Mountainburg Little League hosted the up and coming Magazine Rattlers on Saturday, September 28th in a battle of Fire vs Fangs. The game set what could be called a benchmark for the Dragons as they showed their hometown that they are growing into a formidable opponent for anyone to face.
The 3rd and 4th grade Dragons started off the night with a grinding match against the Rattlers. If defense wins championships, Mountainburgs 3rd and 4th grade are preparing for the big time. Mountainburg was able to keep Magazine from spreading the ball out to the parameters and stuffed the Rattlers in the backfield on multiple occasions. Although the Dragons sputtered at times on offense, fourth-grader Landon Linder was able to break free to scream downfield for 60 yards and the games only touchdown. Mountainburg stood strong for the remainder of the game to close the book on Magazine with a 6-0 victory.
The Dragons 3rd and 4th grade coach, Eddie Jones said “I thought the defense really played great. We were able to cause lots of three and outs and kept them from scoring. The offense at times looked good and at times not so good but they showed great improvement from the beginning of the season.”
Mountainburgs 5th and 6th grade walked onto the field to face what they knew would be a tough test. Magazine sat undefeated atop the WCFL in 5th and 6th grade competition, but that didn’t stop the Dragons from giving it all they had. The Dragons made a few good plays offensively, but could only get their drives into the end zone once in the game. Mountainburgs defense was tasked with stopping the Rattlers high powered offense, but Magazine was just too well rounded for them to hold off as the Dragons fell 30-8.
Mounatinburgs 5th and 6th grade Coach, Matt Byron stated “Magazine has a good squad. They outsized us on both the offensive and defensive lines. Their running back #7 was a monster. It took several of our guys to get him down when he wasn’t outrunning us around the end. They were bigger and way more physical than us, but our kids played their hearts out.”
The Mountainburg Little League Dragons are still pushing for a spot in the playoffs as both teams sit in the #5 spot in league play. The Dragons will head to West Fork on Saturday, October 5th and look to solidify their playoff hopes against the Tigers. Games will start at 6 p.m.
