In just five short years, Coach Max Washausen and his awesome coaching staff, have taken the Cedarville Pirate’s football program from a sinking ship to a greatly sought after vessel. Historically, the program has only had 5 winning seasons. But over the last few years, the Pirates have started becoming well known to the public. So far this season, Cedarville sits 3-2 in conference play, 6-2 overall and holds 312 total points while leaving their competitors to just 171. Between the 2015-2018 seasons, the Pirates held 5 conference wins. But from 2018-present, Cedarville has already almost doubled that at 9 conference wins with 2 conference games left on the season.
Last Friday night’s football game was a hard pill for the Pirates to swallow. Taking on the Greenland Pirates at Greenland, Cedarville ended the match falling short 28-26. “It was tough Friday night,” expressed Coach Washausen. “But I told my guys after the game, we are still a very good team and I was proud of them. We have lost two conference games by 2 points each on the road. That’s only 4 points away from being undefeated. If we win the last two games, we will tie the school record for most wins in a regular-season with 8 and was set in 1999. We can also host a playoff game for the 2nd time in school history with the first one held in 1999 as well.”
Offensively, QB, Cody Dickens launched 4 passes for 74 yards. Darryl Kattich rushed 19 times for 128 yards and 1 TD and earned 2 receptions for 43 yards. Hayden Partain made 10 carries for 48 yards and 1 reception for 4 yards. Hayden Morton scored big on the night with 5 rushes for 113 yards and 3 TDs. Bruce Turney grabbed 1 reception for 27 yards. And Tommy Metcalf earned a 2-yard rush. Defensively, Hayden Partain got 15 tackles. Max McGill scored 17 tackles and a sack. Darryl Kattich made 12 tackles. Hayden Morton gained 14 tackles. And Landon Hopewell finished with 12 tackles and 1 sack.
Next up for the Cedarville Sr High Pirates will be the 0-5 Mansfield Tigers whom they will host on Friday, October, 30. “Mansfield has turned into a rivalry game it seems like over the past 5 years. We have to prepare well because we get every team’s best effort. We need to continue to improve and we will be a threat in the playoffs.”
Note to Our Readers: We were unable to include photos in today’s story on the Tigers victory at Lincoln due to our photographer being in quarantine. We do hope to have pictures resuming again next week. Thank you for reading Resident Press.
It is something that every athlete who has played for Charleston knows and understands. And it is something that is embraced by every Tiger who has ever worn the uniform…when you play for Charleston, everyone brings their best game of the year against you. It is a tribute to the success of the Charleston athletic program, and everyone they play knows that they have to play well against the Tigers. Charleston coaches and their players embrace this as part of the Tiger tradition of excellence. And in Lincoln last Friday night, the Wolves gave Charleston everything that they had until they eventually succumbed to a 49-33 victory for Charleston.
Charleston (6-2, 5-0) remains in first place in the 3A-1 conference. Combined with a Greenland win over Cedarville last night, the Tigers now have a two game lead over Cedarville, and Greenland moves into second place in the conference behind Charleston. With two games to go in the conference season, Charleston can clinch the conference title this week with a win over West Fork, having the head-to-head tie breaker win over Greenland. A win this week and a win next week will give the Tigers the outright conference championship and the number one seed from the conference going into the state playoffs. This is quite an accomplishment for a very young Charleston team and their coach, Ricky May.
