the ball. I really believe that our first fumble after we went up 140 was the big play that kept us from blowing it open before the half. Then they got a scoop and score, and all of a sudden it’s 1413. Who knows what happens then. But I hope this can be a lesson for us as a team, to get us to focus on the game. But, other than the turnovers (three lost fumbles and an interception), I thought we did a real good job. There certainly wasn’t a lack of effort on our part. They (Drew Central) have good athletes. So, except for one big play, I thought we did a real good job stopping them.”Commenting about his team's last turnover, late in the third quarter, when Keyshawn Haywood couldn't get a grasp on a low, bounding punt, Vereen remarked, “We haven’t been returning punts, but since some of their kicks had been line drives...
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