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Tuesday, June 30, 2026
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Bulldogs Shut Out Bombers

Greenwood’s Defense rises to the occasion to hold out the Bombers 49-0

Junior Riley White Photo by Ross Fujibayashi

For the last two weeks Greenwood’s defense has had to face two extremely potent offenses on the ground and through the air. This week the Bulldogs stood tall on the home field and held the Bombers offense to 138 total yards of offense. They only allowed 100 on the ground and just 38 passing yards. The biggest part of that coming off of five turnovers, 3 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. “That’s awesome, we were minus 7 and we’ve never been minus 7 the first two games. Coach Gill and those guys did a good job catching us back up. Hopefully we can get back in the positive numbers next week.” said Head Coach Chris Young

Mountain Home would take the opening kickoff and stall electing to punt. Bulldogs would drive down the field with Senior Running Back Javon Williamson finding a hole in the defense and scoring the touchdown. The Bombers next drive would be stopped by a Josh Allen interception. Seven plays later, Hunter Houston would find Javon Williamson who would take it in for the Greenwood touchdown. Sebastian County Farm Bureau Player of the Week, Steven Duran’s kick would be good pushing the score to 14-0.

Senior Javon Williamson Photo by Ross Fujibayashi

Mountain Home’s next possession would and in a Landon Nelms interception that he would take into the end zone. A penalty would negate the touchdown. Greenwood would still find the end zone on a Hunter Houston toss to Grant Karnes. The First Quarter would end Greenwood 21 Mountain Home 0.

Mountain Home would punt pinning Greenwood deep in their own territory on the 10 yard line. Houston would pass to classmate Aiden Kennon for the touchdown, extra point was good pushing the lead to 28. Mountain Home would have their drive once again stopped by a turnover with Riley White picking one of two fumble recoveries. Coach Young said postgame about the Junior, “Riley’s a great kid. He plays with a high motor and he’s moving around. He’s just getting better with every game.”

Javon Williamson would get the call from 1 yard out to get his 3rd score of the night. Another drive another Bomber turnover as Riley White would get his second fumble recovery. Greenwood would get the ball on the 15 and two plays later Freshmen QB Kane Archer would call his own number and run it in for the touchdown. Mountain Home would drive down and try to punch it in before the end of the half but come up short on 4th down. Bulldogs with the lead, 42-0 at halftime.

With both teams first drives ending in punts, Greenwood’s 2nd drive would be highlighted by a one-handed catch by Grant Karnes and Kane Archer connecting with Sophomore Isaiah Arrington for the 2nd half’s only touchdown.

Senior Tanner McKusker Photo by Ross Fujibayashi

Mountain Home would start the 4th quarter once again driving into Greenwood territory but a Caden Nelms, Cousin to Landon Nelms, interception would stop the Bombers hopes of putting points on the board. On Mountain Homes last play they would throw deep with Freshman Jacob Cruz and Sophomore Kaylor Jasna in coverage. Cruz would drop the would be interception ending the game.

“We got a little better this week. Still frustrated by mistakes we made tonight, obviously we can’t have those silly penalties. That’s not us, we (have) got to be smarter than that. Those will come back and get you in a big ball game.” Coach Young went on to say “It was a good win. Defense played with a lot of confidence, getting the shut out was big for those guys after the last two weeks. Proud of them. We just have to continue to get better. We got the opportunity if we continue to get better each to have a chance, that’s our goal.”

Greenwood moves to 2-1 and 1-0 in conference. Next week the Bulldogs face the Panthers of Siloam Springs at Panther Stadium in Siloam Springs. Live Stream provided by Greenwood Dog Pound and Greenwood Sports Center on YouTube.

Eagles Show Significant Improvement in Road Loss at West Fork

The Paris football program is a proud program with a proud past of alumni who have played for the Eagles over many years. The pride in the program transcends every player on the current roster. Most recently, the Eagles football program has won 23 games over the two previous seasons, and this year’s rebuild of the program has had three painful weeks.

For the third week in a row, the young Eagles have played deep and experienced teams. In zero week, the turnover bug took the Eagles out of their opener at Waldron. In week one, the Eagles ran into a deep and experienced Mansfield team that will likely make the playoffs in their conference this year. Tonight, Paris traveled to West Fork, and, again, ran into a experienced Tigers roster.

