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5/6 Grade Tigers Bring Pride To The Jungle

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1:08 pm

5/6 Grade Tigers Bring Pride To The Jungle

The Mansfield 5^th and 6^th Grade Tigers faced off against the undefeated Magazine Rattlers on Saturday, November 9^th in a clash of titans for the WCFL Championship. The Tigers, who’s only regular-season loss came to the Rattlers, were out for redemption from the first snap. Mansfield’s determination was unwavering as they gave it everything they had and left every ounce of effort on the field. In the end, the Tigers fell victim to Magazine in an 18-8 loss and wound up as the 2019 WCFL Runner Up.

Although the Championship loss left a black eye for the 5^th and 6^th Grade squad, the Tigers improved by leaps and bounds in the 2019 season. With a regular-season record of 5-1 and an overall record of 6-2, the Tigers ran rampant on the WCFL League. Mansfield’s power run offense averaged 28 points a game as they racked up 230 total points in 2019. With lightning speed, running back Dawson Robinson lead the team in rushing and touchdowns this season. Robinson was a key player, but he wasn’t the only one racking up points.

If opponents tried to shut Robinson down, the Tigers used a full stable of runners to make them pay. Cooper Edwards, Dominic Shores, Ethan Martin, Cordell Stone, and Keyton Oliver balanced the offensive game out as they ate up yards and touchdowns throughout the season as well. The only way to get yards is with the help of the BEEF up front. Weston Harrison, Levi Langford, Noah Cole, James Bausley, Alex Hecox, and Junior Cash created holes big enough for a Mac Truck to drive through.

Defensively, Mansfield stood out as one of the best. Mansfield’s defense had a bend but never break mentality as they only allowed 90 points on the season The Tigers made sure that if an opponent gained yards on them, they would think twice before trying it again. Mansfields D-Line was the definition of Armageddon for any opponents backfield. Head hunters Hecox, Bausley, and Cash thrived on embarrassing opponents “would be” blockers and on bringing the pain to quarterbacks and running backs. If an opponent wanted to pass or go outside due to the pressure, they wouldn’t get far. Shores, Edwards, Oliver, Robinson, Stone, Martin and a whole host of Tigers would be in their faces in an instant. A notable point of the Mansfield defensive is that they created a turnover in every single game this season.

Leadership is the biggest ingredient of any program being successful. First-year Head Coach Steven Moore made quite an impression on both players and fans alike this year. Moores’ coaching method wasn’t complex at all. Steven didn’t baby the players but he didn’t eat them alive if they messed up. He simply and effectively coached them as any higher level coaches would do. Moore also put together an impressive assistant coach roster that consisted of David Moore, Chris Williams, Jason Edwards, and Jeremy Whittaker.

Although Manfield’s 5^th and 6^th Grade didn’t win the WCFL Championship, the Tigers will be adding some hardware to the Mansfield Middle School trophy case. The crew will add the 2019 WCFL Runner Up trophy as well as the Mackey/Campbell Rivalry Trophy in which they brought back to “The Jungle” when they beat Hackett 44-20. With a large 6th Grade group moving up next season, the Tigers will not be left empty-handed next year due to multiple talented 5^th Graders who contributed heavily to this season’s success. Each and every player on the 2019 5^th and 6^th Grade team worked hard every practice and fought even harder every game to be able to look everyone in the eye and honestly say “We Earned It!”

Charleston Girls & Boys Basketball Sweep Scranton at Tiger Center

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12:23 pm

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Charleston Girls & Boys Basketball Sweep Scranton at Tiger Center

The Charleston boys and girls varsity teams opened their Tiger Center home schedule Tuesday night with victories over the Scranton Rockets. The Lady Tigers defeated Scranton 40-23, and the Tigers boys team won 47-42.

The Lady Tigers Reagan Stubblefield Shoots Against Scranton

On a night when both teams appeared to have early season issues that many high school teams have at the start of the season, both Tigers teams showed their potential for the upcoming season.

The Lady Tigers are incorporating a few players from the Charleston volleyball team, and the boys team is awaiting a few from the football team that is currently in the state playoffs. Once both teams are at full strength and have the rest of November and all of December to play together, Charleston should be strong contenders in the upcoming conference season.

