FORDYCE - The Rison Junior Wildcats closed out their season in commanding fashion Thursday night, earning a 30–6 victory over Fordyce to finish with a 7–1 record and a share of the 8-3A Conference Championship.The Junior Wildcats finished 71 in league play along with Fordyce and McGehee, officially making it a three-way championship among all three teams.Rison Coach Chris Vereen said there is no official tie-breaker system included in the conference constitution to determine a junior high football champion. However, he said if the same tiebreaker system used for the varsity teams was applied to the junior high teams, the Junior Wildcats would have been declared the winner.The Junior 'Cats set the tone early, opening the game with a 10-play, 61-yard drive capped by a four-yard quarterback keeper from Logan McGarity with 2:19 left in the first quarter. Payne Prescott added the two-point conversion to give the Wildcats an 8–0 lead.Fordyce answered midway through the second quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by their quarterback, trimming the lead to 8–6 after Rison stopped the two-point try. That would be the Redbugs' only score of the night, as the Wildcats responded with 22 unanswered points to secure the win.Trent Southerland recovered Fordyce's onside kick attempt after their lone touchdown, setting up Rison at the Redbugs' 46-yard line. The Wildcats then marched 54 yards in 10 plays, finishing with an eight-yard touchdown run by Prescott with 1:29 left in the first half. Deion Jones added the two-point conversion to make it 16–6.Fordyce threatened again late in the half, but Southerland intercepted a pass inside the 15yard line and returned it 22 yards to preserve Rison's lead at the break.The Wildcats' defense continued to dominate in the second half, stopping Fordyce on a fourth-and-four attempt near midfield. Although Rison fumbled the ball away shortly after, Noah Wells made up for it two plays later ...
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