But from this writer’s perspective, tonight’s game was a big step forward for the Eagles. Make no mistake, this is a program that does not believe in moral victories. The Eagles take no consolation in losing at West Fork 13-0. But, in the evaluation of the effort, the progress, and the coaching staff who is trying everything they can do to facilitate the Eagles development and competitiveness, tonight was definitely a step forward.

The game started with West Fork, behind their big and physical offensive line, marching down the field methodically and eventually into the end zone. The Tigers scored again in the second quarter, but missed a point after touchdown attempt, and the teams went into the locker room with West Fork leading, 13-0.

But the Eagles are showing their fans that there is no quit in this team. They are struggling, but, they play hard on every down for the entire game. Paris was able to shut out West Fork in the second half, and offensively, the Eagles had a couple of scoring opportunities on possessions inside the West Fork thirty yard line but were unable to sustain drives and turn them into points. The game ended with West Fork getting a 13-0 home win.

Paris continues to improve, and that is a credit to the character of the players, as well as the hard work of the coaching staff. Paris head coach Jeff Weaver has plenty this week that is positive to share with his players and to use in continuing to teach and improve as a team. There will be opportunities down the schedule for Paris to win some conference games, and, possibly qualify for the playoffs. That would be a huge accomplishment for this team, and Paris fans need to continue to show up big and support this young team. And speaking of showing up big, the Paris fan base can be very proud of the good crowd that made the trip on Friday night to Northwest Arkansas to support their Eagles! Great job Paris fans!

Paris will have a bye week next week that will give the team a chance to rest, heal from the nicks they may have from the first three games, and to work on fixing issues that continue to be a challenge for the team. Tonight I saw a Paris team that gave up a size advantage to West Fork, but played hard and matched the Tigers’ physicality for the most part. You cannot doubt the heart of the Paris Eagles.

Paris will return home on September 23 to open conference play with Glen Rose. RNN Sports will be in Charleston next week for our feature coverage of the Charleston Tigers and the Nashville Scrappers.

Photos from tonight’s game will be posted on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports on Sunday night. Stay with RNN Sports for the best in Paris Eagles football coverage!

JR Tigers Run Bulldogs Ragged

The Mansfield JR Tigers usually don’t care much about how they look, but their on-field style has been high-class lately. Mansfield was walking fancy with snakeskin boots after their beating Magazine in their first game. Unfortunately, the Tigers were short-changed getting a feather in their hat last week when their game against the Paris Eagles got canceled due to weather. So the 1-0 Tigers took to the road and headed to Waldron on Thursday, September 8th to see if they could fetch a fancy collar from the Bulldogs.

The JR Tigers planning their next offensive move.
Photo courtesy of Raine Hecox

Mansfield received the opening kickoff and proceeded to march down the field on Waldron. The Tigers opted to go with their typical ground-and-pound rushing attack with Ethan Martin, Dawson Robinson, and Zander Walters to take command of the field early. The trio gashed and bashed Waldron’s defense driving the ball down to the five-yard line in just seven plays. Mansfield had the pedal to the floor but ran out of gas and ended up turning the ball over to Waldron after failing to capitalize on 4th down. Waldron was able to get a few solid plays off but the Tigers held strong until the end of the first quarter leaving the game knotted up with the scoreboard sitting at 0-0.

Running back, Dawson Robinson, throws down a would-be Waldron tackler.
Photo courtesy of Raine Hecox

Waldron kept the ball as the second quarter started and the Tigers defense quickly latched on to the Bulldogs. Head Coach, Tim Cothran, released the chains on his linebackers as Dawson Robinson, Ethan Martin, Zander Walters, and Alex Hecox took turns blitzing Waldron’s backfield forcing the Bulldogs to run for their lives. The chaos Mansfield’s linebackers created caused Waldron to make mental mistakes which resulted in penalty flags hitting the turf against the Bulldogs. Mansfield was able to get the ball back on offense and showed Waldron that they’re not just a one-trick Tiger. Using the talented running back trio in their opening drive opened up the opportunity for Mansfield’s passing game to take off on the second drive downfield.

