Note to Our Readers: The following story was contributed in its entirety by Mr. Glenn Parrish, Director of Communications, Booneville School District. Mr. Parrish is an RNN Sports contributor, and we thank him for bringing Booneville Bearcats coverage to our readers. At deadline time for this story, the Bearcats were on the road to Pine Bluff to play their opening game at Dollarway.

Exactly when Booneville and Ozark became the rivals they are today is probably, but predictably, debatable.

For decades the primary rival for the Bearcat program was within the borders of Logan County, as in Paris, but that changed in the 1980s.

In 1980 Booneville had a wildly uncharacteristic 3-7 season, but did beat the Hillbillies. In 1981 Ozark won a double overtime game, 19-12. Following that game there would be an O burned into the Bearcat Stadium turf, presumably with diesel.

Booneville won the next four years, including a 1984 game in which Ozark thought to be a statement making game. It would be as Booneville scored 41 first quarter points and won 49-0.  It was a 19-14 game in 1985.

In 1986, Ozark’s coach promised his team if they would pull off a win over Booneville, they could shave the score into the side of his head. He honored his pledge and was photographed with a 28 on one side and a 6 on the other.

Booneville got the last laugh that season, winning the school’s first state title.

In 1987 a first-round playoff pairing had the teams meeting in north Franklin County for week 11 and Ozark won for the second time that season.

The rivalry had more than arrived.

Since then there have been plenty of both one-sided – 41-0 Bearcats in 1991 and 49-11 in 2001 – as well as narrow games – the classic 56-48 1999 game and an equally classic 20-19 2020 affair – and the rivalry has ascended to the top spot in the minds of the Gen Xers and passed down to their offspring, although the so-called Boomers may still disagree.

Like any good rivalry, if not the records, logic is sometimes thrown out the window.

In 2001 Ozark won a game at Bearcat Stadium, but for the second time in school history, it was the Bearcats who hoisted a state title trophy in December.

In 2006 Ozark had clinched a conference title going into week 10. The Bearcats beat them anyway, giving that class of seniors a perfect record against the Hillbillies.

Between 2012 and 2020 the visiting team was 9-1 in the series. The Bearcats, however, won 42-12 at Bearcat Stadium in 2021 with sophomore Dax Goff recording his first 100-yard game.

Overall, Booneville leads the series by a lopsided margin.

• Mascots: Booneville Bearcats; Ozark Hillbillies
• When: 7 p.m., 9-2, at Doug Scheel Field at Bearcat Stadium
• Series: Booneville leads 53-27-4 (0.655)
• Last Meeting: Bearcats 42 Ozark 12 on 9-3-2021
• Streak: Booneville has won last 2
• First Meeting: Bearcats 45 Ozark 0 on 11-6-1924
• Conference Affiliations: Bearcats are 3A-1, Ozark is 4A-4

Note to Our Readers: The following story was contributed in its entirety by Ms. Celia Looney, Yearbook Adviser, County Line High School. Ms. Looney is an RNN contributor, and we thank her for bringing updates from the County Line school district to our readers.

The first fairs of the season were successful for County Line FFA and 4-H members. Students showed at either the North Logan County Fair at Paris or the North Franklin County Fair at Ozark the week of August 14.

At the Logan County Fair students brought home five Grand Champions, one Reserve Grand Champion, and four showmanship awards. County Line students earned eight Champions, eleven Reserve Champions, eleven Grand Champions, and two Showmanship Awards at the North Franklin County Fair. The students exhibited goats, lambs, poultry, rabbits, cattle, and horses. Next up for these students are the South Franklin County Fair at Charleston, and the South Logan County Fair at Booneville. Both fairs are the week of September 5

Over the past several seasons, Charleston has elected not to schedule “zero week” football games, instead opting to start their season in the true “Week One” of the high school football season. The Tigers choose to have an extra week of preseason practice to iron out the wrinkles from their preseason scrimmages, and to allow any summer injuries to have another week to heal before the start of games. This year is no different. The Tigers did not play on August 26, and their first game will be this Friday when the Tigers travel to Northwest Arkansas to play at Elkins. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

The two-time 3A-1 defending champs will be playing for the three-peat this year, and to move deep into the post-season’s state playoffs. For any team, once you get into the “final four” of the state tournament, any team can win the championship, and barring injuries, I expect Charleston to be right there in the hunt for another state title.

Charleston will feature a talented and experienced senior class that is full of athleticism. They are not as deep on the depth chart as they have been in recent years, and for the Tigers to reach their goals this year, they must avoid injuries. But this group of Tigers is loaded with athleticism, and this talented group will be led by their two-time all-state senior quarterback, Brandon Scott.

As a sports writer, Scott has been on my short list for the past two seasons as one of, if not the best quarterback in the state. There is always competition for that honor in programs such as Greenwood, to name one in particular, but Scott is a true competitor and is a leader that any coach would want to lead his troops into battle. Scott is a dual-threat quarterback with 4.6 speed and can throw the ball with great effectiveness. He is an excellent decision maker, perhaps buoyed by his academic prowess in the classroom. Scott carries a 4.0 grade point average into his senior year, as well.

Charleston will need every bit of their talent and experience when they face the Elkins Elks on Friday. At deadline time for this story, the Elks were getting ready to face their August 26 opponent, the Pottsville Apaches. So when Elkins takes the field to host the Tigers, they will have the benefit of having one game under their belts. That can always be a good or bad thing, especially if a zero week team suffers a significant injury. Hopefully that was not the case; fans will want to see both teams at full strength for this match-up.