The Lady Tigers junior varsity and varsity girls teams will host Pea Ridge at Tiger Center on November 19. Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers will play in the Scranton Invitational Tournament December 2-7.

Stay with Resident Press throughout the season for complete Charleston basketball coverage!

Mansfield Presents Veterans Program

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3:42 am

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On Monday, November 11th, Mansfield Choirs and 4th grade students honored our local heroes by hosting a Veterans Breakfast and Program. Local churches such as First Baptist of Mansfield, Mansfield Assembly of God, and Coop Prairie gave donations along with Mansfield Parent Involvement Committee to help fund the breakfast. Veterans and their families were served biscuits, gravy, sausage, fresh fruit, and sweet treats. Mansfield volunteers said they fed around 27 or more Veterans during the Veterans breakfast. After breakfast, veterans were led and escorted by the MHS Band Members to their special seating and the program began.

Fourth grade students marched out to the “Reveille” followed by the song, “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” All students from Senior High to Fourth grade were singing loud while others Fourth grade students built an American flag over 8 feet long and 17 feet wide! They were accompanied by Fourth grade musicians that were bucket drumming, tambourine playing, and cymbal crashing. However, that wasn’t all! There were also ribbon twirlers and kids marching with flags following up with, Holly Owen, a MHS junior singing as the soloist in the song.

Once that song was complete, VFW Post 4285 Honor Guard posted flags, and Fourth grade student, Rhaihan Islam, led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance. Once this was complete, MHS alumni and Veteran Guest speaker, First Class Sergeant Kevin Doug Escalante, took the floor and spoke on, “What Being a Veteran Means to Me.”

Veteran and MHS Alumni,
First Class Sergeant Kevin Doug Escalante

Students still had more to come following the wonderful guest speaker. The choirs sang, “The Military Medley,” honoring each branch of service as well as the “Star Spangled Banner.” Mansfield Junior High Choir sang, “American Heroes,” followed by Fourth grade singing, “Thank You Military” with small flags waving and the Lee Greenwood patriotic specialty, “God Bless the U.S.A.” MHS Band Member, Zaine Dugan, played taps as the VFW Honor Guard gave commands of salute to our American fallen soldiers.

Then, never before in the programs, the choirs and fourth grade joined forces to sing a song called, “Soldiers Light,” by dimmed lights and candles accompanied with an excellent slide show honoring our Veterans. Fourth grader, Addison Howard, and freshman, Meadow Richardson, accompanied as the soloists and did an excellent job! Tears flowed down the cheeks of visitors and veterans as all the students sang out the words to this song that paid tribute to the lives of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our country.

To conclude the program, the choirs and fourth grade sang their final song, “America the Beautiful.” Tenth grade student, Jaden Elmore, led the solo amazingly and then everyone joined in as fourth grade used sign language to communicate the lyrics.

The students did an excellent job honoring our Veterans. Mrs. Boyd, Mansfield’s Choir and Elementary Music teacher told Resident Press,

“I couldn’t be more proud of these students! They worked so hard and spent many hours working and preparing for this program. I am so thankful for the group of kids I have! Plus, I had many people help donate and serve at the breakfast. I couldn’t have pulled that off without their help! There is so many different ones that helped in different areas. I’m so thankful for all of my coworkers as well as the parent Volunteers for all of their help. I have so many Veterans in my own personal life that I could never say thank you enough to and this was one beautiful way to express our gratitude! Students were able to present a beautiful program giving honor to where it was due to our Unites States Veterans to honor them for all of their service and time that they sacrificed for our country.”

***Special thanks to Megan Hecox and Kandis Howard***
***for pictures of the Veterans Program.***

Lavaca Gifted and Talented Students Conquer Air and Space Travel

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12:27 pm

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Lavaca Gifted and Talented Students Conquer Air and Space Travel

The Lavaca Middle School and High School Gifted and Talented students conquered air and space travel on Wednesday. The group made a trip to the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium where they were treated to a museum tour by a retired Assistant Crew Chief of a B52 squadron. The tour included personal stories, interesting facts about plane engines, the importance of design in aerodynamics, and the role that planes played in our Nation’s history during times of war.

lavaca-gifted-talented-space museum-oklahoma

After the tour, students were given the opportunity to explore an American Airlines plane that has been converted into a Learning Lab. The lab contained holograms of different planes, hot air balloons, blimps, and a full control panel for students to manipulate.