Running back, Zander Walters, being helped by linemen Levi Langford (#64) and Logan Ore (#72).
Photo Courtesy of Raine Hecox

Quarterback, Cooper Edwards, was still handing the ball off to his running backs but would now and then sling passes to Ethan Martin, Matthew Burton, and receiver Joseph Carter to keep the Bulldogs defense honest. The now honest Bulldogs were soon after caught off guard when Cooper Edwards lied with a fake handoff and found Joseph Carter for a big 33-yard pass completion. The completion set up Zander Walters for a five-yard dive into the end zone for a Tiger Touchdown. Matthew Burton would catch a quick pass from Cooper Edwards in the corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion to put Mansfield up 8-0. The Bulldogs would try to even things up before the half, but the Tigers linebacker corps along with defensive ends Braxton Bartlett and Matthew Burton put an end to their attempt as the half closed with Mansfield leading 8-0.

Ethan Martin (#24) reaches for a pass right before scoring on Waldron.
Photo courtesy of Raine Hecox

The Tigers started the second half with the same intensity as they ended the first half. Even though Waldron started the half with the ball, Mansfield’s defense forced a quick three and out on the Bulldogs offense. Just like clockwork, the Tigers were back at their rushing attack as momentum rolled up as well as the Tigers running backs ran downfield. Mansfield capitalized on the rushing games momentum as Cooper Edwards zipped a perfect pass to a wide-open Ethan Martin for a 34-yard Tiger touchdown. Edwards would again find Martin open for a pass as the Tigers tacked on the two-point conversion stretching the score to 16-0 in Mansfield’s favor.

Logan Newman (#16) breaks down to put a Waldron runner on the turf.
Photo courtesy of Raine Hecox

Mansfield kept their ears pinned back on the ensuing kickoff as Dalton Knowles and Zander Walters forced a fumble on the Bulldogs return with Dawson Robinson recovering the ball for the Tigers. With a 16-0 lead, Mansfield was content with playing it safe and continued to run the ball while running the clock out at the same time. While the Tigers running backs were getting the glory, the offensive line was owning the trenches. Linemen Cadien Ore, Logan Ore, James Bausley, Levi Langford, and Weston Harrison plowed over Waldron’s defense all night and didn’t let up in the fourth quarter. Proof of that came when James Baulsey locked up with a Bulldog defensive lineman and drove him 15 yards backward before pancaking the defender. A few snaps later the Tigers lined up in victory formation and downed the ball to end the game with a 16-0 win over Waldron.

Zander Walters (#6) aims for a touchdown as he rounds the corner.
Photo courtesy of Raine Hecox

The win gives Mansfield’s JR High a 2-0 record and bragging rights over Scott County for 2022. That being said, the town of Mansfield sits in two different counties. There’ll be no rest for the Tigers as they’ll roll into Hackett next week to vie for the Sebastian County crown. The Tigers vs Hornets matchup will not only be for bragging rights between rivals, but it’ll also be the first 3A-1 conference game of the season for both programs.

The Forging Place – As Iron Sharpens Iron

Change…it’s rarely easy. Of course, anything worthwhile never is. When it comes to mental health, however, change can be an ongoing course for all of us as we strive to be better, healthier human beings.

The Forging Place has made it a mission to assist its clients in this journey. This diverse team of licensed specialists serve the greater Fort Smith area, Van Buren, Greenwood and Mena. “We offer both marital counseling and behavioral therapy – helping our clients to receive healing treatment in a trustworthy environment.” – The Forging Place website

Originating in 2013 in Van Buren, The Forging Place would eventually expand its coverage. The clinic offers services including marriage counseling, behavioral issues in children and teens, grief, anxiety, trauma, substance dependency, PTSD, and counseling for police and first responders.

Haley Bryant, LPC, LMFT, is the Clinical Director. “The name ‘The Forging Place’ is based on the scripture Proverbs 27:17,” shared Bryant. “Therapy is hard work, and as they work through the program it’s like a new creation is formed.”

This month, The Forging Place held its open house at its new location in Greenwood on 511 W. Denver Street.

“The vision is to have a place for anyone who needs help to come, regardless of their financial abilities,” continued Bryant. “If money is an issue, don’t want to turn anyone away.” With that in mind, The Forging Place has utilized an internship program.