Elkins plays in the 4A-1 conference with member schools Ozark, Gentry, Gravette, Green Forrest, Berryville, and Lincoln. The Elks are projected to finish runner-up to the Ozark Hillbillies in preseason polls.

The 2022 Elkins schedule includes:

August 26 at Pottsville

Sept 2 vs Charleston

Sept 9 at Clarksville

Sept 23 vs Gravette

Sept 30 at Huntsville

Oct 7 vs Berryville

Oct 14 at Green Forest

Oct 21 vs Ozark

Oct 28 at Gentry

Nov 4 vs Lincoln

According to Hooten’s Arkansas Football publication, the Elks have good depth at the quarterback position, but have a lack of depth on the line on both sides of the ball. The Charleston defensive and offensive lines must take control of the line of scrimmage for the Tigers to win the game. If Charleston gives quarterback Scott time to hit his talented receivers, the Tigers could light up the scoreboard on Friday night.

Charleston head football coach, Ricky May, assessed the Elks by saying, “They have two really good running backs with good speed. Their offensive line is big and gets after you. They have a couple good receivers that can go and one that catches everything in his direction. Defensively, they all fly to the ball and tackle well. Coach Watson and his staff do a tremendous job of getting their kids ready to play hard. We will have to be ready to play and get after it.”

Watch for post-game coverage over the weekend on RNN Sports’ online platform at residentnewsnetwork.com. Also, if you have not yet subscribed to the Logan County weekly newspaper, you can do so by going to the same address and clicking on the subscription link.

On behalf of RNN Sports, I would like to wish head coach Ricky May and his team the best of luck as they open the 2022 season on Friday. And on a side note, I will be in Charleston on Friday, September 16, to bring you exclusive coverage of the Tigers game with Nashville at Alumni Field! So, Tigers fans, travel safely, and enjoy the game!

It will be a nostalgic look back for both the Mansfield Tigers and the Paris Eagles as they meet again in a 3A non-conference game at Eagles Stadium on September 2. Long time conference rivals before the conference realignments a few years ago, the two teams have met many times before and have had several thrilling games.

The Red Tigers will bring a team into Paris that is peaking in its development as both a team and as a football program. The senior high football numbers are up, and Mansfield has a big number of returning seniors on this year’s team.

The Tigers play in the 3A-1 conference that includes Booneville, Charleston, Hackett, West Fork, Lavaca, Greenland and Cedarville. The 2022 season could be a season that sees the Tigers return to the Class 3A state playoffs. Critical games with Lavaca, Cedarville, West Fork, and Hackett will make the difference for Mansfield with respect to their playoff hopes.

At deadline time for this story, the Tigers were preparing for their August 26 non-conference opener at Magazine. Mansfield defeated the Rattlers a year ago by the score of 41-6. The Tigers 2022 schedule includes:

Sept 2 at Paris

Sept 16 vs Waldron

Sept 23 at West Fork

Sept 30 vs Greenland

Oct 7 vs Charleston

Oct 14 at Booneville

Oct 21 vs Lavaca

Oct 28 at Cedarville

Nov 4 vs Lavaca

The Tigers are coached by Tim Cothran and has an overall record at Mansfield of 10-20. Mansfield has ten returning starters each on both sides of the football and will bring a lot of quality experience and depth into their game Friday with Paris. The Tigers run the spread offense and the 4-2 on defense. Their last playoff appearance was in 2019, which at the time, was the second consecutive year for the Tigers in the program. In 2018, Mansfield advanced to the second round of the playoffs after defeating Melbourne at home and then losing the next week in a long road trip to Osceola.

Tigers coach Tim Cothran is excited about his team, their depth, and the returning experience they will have this year. When I asked Coach to comment about his team, the Tigers coach said, “We have our best numbers (number of players in the program) in some time. We have 30 players, including 13 seniors. Kids are working hard. I felt like we had a good scrimmage at Mena. Offense is led by Fisher Wilsey and Cole Kindle. Defense is led by Kindel Noblitt and Braxton Byers.”

And play well in the scrimmage, they did…Mansfield traveled to Mena to play in a preseason scrimmage two weeks ago and shocked the world by defeating the 4A Bearcats. Any coach or football savvy fan will tell you that honestly there is not much one can tell from a preseason scrimmage. The conditions are different than game conditions, and coaches tend to play things close to the vest to avoid displaying what they may do during the season. But, it is very noteworthy that Mansfield went to Mena and not only competed, but won the scrimmage. In this writer’s opinion, this may be an indication that Mansfield is about to turn the corner and be a legitimate contender for a playoff spot in the 3A-1 conference.

In full disclosure to our readers, I retired from Mansfield a few years ago as high school principal. I am still very partial to the Red Tigers. And one thing that I know for certain, Mansfield will come into Paris on Friday night focused on winning the game, and every player who steps onto the grass at Eagles Stadium wearing a red helmet will be laser-like focused on giving it everything that they have. Paris, and any other team who plays Mansfield this year, will have to be ready to play and match the intensity that the Red Tigers will bring to the game.

It should be a good football game for all fans, and you will want to get there early to get a seat for this one! And make sure you catch the post-game coverage on the RNN online platform this weekend. Just go to residentnewsnetwork.com and you can access this story at no charge.

And, as always, if you have not yet subscribed to the RNN Logan County weekly newspaper, you can go to the same address and subscribe by clicking on the subscription link.

Good luck to both teams, and RNN Sports will be there to bring you all of the action!