The Planetarium offered an amazing view of the universe as well as the history of early astronomers and how they used the stars to create calendars, navigate the oceans, and construct buildings.

Finally, students were given time to explore the hands-on activities that were located throughout the museum. Exhibits included flight simulators, rocketry, and experiments with aerodynamics.

The Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium is a must see for everyone.

LL Dragons Earn Full Respect In WCFL Championship Game

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Megan Hecox

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12:06 pm

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LL Dragons Earn Full Respect In WCFL Championship Game

The Mountainburg 3^rd and 4^th Grade team made history on Saturday, November 9^th as they played in the little league football program’s first WCFL Championship game. The season itself was full of gradual growth for the team as they started off slow, but was able to bow up when it mattered as the season progressed. The Dragons showed the entire league the absolute definition of determination.

Mountainburg began the season with a low number of players which put them at a disadvantage in most games. The Dragons took tough losses against Mansfield and JC Westside, but with the heart of a Dragon and great coaching, Mountainburg ran a three-game winning streak against Magazine, West Fork, and Greenland. Not only did they win, but they also handed their opponents a big ol’ goose egg on the scoreboard with three straight shutouts. The streak came to an end though as Mountainburg lost a close one against rivals Cedarville in the final game of the regular season.

With every negative, there is a positive though. The Dragons finished with a 3-3 record which landed them with the #5 Seed in the 3rd and 4th Grade WCFL Playoffs. Not only did they make the Playoffs, but they would also go on to defeat the Cedarville Pirates in the first round to gain redemption for their loss a week earlier. With the victory, Mountainburg would not only face the task of playing perineal powerhouse and #2 Seeded Hackett, but they would do so on the Hornets home field. You don’t just walk into Hackett as a #5 Seed and walk out with a victory right? Wrong. Mountainburg sent shockwaves throughout the entire league when the Dragons set the Hornet Hive on fire with a scorching 14-0 victory. The win made the 3^rd and 4^th Grade Dragons WCFL Championship bound.

Mountainburg went toe to toe with the #1 Seeded Mansfield Tigers for the WCFL Championship gold. Mansfield’s high powered offense had laid waste to all opponents in the year including the Dragons with a 36-8 blowout in Week 1 of the season. That was Week 1 though. The Dragons had eaten five of their eight opponents since then and were still hungry. Mountainburg’s powerful defense held the Tigers to 16 points in the game which was Mansfield’s lowest score of the entire season. They also were able to backup and stuff the Tigers for a safety in the game. Although the Dragons played an awesome defensive game, their offense just couldn’t keep up as Mountainburg fell to Mansfield 16-2.

The 3^rd and 4^th Grade Mountainburg Dragons finished their season with a 5-4 overall record and brought home the WCFL Runner-Up Trophy to the Dragons Cave for all to see. Down but never out, these young players fought their way through adversity and a daunting schedule to find success. Mountainburg’s football program will fly high in the future with these “Dragon Hearts” leading the way.

Magazine LL Strikes The Perfect Season

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Megan Hecox

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9:36 am

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No need to clean your glasses or get an eye exam. You read that 110% right. The 5^th and 6^th Grade Magazine Rattlers are the 2019 WCFL Champions. The Rattlers earned their first Championship gold in a hard-fought 18-8 victory against the Mansfield Tigers on Saturday, November 9^th. Some may see that as a simple fluke to some outside of Magazine territory, but to the Rattler faithful it was a foreseen conclusion. The Rattlers are in the beginning stages of building a program to become a prominent powerhouse from Little League all the way to High School level. With an appearance in the WCFL Championship game last year and winning the Championship this year, Magazine is pushing closer and closer to that goal.

After winning the WCFL Championship game, Head Coach Charly Moua said “Overall, it was a great championship game played by both sides. Our team started out a little slow but we managed to find a way to win the game. I believe that due to last year’s loss in the Championship game to Hackett, our fifteen returning players were a little more nervous than usual. Mansfield improved a lot from the last time we met them in week 3. They did a lot of things on defense differently from the last time we met resulting in us having to punt on our first two possessions.”