The three locations boast 12 therapists, each with their own area of specialty. The main office is located at 1304 Cherry St., Van Buren, AR 72956​. For more information you can contact The Forging Place: Fort Smith, Van Buren Individual and Relationship Counseling:

Tel:  (479) 310-9096​
Business Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday: 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM


Merrit Wins Magazine Invitational; Jr. Lady Rattlers Finish as Runner-up

Note to Our Readers: The following story was sourced in its entirety from Mr. Jonathan Gipson, Director of Social Media Relations, Magazine School District. Mr. Gipson is a RNN Sports contributor, and we thank him for bringing our readers this story!

MAGAZINE – After posting a personal-record performance in the season-opening Shiloh Christian Saints Invitational over the Labor Day weekend, Elizabeth Merritt picked up where she left off here Tuesday afternoon in the Magazine Lady Rattlers’ home opener.

The sophomore edged Mount Ida’s Peyton Macejewski by 5 seconds to win the Magazine Cross Country Invitational.

Running in hot and humid conditions, Merritt covered the 1 ½ -mile course in 9:14 to win the first of two home cross country meets for Magazine this season. Macejewski finished runner-up in the 31-runner event with a time of 9:19. Acorn’s Bella Tedder was third (10:27), followed in the Top 5 by Mansfield’s Laney Wood (10:46) and Jadelyn Wood (11:02).

Waldron, which placed three runners in the Top 10, won the event. Mansfield was second, and Danville was third.

Merritt began the season with a runner-up finish in the 1A-4A Division of the Saints Invitational in Springdale, a 5k event that drew 51 runners. Merritt, who finished 10th overall among all classifications, covered the course in a time of 21:32.05, just behind winner Julia Whorton of Gravette with a time of 20:42.43.

Freshman Phoebe Hopper covered the course in 10:32 to finish runner-up in the junior high girls race, which drew 80 runners. Cedarville’s Emily McCutcheon won the event with a time of 10:17.

Hopper’s performance helped lead the Junior Lady Rattlers to a runner-up finish in the six-team event. DeQueen, which had three runners finish in the Top 20, won the event. Waldron was third, followed by Acorn, Lavaca and Danville.

Special to RNN Sports / Jonathan Gipson

Hopper was one of three Junior Lady Rattlers to finish in the Top 20. Cecilia Mora finished 13th (11:41), and Serenity Mora finished 14th (11:43). Zoey Thurman finished 31st (12:57), Emily Reddy finished 42nd (14:01), Dessi Carolan finished 54th (15:10).

Seventh-grader Connor Hopper finished 54th in the 63-runner junior high boys race, covering the 1 ½-mile course in a time of 14:41.

DeQueen’s Jakrys Munoz won the event with a time of 8:28, helping the Junior Leopards win the event over runner-up Mansfield. Waldron was third, followed by Lamar, Booneville and Lavaca.

Cutline (Elizabeth Merritt)

Magazine sophomore Elizabeth Merritt won the Senior High Girls Division of the Magazine Cross Country Invitational on Tuesday at Magazine High School. (Photo courtesy of Monica Merritt)

Cutline (Junior Lady Rattlers)

The Magazine Junior Lady Rattlers finished runner-up in the Junior High Girls Division in Tuesday’s home-opening Magazine Cross Country Invitational at Magazine High School. (Photo courtesy of Monica Merritt)

Magazine School Lunch Makeover, Parents Welcome

By Brandy Young

On September 9, 2022, Magazine School District hosted a “grand re-opening” of its cafeteria services to celebrate their partnership with K-12 Culinary Connection.

Magazine School District has been making big changes on campus to improve the school experience for all of its students and staff, and one of the most anticipated is the partnership with K-12 Culinary Connection, an Arkansas-based food service management company. Their goal and the goal of the school district is to provide students with restaurant-quality food and healthy options on a daily basis. Students now have a choice between two entrees each day, something the district has never offered before.

During the month of August, chefs form K-12 Culinary Connection worked closely with the child nutrition staff at Magazine schools teaching new recipes and cooking techniques. On Friday, September 9, the district invited parents to see (and taste) these changes for themselves. At both the high school and elementary campuses, a choice of orange chicken with fried rice or pepperoni pizza and broccoli was on the menu for the event, along with a fresh salad bar and fresh fruit.

