RISON - It will be trench warfare this Thursday night when the Rison Wildcats cattle the Class 4A Haskell Harmony Grove Cardinals at George Walker Field of Champions. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.While most varsity games are played on Fridays, this game was moved to Thursday night since it will be televised as KARZ Channel 42's Fearless Friday Game of the Week.Rison enters the game 1-0 after knocking off the Harmony Grove (Ouachita County) Hornets, 3619, in the Wildcats' season opener last Friday night at Harmony Grove. The Cardinals, meanwhile, come in at 0-1 after dropping their Aug. 29 opener at Clinton, 34-14. In hindsight, that setback to the Yellowjackets is more respectable than at first glance considering Clinton went on the road this past Friday night to roll past Heber Springs, 38-14.Both teams feature ground-oriented offenses so Vereen said he is expecting a quick game this Thursday night. What concerns him most about the Cardinals, he said, is that they return 11 starters on both sides of the ball with a senior-heavy starting line-up that fuels a run-based Diamond T offense that can eat a lot of clock.And he's speaking from experience. In last year's game at Harmony Grove, the Wildcats seemed to have the game under control with a comfortable 28-7 halftime lead. But in the second half, a high snap on a punt led to a touchdown and the momentum quickly swung to the Cardinals' favor as their ball-control offense took over. Rison, however, hung on for a 28-20 win. One of those players that led the second-half comeback was All-State quarterback/running back Jaheim Noble. He was lined up behind center when the 'Cats played the Cards last year, but was eventually moved to running back due to injuries. Noble rushed for 1,070 yards on 201 carries with 11 touchdowns in 2024 as Harmony Grove finished fifth in the 7-4A conference to earn a playoff berth. The Cardinals return all five starters along the offensive line, including All-Conference ju...
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