In my weekly Sunday interview with Coach May, he reflected on the Tigers performance at Lincoln. “Offensively, we played well. Didn’t turn the ball over. That was probably the difference in game, we didn’t (turn the ball over) and they did. They onside kicked the first two or three times, so we didn’t have very far to go. Really and truly, we just didn’t play very well on defense. After watching the film…after the game, I was a little bit upset…but after watching the film I was disappointed. Early on, we were up 15-0 and had them in a third and ten on their end and the wind was blowing like crazy. So, they were going to have to punt into that, and then we give up a big pass play on third down. I really felt like that if we hadn’t given up the pass we were getting ready to “mercy rule” them. But, we did. We gave up two big passes, right down the middle of the field. Just out of position. The first one we should have picked off, but their player jumped up and took it away from us. So, it comes down to us, and we did not play very good on defense Friday. Lincoln took advantage of some things we were not doing right, and hats off to those guys. We did have a fourth down stop right before the half, which was big. And we actually drove it back all the way to their thirty, but just ran out of time. The biggest issue was just giving up too many plays. We did, and they didn’t (give up big plays).”
Sometimes you have to find a way to win a game when you are not necessarily playing your best football. Charleston found a way to win, and that is encouraging for a young team playing late in the season on the road. “It worked out for us ok. We ended up winning the game. They always say an ugly win is better than an ugly loss. And that is definitely true. It was cold, and the conditions were a little different than we were used to, so that may have played into it a little bit.”
Lincoln is a former Class 4A program who has dropped in classification to Class 3A. The Wolves look like a team that can compete for and in the state playoffs. “No doubt that they can. They gave us their best shot, and I think they end up playing Cedarville in a couple of weeks and that is going to be a heck of a ballgame. If they play like they did last Friday, and they don’t always play like that. Like you said, they always play their best against us.”
After last Friday’s games in the conference, Greenland moved into second place with a big win over Cedarville. So the 3A-1 conference standings going into week nine are:
Charleston 5-0
Greenland 4-1
Cedarville 3-2
West Fork 3-2
Lincoln 2-2
Hackett 1-3
Lavaca 1-3
Mansfield 0-5
Week nine games in the conference include:
Charleston vs. West Fork
Greenland at Hackett
Mansfield at Cedarville
Lincoln at Lavaca
The biggest game in the conference will be Charleston hosting West Fork at Alumni Field. Charleston has head-to-head wins over everyone in the conference, and a win over West Fork will complete the sweep by Charleston over the top contenders in the conference. And again, a Tiger victory guarantees a share of the conference title, and a win against West Fork and in their final game with Lavaca gives the Tigers the outright conference championship.
West Fork runs the flexbone offense and has a massive offensive line. The West Fork Tigers want to run right at you, starting with their battering ram fullback, and gain three or four yards on every play. The want to control time of possession and control the clock. For Charleston fans who watch the preseason scrimmage against Booneville, the West Fork version of the flexbone is different than what the Bearcats run. West Fork runs a slow, methodical, and physical version of the offense, whereas Booneville has explosive speed and runs the option, particularly the outside pitch, to perfection.
West Fork’s Physical Flexbone Rushing Attack (Resident Press File Photo)
West Fork is currently fourth in the conference standings, but has a head-to-head loss with Lincoln. But, in the year of the COVID virus and its effect on high school football, the West Fork Tigers also have more conference wins than Lincoln due to a cancelled game that Lincoln had with a conference opponent earlier in the year. So, the West Fork Tigers need a win in Charleston Friday night. If they don’t get it, it will be very interesting to see how the conference awards the fourth seed in the playoffs. From Charleston’s perspective, they have to get ready to play a team that has their backs to the wall with the respect of being a seeded team in the playoffs. In the words of Coach May, every game matters.
I asked Coach May for his thoughts about West Fork as he enters the week of practice and preparation for this important conference game. Coach May said, “The run the ball really, really well. It all starts with their big fullback guy (all-conference fullback Brenan Cash), he’s a stud. They’ve got a kid named Ivy (wing back Ross Ivy, 4.7 speed) can really fly. If you watch film, you see them play-action pass people, and that has been what we have been struggling with defensively. Hopefully, we can get ours (defense) fixed and cover the pass. But they present some good problems. They have a lot of returners on the line. If you remember, we struggled with them a little bit up there at their place.”