Magazine High School Junior Elijah Ward, who transferred to Magazine this year from a larger district described the meal as “phenomenal.” He stated, “It was the best school food I’ve ever eaten, even from a bigger school like Pottsville.” Elijah looks forward to seeing what else they offer in the future. Superintendent Dr. Beth Shumate shared her favorite part of the grand opening – when one elementary student tried the orange chicken for the first time and enthusiastically exclaimed, “I didn’t know I would like it SO MUCH!”

Dr. Shumate is very excited about the partnership and what it can offer not just the students, but also the community. Parents and grandparents have always been encouraged to join their student for lunch, and now they will have even more reasons to visit. “Any time a parent wants to come and have lunch with their child, we welcome them,” stated Shumate. Although this practice was put on hold during the pandemic, the school has begun allowing visitors again. September 12-16, Magazine Elementary will host a Grandparent’s Day Celebration, inviting all grandparents to have breakfast or lunch with their students. However, visitors are welcome at any time and do not have to wait for special school events to participate.

The cost of an adult lunch is $3.75, and all visitors must check in at the school office. For questions, call the Elementary or High School at 866-900-2001.

Paris Schools to Hold Parent / Teacher Conference Day on September 22

The Paris Schools have announced that fall Parent / Teacher Conference Night will be held on September 22. Information regarding the specific times for your child’s school may be found on the district’s website at parisschools.org, or by calling the school. The conference night will return to its “Open House” format for this school year. Parents should note that school will dismiss early that day at 1:30 p.m. and conferences will be held from 2 – 7 p.m.

The September 22 conferences are the first of two nights that are held throughout the school year. A second date will be held during the spring semester.

Centerwell Home Health takes over Kindred


Kindred Home Health has been serving the area for the past six years under the Kindred name. On September 1, 2022 Kindred became Centerwell Home Health under Humana. With the change comes new management with Jordan Gilbert, RN as Branch Director and Lydia Dorr, RN as clinical manager. They are working on “Bringing Compassionate Care Home”.

Centerwell Home Health covers a 50 mile radius including towns such as Waldron, Mena, Mt Ida, Booneville, Paris, Magazine, Mansfield and the surrounding rural areas. With a staff of twenty people care is provided under the direct order of patient’s primary care provider and/or specialists. 

Specializing in skilled nursing, physical therapy, and speech therapy. Services offered include: disease management and education, medication teaching/education, wound care, IV infusions, ostomy supplies/teaching/education, catheter supplies/teaching/education, IM injections, at home physical therapy. Additional services Centerwell Home health can provide access to for their patients: at home X-rays, DME equipment, at home EKG’s, home health aides. 

A wide variety of insurances is accepted, including (but not limited to) Medicare, AETNA, Arkansas Health and Wellness, Blue Cross Blue Shield Medipak, Humana, AMBETTER/WellCare. For more information, contact at 479-637-0914. Centerwell Home Health is located at 72 W 2nd St in Waldron. 

Centerwell Home Health staff


Medical Records/Billing Specialist Brianna Runion was given a token of appreciation in the form of a Bronze Coin Touchstone during the celebration for the new management. Brianna was complimented for her support towards other Centerwell branches in addition to her work at the Waldron branch during the transition in management.

Centerwell is accepting applications for Registered Nurses, Physical Therapist, and Occupational Therapists. Full time and PRN shifts are available.

Battle of the Titans Set for Friday When Harding Academy Travels to Booneville

Note to Our Readers: The following story was sourced in its entirety from Mr. Glenn Parrish, Director of Communications, Booneville School District. Mr. Parrish is a RNN Sports contributor.

The Booneville Bearcats and Harding Academy have met three times. All have been since 2015. All of those games were in Searcy.

They meet for a fourth time on Friday night, but this time the game is at Bearcat Stadium, where Booneville has won 268 times since the stadium opened in 1968, including 16 times with Doc Crowley as the head coach.

Of course Friday night’s game will be a tall order for the Bearcats as Harding, after having knocked the Bearcats out of the playoffs in the 2020 quarterfinals and 2021 semifinals, then went on to win the Class 3A state title.

