The Charleston Tigers’ march toward a showdown later this month with the Booneville Bearcats continues on Friday when the Tigers host Hackett in a 3A-1 conference game. At deadline time for this story, the Tigers were making the trip over to Scott County to take on conference rival Mansfield. Mansfield, after losing at home the previous week to Greenland, had the backs against the wall going into their game with Charleston. Depending on the outcome of that game, this Friday’s game between Charleston and Hackett could have big playoff implications for both teams.
Going into this season, Hackett appeared to many as a strong contender for the number three seed in the conference behind Booneville and Charleston. The winner of the Booneville vs. Charleston game will likely be the top seed in the conference, as well as the likely conference champion. The loser could be the number two seed. But Hackett will have something to say about that. The Hornets are very talented at the skill positions. Hackett can score a lot of points offensively, putting tremendous pressure on the opposing teams’ defenses, as well as their offenses to both score points and to control the time of possession.
When asked about the Hornets, Charleston head football coach Ricky May said, “Hackett is very well coached by Coach Meador and their staff. They play hard and get after you pretty good. Their quarterback is really dangerous as he is a dual threat. He came in last year and led them on a couple of drives. They scored 46 points on Booneville so we know they can score. Their defense is really good at containing.”
The Tigers are undefeated so far in the 3A-1 conference with a road win at Greenland and a home win versus Cedarville. At press time for this story, Charleston was traveling to Mansfield for a critical road conference game with the Red Tigers. This Friday’s game with Hackett will bring the conference race more into focus as teams move into the second half of the season. At deadline time for this story, the Hornets were preparing to host Cedarville on the new artificial turf in Hackett.
Hackett is loaded at the quarterback position. Junior Cole Ketchum was an all-conference selection in 2021, and he is backed-up by sophomore Brycen Hamilton who led a very talented junior high team last year that went 6-3 on the season.
The Hornets’ head coach, Michael Meador, runs the spread offense that is capable of scoring a lot of points at any time. Defensively, the Hornets run the 3-4 set, and, according to Hootens’ Arkansas Football publication, may be vulnerable on the back end of the defense at the secondary positions.
Hackett finished the 2021 season with a 8-3 record, finishing third in their conference. The Hornets will undoubtedly go into the game with Charleston seeing it as a chance to improve in both their record and conference finish as a possible runner-up to Booneville if they can upset Charleston.
Charleston soundly defeated the Cedarville Pirates on September 30 by the score of 48-6. As I have mentioned in previous weeks, the Tigers played a very tough non-conference schedule and, again, it appears to be paying dividends for Charleston as they continue to play well in 3A-1 conference games. The biggest challenge for Tigers coach Ricky May could be maintaining his team’s focus each week and avoiding the temptation of looking to the Booneville clash on October 21. Hackett is a very dangerous team, and the Tigers must focus squarely on the Hornets to avoid the upset in front of the home fans.
Kickoff at Alumni Field in Charleston is set for 7 p.m. on Friday. The weather is perfect for high school football, and fans will not want to miss this exciting game. RNN Sports will have a recap of this game on its website at residentnewsnetwork.com and on social media next week. RNN Sports would also like to take the opportunity to again thank Mrs. Ronni Tate Young of Charleston for her continued great work and contributions of Charleston football images for our readers! Thanks again to her, and if you see her on the sidelines, tell her how much you appreciate her contributions to Tigers football!
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