The weather Friday night is supposed to be beautiful in Charleston for the Tigers’ final regular season home game. The 2020 edition of the Charleston Tigers is on the verge of winning a conference championship, but the Tigers need their fans to show up as they always do to cheer the Tigers to victory! A Charleston win this Friday brings yet another conference title to the proud Charleston football tradition, and most likely, home field advantage in the state playoffs.
The Bonanza Police Department was recently notified of a $5,000 cash grant award from the United States Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
Chief Mike Barber received the notice, and the accompanying check last week. Chief Barber stated he plans to install a computer system in the last remaining patrol car and possibly purchase a new handheld radio with the grant money.
Congratulations to the Bonanza Police Department on being chosen to receive this cash grant award!
Pictured: Mansfield Lady Tigers start post-season tour. Participating at the Southwest Regionals are cross country runners Cassidy Carlton, Faith Rainwater, Jadelynn Wood, Katlynn Moore, Darby Jones, and Alyssa James
Pre-season began in July. The regular season just ended. Now, Mansfield High School’s long-distance runners have entered phase three of their 2020 cross country season. It’s postseason time for the Tigers and they are working to go the distance.
Mansfield started the opening round of postseason play with a trip to Mena’s Lion Club for the Tom Stuthard Top 25 Southwest Regional on October 21. Hosted by Acorn, the regional meet gathered teams from class 4A through 1A.
It was the first stop of a three-pronged schedule the Tigers and Lady Tigers will enter in a 15-day span. The other two legs include the 2A-4 Conference meet and the Class 2A State Championships.
Because of their quality finish at the Stuthard Top 25, Mansfield could have added to their postseason plans. An invitation to the Southern District’s 1A-2A Regional on October 28 was on the table but declined. According to Mansfield coach John Mackey, the high school squad did not want to tackle such a compact schedule.
“It was flattering to get another meet,” said Mackey on the team’s invite. “For the high school runners, that would mean three meets in nine days. We already have a quick turnaround from district to state. The recovery time just wasn’t there. Our focus has to stay on the state prize.”
Mansfield’s junior high will however attend the Southern District Championship. As the coach explained, the junior high race is a much shorter distance. According to him, they would have run the 1.5-mile marker or more anyway on a normal practice day. Therefore, they decided to attend with a chance to pick up extra hardware.
The senior high Lady Tigers earned a lion’s share of the awards at the Lion’s Club race to start their season-ending tour. Five of the MHS girls landed inside the top 25. Because of their placement, Faith Rainwater (9), Jadelynn Wood (10), Darby Jones (13), Alyssa James (23), and Katlynn Moore (24) walked away with regional medals.
Darby Jones, Jadelynn Wood, Alyssa James, Faith Rainwater, and Katlynn Moore display their regional medals at the Mena’s Lions Club
As a group, the Mansfield 5K runners secured third place in the team standings. Only Class 3A Waldron and Class 4A Clarksville bettered the class 2A Tigers.
“The results were close to expectations,” confessed Mackey. “Waldron and Clarksville have two of the top runners in the state. Their supporting cast is pretty good as well. Waldron Is the defending 3A state champs, and Clarksville’s Chloe Weathers made the Arkansas-Oklahoma All-Star meet last season.”
“I’m proud of our progress however,” continued the coach. “Even DeQueen’s coach complimented our girls. He basically said he didn’t notice us much in the early season but now he thinks we are one of the hottest teams around, headed to the finish.”
Rainwater as she has done for much of the season was the Tigers’ lead runner. The junior held steady among a crowded field of contenders. She crossed the 5K finish in 23:50.0. It was her third fastest time of the season.
“Faith has been taking the lead by voice as well,” announced Mansfield’s head coach. “She has been imploring her teammates to stay with her. You can hear her calling for the team to stay in a pack and come with her when making a move. She knows that means one of them could potentially beat her. But more importantly, she knows that means the team can win.”