That marked three straight years the Wildcats won a state title.

Ironically, in the only other meeting between the two schools, the Bearcats fell to a 2015 Wildcat team in the opening round of the playoffs and Harding went on to win that state title as well.

To date Harding has won nine state titles.

However, the Wildcats will not win the 3A state title in 2022. The Wildcats have been assigned to Class 4A for the next four years due to a competitive equity formula put in place through a vote of Arkansas Activities Association members.

That formula assessed 1 to 4 points for competitive performances with the highest of the maximum four assessed to state title winning private schools. Schools with more than 10 points over four years were moved up a classification. Harding well exceeded that threshold.

The Wildcats started the 2022 season with a 51-35 win over Class 5A Valley View, who last season interrupted a lengthy Wildcat win streak against in-state opponents.

They followed that up with a 41-14 win at 3A title contending Camden Harmony Grove last week.

The Bearcats opened the season with a 36-6 road win over Dollarway (Pine Bluff) and added a  35-7 win over rival Ozark in a game they dominated from start to finish.

In those two games Dax Goff ran for 245 yards on 17 carries scoring three touchdowns. He has also returned a punt for a touchdown and leads the team in tackles, including five for a loss.

Trace Hall has run for 185 yards and three touchdowns as well. Dunn Daniel and Demari Poole are the next two top tacklers.

Financial Focus: When Should You Adjust Your Investment Mix?

By Jeffery O’Neal, Financial Advisor

There are no shortcuts to investment success – you need to establish a long-term strategy and stick with it. This means that you’ll want to create an investment mix based on your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon – and then regularly review this mix to ensure it’s still meeting your needs.

In fact, investing for the long term doesn’t necessarily mean you should lock your investments in forever. Throughout your life, you’ll likely need to make some changes.

Of course, everyone’s situation is different and there’s no prescribed formula of when and how you should adjust your investments. But some possibilities may be worth considering.

For example, a few years before you retire, you may want to re-evaluate your risk exposure and consider moving part of your portfolio into a more risk-averse position. When you were decades away from retiring, you may have felt more comfortable with a more aggressive positioning because you had time to “bounce back” from any market downturns. But as you near retirement, it may make sense to lower your risk level. And as part of a move toward a reduced-risk approach, you also may want to evaluate the “cash” positions in your portfolio. When the market has gone through a decline, as has been the case in 2022, you may not want to tap into your portfolio to meet short-term and emergency needs, so having sufficient cash on hand is important. Keep in mind, though, that having too much cash on the “sidelines” may affect your ability to reach your long-term goals.

Even if you decide to adopt a more risk-averse investment position before you retire, though, you may still benefit from some growth-oriented investments in your portfolio to help you keep ahead of – or at least keep pace with – inflation. As you know, inflation has surged in 2022, but even when it’s been relatively mild, it can still erode your purchasing power significantly over time.
Changes in your own goals or circumstances may also lead you to modify your investment mix. You might decide to retire earlier or later than you originally planned. You might even change your plans for the type of retirement you want, choosing to work part-time for a few years. Your family situation may change – perhaps you have another child for whom you’d like to save and invest for college. Any of these events could lead you to review your portfolio to find new opportunities or to adjust your risk level – or both.

You might wonder if you should also consider changing your investment mix in response to external forces, such as higher interest rates or the rise in inflation this year. It’s certainly true that these types of events can affect parts of your portfolio, but it may not be advisable to react
by shuffling your investment mix. In the first place, nobody can really predict how long these forces will keep their momentum – it’s quite possible, for instance, that inflation will have subsided noticeably within a year. But more importantly, you should make investment moves based on the factors we’ve already discussed: your goals, risk tolerance, time horizon and individual circumstances.

By reviewing your portfolio regularly, possibly with the assistance of a financial professional, you can help ensure that your investment mix will always be appropriate for your needs and goals.

This article is provided by Jeffrey O’Neal, Financial Advisor
Edward Jones
20 N Express St, Paris, AR 72855
479-963-1321
jeffrey.o’neal@edwardjones.com
edwardjones.com/jeffrey-o’neal
Edward Jones, Member SIPC