“But we adjusted after a long touchdown run by the Tigers. By halftime, everyone in the stands should have known that this game would be on the shoulders of our running back Cha Kong Yang and Mansfields running back Dawson Robinson. These two players played great and separated themselves away from the others. Our defense did great by forcing a lot of fumbles. Defensive lineman Alan Downs had a great night with multiple tackles for loss and for putting tons of pressure on Mansfield’s backfield.”

The 5^th and 6^th Grade Rattlers not only went undefeated at 8-0, but they also outscored their opponents 164-20 in the regular season. They didn’t play an easy schedule either. The Rattlers faced Lavaca, Hackett, Mansfield, Mountainburg, Cedarville, and JC Westside during the regular season this year. If that’s not an achievement in itself, Magazine also played Hackett in the Playoffs where the Rattlers won 22-12 and then turned around and beat Mansfield 18-8 to win the WCFL Championship. The 5^th and 6^th Grade Rattlers undoubtedly set a new standard this season for WCFL Football.

5^th and 6^th Grade Assistant Coach Cody Shelton said “Those boys left absolutely everything on that field in order to make history and become the very first Magazine team to ever go undefeated and win the Championship. They went out, played their tails off, and now they can call themselves Champions, and no one can take that away from them!”

Magazine High School Head Coach and WCFL President Doug Powell said “The Magazine Little League program is moving into never before seen territory. We have the potential to be year in and year out competitors for the Championship. We play in a league that is packed with talented programs that could beat anyone on any day. As balanced as our league is, I see opportunities for every program to reach the Playoffs and the Championship. As for this years’ Championship game, hats off to Mansfield. Both sides played great. I doubt anyone was ever calm during that game. It was honestly one of the best matches between two teams I’ve seen at any level.”

“I am proud of our players. I watched their disappointment last year as they lost to Hackett in the Championship. They fell behind early in Saturday’s game but didn’t lose faith in themselves. I have seen many teams crumble under that kind of pressure, but our guys dug in and kept working to overcome bad situations in order to achieve their goal. I saw their heart and desire to win while they relentlessly pursued their goal. This group was a team that wanted to win. Thank you to everyone involved in our program this year for all of the hard work you put into making this an awesome season for these players. It was fun to watch them play and I look forward to coaching them as they move into Jr High and Sr High football at Magazine.”

True Value Opens in Waldron

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12:20 pm

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The much anticipated and long awaited opening of the Scott County True Value Hardware Store in Waldron is set to take place on Friday, November 15. The owners and management are anxious to welcome consumers into the newly renovated building, which also houses Hwy 71 Tire & Service Center, and Waldron Auto Parts.

The unique three-in-one business offers convenience and personal service. General Manager Matt Scantling described the store as “similar to the Walmart of thirty years ago.” The current farm supply store, hardware/building supply and now the Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts store provides a place for customers to get new tires, lube jobs, repairs and alignments. The whole facility is now a nice one-top destination.

True Value-Waldron-Arkansas-Makita-Dewalt-Power Tools — Scott County True Value Hardware Store in Waldron offers a wide range of tools for every project regardless of size.

In addition, the store will have a large sporting goods section, offering guns, ammo, hunting and fishing gear; a large patio/lawn section for furniture, grills, and lawn care; a technologically advanced paint destination; cleaning and home supplies, toys, shoes, and clothes.

“The lot here is so big that we have been able to add an additional structure to house the building materials and fill the rest of the space outside with farm/ranch supplies,” shared Scantling. “It is hard to describe everything that this store is going to have and I catch myself describing the place and saying oh, we have feed…canning supplies…kayaks…over a 150 different firearms…and we will have an area to sit down and grab a drink or bite to eat.”

True Value-Waldron-Arkansas-paint-stain-solvents — Scott County True Value Hardware Store has a wide selection of paint for your interior and exterior needs.

With the store nearly 85% stocked, the owners, Albert and Aimee Littleton decided to host a “soft” opening this month, but with more products arriving daily, then holding an official grand opening in late March. “We will hold our Grand Opening in late March when the weather is warmer and we can be certain that additional products will have had time to arrive,” Scantling added. “That Grand Opening will be worth the wait with free food/drink, give-a-ways every hour, grand prizes, huge discounts across the store, and fill-the-bucket discount sale.”