One of those connected teammates is Wood. Remarkably, Wood seems to be recovering from a car accident she had a few weeks ago. The sophomore runner is slowly shedding the soreness left by a passenger seatbelt and airbag to gain ground in the last few races. She went a season-best 24:01.0 at the Stuthard Top 25.
Another is Jones. Jones, at the 2019 Top 25 Regionals, started making strides as a reliable runner for the Lady Tigers. That finish which happened to be her personal best at the time seemed to push the junior runner to a different level.
Fast forward to this year’s regional championship, Jones once again landed as a top tier Lady Tiger trying to stay connected to the pack. She clocked in at 24:42.9 at the Mena course. It was one of her top three times of the season.
James was a pack runner at least for the first portion of the race. She stepped up her game in a large way especially in the absence of Hope Rainwater and McKenzie Griffin. Two Lady Tigers the team hopes to have back Monday.
James pulled off a personal record of 26:03.3 at Mena. It elevated her to the team’s number four runner on the night and gave her a regional medal. With the new standard, the sophomore has cut a minute to a minute and a half off her time over the last three consecutive meets.
Moore, a typical top-five performer for Mansfield, fell behind her usual pace this past week. Not feeling well, the junior could only muster a 26:17.9. It was good enough for a top 25 medal but off her season-best eight days earlier at 24:53.0.
For the Tiger men, John Branche reduced his time again. The junior cross country athlete who also plays football during the week ran a time of 21:04.7. That bettered his previous season-best by 37 seconds.
Ethan Streets and Cassidy Carlton also participated in the Mansfield men and women’s teams respectively at the Tom Stuthard Top 25 Southwest Regionals.
Mansfield will now focus on the 2A-4 Conference Championship as phase two of their postseason tour. It will be held at Magazine on October 31 at 10 AM. From there the Tigers go into phase three, the Class 2A State Finals in Hot Springs on November 5 at 11:30 AM.
The Bulldogs started the game with a strong defensive stand and forcing Benton into a quick punt. The offense would take over and Sr. LD Richmond would go to work. Richmond went 5 of 6 for 48 yards on the opening drive. One of the top targets of the drive was Sr. Jase Strozier who caught 2 passes for 29 yards. With the offense set up at the Panther half yard line, Sr. Hunter Wilkinson would take the hand-off and dive across the goal line. The Bulldogs would go up 7-0 with 8:58 left in the first quarter.
After a Benton score, the Bulldog offense takes over again with game tied 7-7. Richmond would work both sides of the field while mixing in run and pass. The Benton Panther defense could not stop them. Jase Strozier would make a catch, turn up field, and quite literally stiff-arm his defender into the ground. This would continue a drive that ended up with another 7 points. Hunter Wilkinson would score up the middle again for his 2nd touchdown of the night. The Bulldogs go up 14-7 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.
With 10:04 left in the 2nd quarter, Richmond would find Sr. Peyton Carter for a 15-yard touchdown catch and throw. Carter would catch the ball at the Panther one-yard line and use his strength to fight through contact and score. It would be a 12 play, 63-yard drive and the Bulldogs would go up 21-7.
With 2:30 left in the 2nd quarter, the Bulldog offense is near field holding on to a 21-14 lead. Wilkinson takes a counter play and had plenty of room to run with the Bulldog offensive line creating nothing less than canyons for him to run through. Wilkinson would use his speed to get into the secondary and out run the defensive backs all the way to the end zone. Wilkinson would grab his 3rd rushing touchdown of the half on the 48-yard scamper. With just over 2 minutes left to go before half, the Bulldogs lead 28-14.
The Bulldog offense starts the half by dominating the ground game and getting on the board again. Greenwood’s offensive line had their way with the Panther defense and Hunter Wilkinson and JD Richmond had lanes to run in the whole drive. Wilkinson would take a Richmond hand off from the Panther 2-yard line and walk in to the end zone untouched for his 4th rushing touchdown of the night. Greenwood would lead 35-14 with 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
With less than a minute to go in the 3rd quarter, Greenwood would have the ball again with the score 35-20. The ground game continues to pay dividends for the Dogs as they break run after run on the Panther defense. With Benton moving into the box to stop the run, Richmond makes them pay over the top. Richmond would connect with Sr. Caden Brown on a post route for a 27-yard touchdown. Richmond’s second touchdown pass of the night brings the score to 42-20 over the Panthers.
The Panthers would get 1 more score but it wasn’t enough to dethrone the Greenwood Bulldogs from their number 1 ranking. The final score would end as 42-28 in favor of the home team.
The player of the game was Sr. running back Hunter Wilkinson who finished the night with 31 carries for 193 yards and 4 touchdowns. The senior averaged more than 6 yards per carry. Sr. quarterback LD Richmond had 15 carries for 113 yards for a 7.5 yards per carry average. Richmond would also finish 22 of 33 passing for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns. The leading bulldog receiver was Jase Strozier with 9 catches for 61 yards, followed by Peyton Carter with 5 catches for 60 yards and 1 touchdown. Jordan Hanna of the ferocious Bulldog Defense led the way with more than double digit tackles. Sr. Jayden Jasna came up big in key moments of the game with 2 pass break ups and 5 tackles.
The top ranked Bulldogs will travel to Van Buren next week carrying their 8-0 record. Van Buren is 3-5 on the year.
Ricky Lynn Himes of Parks, Arkansas passed from this life, Wednesday October 21, 2020 at his home in Parks, Arkansas. Ricky was born May 19, 1959 in Mena, Arkansas to J.E. Himes and Betty Faye (Rath) Himes. He was 61 years old.
Ricky was married to Marilyn Kay (Atchley) Himes. Ricky loved to hunt and fish in the Arkansas wilderness. Ricky served in the Navy for 2 years, from 1977 to 1979. Ricky then worked in construction for over 44 years, owning Himes Construction for 38 of those years, where he dealt with both residential and commercial projects. He was a hard worker. He was a man that was proud of his family, especially his grandchildren.
Ricky leaves behind to cherish his memory, his wife Marilyn Kay (Atchely) Himes, his son Chris Himes and wife Leeann Himes, their kids Kinzie, Gabe, and Abby of Greenwood, Arkansas, his son Bob Himes and wife Rachel Himes, their children, Dalton, Ridge, and Aaron of Parks, Arkansas, 3 brothers and a sister, Bill and Marie Himes, Jim and Sara Himes, Russell Himes, and also Jenny and Kent Stone. Ricky also leaves behind numerous nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, and a multitude of friends that he made throughout his life, with Mark Pierce and Jimmy Ray Sims being mentioned as his best friends.
Ricky was preceded in death by his mother and father, Betty Faye (Rath) Himes and J.E. Himes.
Ricky’s memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday October 24, 2020 at the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in Waldron, Arkansas with Rev. Konnor Mckay officiating.
Ricky’s pallbearers will be Tyler Himes, J.T. Atchely, Nathan Franklin, William Himes, and E.J. Himes, and Gracie Himes. Honorary pallbearers will be his best friends, Mark Pierce and Jimmy Ray Sims.
The family wanted to give a special thanks to Dr. Patrick Fox and Elite Home Health & Hospice.
During these trying and difficult times, we must follow the guidelines we have been given to do our part to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. Family and friends that do attend the service must wear a mask and maintain a social distance of 6 feet apart.