Scantling indicated that they are still anticipating items in the clothing line. They have however, stocked brands like Skechers, Fruit of the Loom, Wrangler Jeans and Justin Boots to name a few.

True Value-Waldron-guns-ammo-outdoors-hunting-fishing — An expansive hunting and fishing product line, offering long guns, handguns, ammo, and everything you will need for your outdoor experience.

“We are so excited about this store and about being a part of another great community,” said Scantling. “We truly hope that the people of Waldron will be pleased with what we offer to the community. We ask everyone to come by once we are open and introduce themselves. We honestly want to get to know our customers and if one doesn’t see something we should carry, let us know and we will try to get it.”

That attention to personal service and catering to the needs of the community is at the very heart of their business. The Littletons, who have strong family ties to the Waldron area, are passionate about success in small towns. In fact, that passion yielded the start of their business.

True Value-Waldron-Arkansas-Clothing-Shoes — From socks to coats, jeans to shoes, their clothing department has you covered. (Expansion coming soon as new brands become available.

Albert grew up in Magazine and with those strong ties to the community. He wanted to do something to help his small, struggling hometown. This began a process of purchasing the local convenience store, remodeling an older building and putting in a hardware and building material store. Later, he would build a structure to house the auto parts store and tire/service center.

During this interval of construction and instituting new businesses for Magazine, the Littletons witnessed the devastating toll the closure of the Waldron Walmart store had on their community. Aimee, who is from Waldron, felt a call to action as she watched her old community suffer.

True Value-Waldron-BBQ-Outdoors-Patio-Charcoal-YETI Cooler — From BBQ Grills to patio furniture, the Scott County True Value Hardware Store will have a rotating seasonal area as well.

“We discussed the possibility of purchasing the building and following a similar business model like in Magazine, but we honestly felt like one of the farm and ranch chain stores would scoop it up and that it would be outside of our price range. After the building had been vacant for a little over a year, we sat down and discussed it again and made the decision to at least tour the facility and make inquiries as to the cost. That period of negotiation, getting environmental studies, working out details of our model, and the process of getting the building transferred to new ownership seems like an eternity ago now,” recalled Scantling. “One of the first things I did was to go over to the facility by myself with only a cell phone. I actually walked through the entire building and perimeter, recording the whole time, and talked myself through what needed to happen to make the building thrive again. It is humbling to go back and look at those recordings of falling ceiling tiles, leaking roof, empty spaces, cobwebs, with a few vermin and be proud now of what we were able to accomplish.”

The owners have already demonstrated their commitment to give back to the community. For example, those people who were hired to help with the remodel are local residents. “That is the kind of help we wanted to give to the community, not a bunch of broken promises, but jobs immediately with more jobs to come and places to shop to boot,” concluded Scantling. Overseeing the day to day operations, Store Manager, Frank Hart and Assistant Managers, Kevin Harrison and Ken Landon.

The store, located at 1359 W 2^nd Street, is open from 7 a.m.-6p.m., Monday – Saturday. You can check them out on the web at www.facebook.com/scottcountytruevalue or email ScottCoHardware@gmail.com.

True Value-Waldron-Plumbing-Faucets-Moen-Delta — Scott County True Value Hardware Store in Waldron has a wide selection of plumbing products including faucets, fittings, and beyond.

Waldron Prepares To Let The Dogs Out In Season Opener

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Megan Hecox

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11:48 am

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Waldron Prepares To Let The Dogs Out In Season Opener

The Waldron Bulldog basketball team will be returning quite a few seniors this season as opposed to last year considering Drew Dozier was the Sr High Bulldogs lone senior. “We have four returning starters from last year in Payton Brown, Jacob Avila, Mason Ford and Gada Wagner with Ruben Valdez also seeing starting time last season,” explains Head Coach, Joshua Brown. “We have some high expectations for this year with all the talent that we have coming back.”

“Senior, Payton Brown, can score at the basketball nearly every time and has even led the state in scoring the past two seasons. He can get it done at all three levels. Senior, Jacob Avila, has shown that he can hit shots and is one of our most fierce defenders. He is getting stronger at finishing around the basket as well. Junior, Gada Wagner, has drastically improved his shooting and shown that he can also finish around the basket.”