Carrol Joan (Horn) Ison of Greenwood, Arkansas, formerly of Waldron, Arkansas went to be with her Lord and Savior Tuesday, October 20, 2020 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Carrol was born on September 24,1943 to Ule Horn and Gean (Lawson) Horn, in Waldron, Arkansas. Carrol was married to her husband, Preston Ison for 48 years. They would have celebrated another year together on November 11th. After graduation from Waldron High School, she attended Draughon’s Business School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, afterwards working as a secretary for many years. Carrol was the quiet one in the family but always called to check on those that she hadn’t heard from recently. She loved spending time with all of her family including her siblings, nieces and nephews, many great nieces and nephews, as well as her extended family. Carrol is remembered to be gentle, kind, and friendly to all she met, this resulted in a large circle of friends. Carrol loved listening to country music and blue grass, especially at Turkey Track. She loved to read, go shopping, and visit the casinos. Carrol was a great cook, learning the talent from her mother. She also loved to travel with both family and friends. Carrol also was a lover of all animals, especially her cats, Peanut and Kitty Kitty. The memories made with her loved ones will forever be treasured by each of them. Carrol leaves behind to cherish her memory, her husband Preston, sister Denise Nutley and husband Tim, brother Randy Horn and Paula, brother Darrell Horn, nieces and nephews, as well as great nieces and nephews. Carrol will be missed by all that knew her and the many whose lives were impacted by her holding them dear to her heart. Carrol was preceded in death by her parents, Ule and Gean (Lawson) Horn, and her brother Larry Horn and sister-in-law Deloras Horn. Carrol’s graveside memorial life celebration will be 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at the Duncan Cemetery Pavillion in Waldron, Arkansas with Rev. Pat Ray Biggs officiating. Arrangements and cremation are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas. During these trying and difficult times, we must follow the guidelines we have been given to do our part to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. Family and friends that do attend the service must wear a mask and maintain a social distance of 6 feet apart.
It’s been an up and down season thus far for the Mansfield Jr High Tigers. They’ve pulled out close wins and lost close losses. One thing is for sure though. The Jr Tigers know how to play an edge of the seat game. That was the case again on Thursday, October 22nd when the Tigers snapped Lavaca with a close final score of 20-18.
Toby Towe with the kick
The Golden Arrows struck first with a quick touchdown on Mansfield jumping to an early lead. That lead was short-lived though as Peyton Martin used a quarterback option to take the Tigers 47 yards for a score of their own tying the game up. After quick offensive starts to the match from both programs, the game slowed down a little. Mansfield and Lavaca played what looked like a volleyball match as both teams defenses stepped up. Allowing only minimal yards, the Tigers defense shut down Lavaca’s speedy run game. Red and White jerseys were glued to the ball in every direction imaginable. With defensive linemen Turner Wright, Trey Vaughan, Sammy Sellers, Andrew Pettigrew, 7th grader James Bausley, and Langford proving to be a dominant force against Lavaca, the Golden arrows had no choice but to bounce outside.
Zach Hayslip
The Golden Arrows plan to use their speed on the outside perimeters to stretch out the Tigers was a bad move as Dakota Langford turned those plans inside out. “Our line’s biggest strength is our size and quickness,” explained Langford. “However, we need to continue to work on minor details. Thursday we played Lavaca and it was really easy to read their plays. Tyler Turnipseed and I would call out their plays as soon as they got lined up.” Langford would turn the ball runners inside and Jeremy Strozier and Tyler Turnipseed would clean them out. As halftime neared, Lavaca’s offense was held again by the Tigers and was forced to punt again. Trey Powell caught the punt and tried to stop the clock with 0:02 seconds but the clock ran out and the Tigers went into halftime tied with Lavaca 6-6.
Tyler Turnipseed
After the half, Lavaca used their same run outside offense but with a twist. Just as Mansfield began to adjust to that game plan, the Golden Arrows used a bump and go route to deliver a pass downfield for a score giving them the lead yet again. Lavaca again forced a 4th down on the Tigers as the Tigers prepared to punt. Turnipseed caught the snap rolled out to pun……pu…….RUN! Turnipseed faked the punt and gave the Tigers life as he scooted 13 yards for a first down. Unfortunately, Lavaca stopped Mansfield’s offense and took over at midfield. Martin was then able to get the passing game off the ground as he struck Toby Towe with a perfect pass for a Tiger touchdown. The game was tied at that point but not for long as Martin found his favorite target in Turnipseed who reigned in the catch for the two-point conversion. The score and extra point gave Mansfield a narrow 14-12 lead going into the 4th quarter.
Dakota Langford
Mansfield’s defense would start the 4th quarter with a bang as Martin picked off a Lavaca pass on the very first play giving the Tigers the ball right back. This game was theirs for the taking and the Mansfield coaching staff chose to go hunting with slugs instead of arrows. Mansfield loaded up their “SEVENS” in the backfield alongside trigger man Strozier as QB. This unstoppable triple threat pounded the Golden Arrows down play after play until Walters broke free going 12 yards for a Tiger touchdown. The extra point was unsuccessful leaving the game at 20-12 Mansfield. The eight-point margin was just enough for Lavaca to send the game into overtime should they score and they aimed right for that target. Lavaca scored with only 1:47 left in the 4th quarter setting up the overtime perfectly. All they had to do was punch in a two-point conversion. Each football team has 11 players on the field at one time and all 11 Tigers pounced on the Golden Arrows in a team effort forcing a fumble to stop Lavaca from tying things up. The fumble was recovered by none other than Dakota Langford and the game would come to an end with a 20-18 final Mansfield.
Robinson, Strozier, and Walters
The Mansfield Jr High Tigers will be back in action on Thursday, October, 29 when they host the Cedarville Pirates. “As of right now, we need to continue to practice hard and make minor adjustments to defeat Cedarville this week,” Langford continued. “It is a very winnable game and we aren’t intimidated at all!”
As Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons once sang “Oh What a Night”! Playing in classic chilly, windy football weather, the only mercy that the Waldron Sr Bulldogs delivered to the Dover Pirates in Friday’s match-up was on the game clock. After the 35-14 win at home, the Bulldogs upgrade their conference play record to 1-3.
Waldron got things started by receiving the opening kick. And although the weather was colder than an Alaska alley cat in the middle of January, the Bulldogs quickly heated things up just four seconds into the game as Trevor Hunt took the opening kick 53-yards to the house for the nights first TD. Kicker, Leo “Left Foot” Lopez sealed up the extra point and the score sat 7-0 Waldron. The Pirates tried to make magic happen but it was a no-go. With the Bulldogs back in possession of the ball, QB, Braden Williams, Isaac “The Real” Villarreal, and the other half of the double trouble Hunt brothers, Trenton Hunt, each made headway moving the ball downfield for Waldron.
Braden Williams
Positioned beautifully at the 1-yard line, Trenton rushed his way into paydirt with 7:43 left in the first quarter and along with the second Lopez liftoff, the score continued north 14-0 Waldron. Again, Dover was unable to let sparks fly so Waldron came in to pick up the slack. The Bulldogs offense was doing what they do best until things took a slight turn in the scary direction. Williams played hot potato with a fumbled snap but was able to nicely recover under pressure. Looking for an open receiver, Willaims spotted Bryson Bailey wide open in the endzone and connected perfectly for a TD. But the celebration would have to wait as a penalty backed the Bulldogs to the 14-yard line.
Bryson Bailey
No worries though. An unfazed Trevor Hunt took a Williams pass to sweet touchdown victory and with a third Lopez one pointer, Waldron kept the lead 21-0 ending the 1st quarter. Starting the second quarter, the Bulldogs gained some nice yardage with the help of Trevor Hunt and Bailey. With the ball placed on the 2-yard line, Williams was able to bulldoze it in for a TD, and coupled with Lopez’s 1-point boot, scoot, and boogie, the score continued its uphill hike to 28-0 Bulldogs. As the Pirates unsuccessful woes continued, Waldron graciously accepted the ball back. Sophomore, Steeven Figueroa, helped maneuver his team across the field with multiple runs. Just minutes left before the half, Waldron scored again with a QB keeper and a Lopez kick highlighting the board 35-0 Waldron.
Steeven Figueroa
Dover fans got to experience some excitement as the Pirates made their first first down of the night. Looking like something was about to happen, the Pirate’s dreams were crushed as their QB got sacked by Willaims and the first half of the game came to a close 35-0 Waldron. The first half Bulldog stats saw Williams with 6/8 passes for 91 yards, 6 carries for 56 yards, and2 TDs. Trenton Hunt earned 6 carries for 55 yards, and 1 TD. Trevor Hunt made 20 reception yards. Isaac “The Real” Villarreal snagged 21 yards on one reception. Caden Fuller received 3 catches for 33 yards. And Bryson Bailey netted a 30-yard reception.
The second half of the game saw the Pirates coming to life a bit but now they weren’t just battling the Bulldogs. They were battling the rolling score clock as well as the mercy rule was put into effect. Dover smashed their first points on the board with 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Although the Bulldogs would be stagnant in the second half, it wasn’t a problem. The Pirates would put 8 more points on the board but it was too little too late as Waldron remained the victors of the night with a 35-14 conference win.
Trevor Hunt
The Bulldogs saw some great offensive blocks from Caden Fuller and Brayden Houston as they spent most plays driving back the Pirates. Defensively, the Bulldogs were able to plunder Dover’s pickings with the help of Payton Lipham, Blake Owens, Matthew Brigance, Bryson Bailey, Jesse Dees, Marcus Dye, Trenton Hunt, Steeven Figueroa who also had a QB sack, and Hector Calderon who delivered a nice deflection from a Dover pass.
Now that the Bulldogs conference curse has been broken, Waldron will place their attention on the Dardanelle Sand Lizards whom they will face on October 30 at Dardanelle. The Sand Lizards will be entering this match coming off of a 36-13 loss with the Mena Bearcats.
In an effort to cut our budget I took to Pinterest for ideas. One of which was baking bread at home rather than buying store bought. Rather than $1.50 on average for a loaf you can bake it at home for pennies!
Of course when I bake bread we usually eat it much faster and just by itself so who knoif I’m saving. Homemade bread will also mold much quicker due to less preservatives and icky ingredients, so it isn’t a bad idea to store in a sealed container in the freezer if it will take more than two days to eat.
Now honestly, baking bread from scratch sounds intimidating. Proofing yeast? What is that, right? It’s actually incredibly easy, and nothing beats the taste of good homemade bread! I am not someone who claims to be good at baking and I can bake bread! In just a few steps you can also enjoy the aroma and tastes of a homemade loaf of bread!
Ingredients – 2 cups warm water – 1/2 cup granulated sugar (divided) – 1 1/2 TBSP instant or active dry yeast – 1 1/2 TSP salt – 1/4 vegetable or canola oil – 5 1/2 cups flour (all purpose or bread flour)
Instructions
Start by proofing your yeast, this is a very simple process that takes about 5 minutes. Aim for luke-warm water, too hot and it will kill your yeast. The recommended temperature is 105*. To do this combine your warm water, yeast, and 1 TBSP of sugar. Combine and let sit until it becomes foamy, the yeast will cover the surface of the water.
Add the rest of the sugar, oil, salt. Slowly add in the flour a little at a time. Mix until completely combined.
Now its time to knead the bread, this step is crucial to get the perfect bread texture! If you have a mixer and bread hook kneed for 7 minutes. If you are needing by hand it will take 10-11 minutes, depending on how consistently you can do it.
Coat a bowl with your choice of oil and place your dough inside. I use a damp towel to cover my dough, you could also use plastic wrap. Cover your dough and allow your dough to rise for approximately an hour, or until it doubles in size.
Punch your dough down after it has finished risen, kneed for another minute, then divide into two sections. Place dough in loaf plans and allow to rise for another 30 minutes. Dough should rise an inch above the side of the pans.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool and brush tops with butter.