“Senior, Mason Ford, is a great athlete and is getting better at scoring around the basket. He has added some range to his shot and can help us extend some defenses. Senior, Ruben Valdez, can worm his way to the basket and when he gets going from the outside, he has the ability to hit some perfect shots. Junior, Isaac Villarreal, could play some guard and forward for us this year. He is a great athlete who will be seeing some major time on the hardwood.”

“Junior, Caden Fuller, can hit the outside shot and plays tremendous defense. He is a guy who could see his production go up this year for us. Junior, Jaden Hutchens, handles the ball well and shoots it impeccably from outside. He also has great footwork. We have two guys who didn’t play last year that returned in juniors, Bryson Bailey and Braden Williams, that will add to our depth. Camdon Holcomb is a 6’4″ sophomore post that could see some minutes if he continues to improve and could be a rim protector for us. Sam Slater and Jesse Dees return as juniors this year and continue to improve daily. And Matthew Tegtmeyer and Tyler Wright will be sophomores for the Bulldogs this year and look to bring some strong basketball skills to the court.”

“We have high expectations and our goal is to make it to the state tournament and win some games. We know we have to take it one day at a time. I believe this team has matured some and knows what it takes to be successful. If you ask our players, I believe they would tell you that their goal is to win conference and make a run in the post-season. This team has the potential to be very special. We just have to get better defensively each day.”

“I am very excited about this team and I know that our community is as well! We get kicked off tonight with our annual Orange/Black game and will then travel to De Queen on Tuesday, November 12 at 5 p.m. to open the season. Our Toy Toss game will be our home opener against Two Rivers on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.”

Charleston Tigers Class 3A Football First Round State Playoffs Preview

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11:39 am

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Charleston Tigers Class 3A Football First Round State Playoffs Preview

The Charleston Tigers will travel a little more than three hours next Friday to play Prescott in the first round of the class 3A state playoffs. Charleston (4-6, 3-3) are a number five seed in the playoffs and will play the two seed Prescott Curley Wolves. Prescott (8-2, 7-0) swept their conference schedule with their only two losses of the year being to class 4A Mena in a 36-35 overtime loss, and a double-overtime loss to Rison, 42-40. Prescott has lost two games this year by a combined total of three points in three overtime periods.

Booneville and Osceola are the top seeds overall in this year’s playoffs. Both schools received byes for the first round and will not play this Friday.

The winner of this game will play Friday, November 22 against the winner of another first round game featuring Jessieville vs. Pine Bluff Dollarway. For a copy of the Class 3A state football playoffs bracket, click here to be re-directed to Max Preps to view or download your copy. Max Preps will update the brackets as the games are played.

All roads in the brackets lead to the final championship game in Class 3A that will be played December 14 in Little Rock at War Memorial Stadium.

Prescott is coached by James Cannon and their colors are maroon and white. The Curley Wolves are members of the class 3A-5 conference that includes Fouke, Bismarck, Smackover, Genoa Central, Horatio, Camden Harmony Grove, and Centerpoint.

According to Max Preps, Prescott has scored 445 points on the season and have given up just 218. They have won their last 8 games. The Curley Wolves are the number three ranked team in Arkansas in class 3A, and are ranked 47th across all classifications in the state.

Offensively, Prescott averages 144.7 yards receiving per game, and 241 yards per game rushing. Prescott has scored 54 touchdowns on the year.

Defensively, the Curley Wolves average 78.9 tackles per game, and 18 sacks per game. The Prescott defense has 7 interceptions for the year.

The Prescott offense is led by junior quarterback Jacobi Nolen. Nolen has attempted 84 passes and has completed 52 for a passing percentage of 62%. He averages 18 yards per completion and has passed for 936 yards for the season. Nolen has thrown for 15 touchdowns against just 4 interceptions. His longest completed pass was for 98 yards. Nolen is also the Curley Wolves second leading rusher this season.

The Prescott rushing attack is led by a “three-headed monster” attack of two outstanding running backs and a rushing quarterback. The leading rusher for Prescott is junior running back Alex George. George has carried the ball 67 times for 491 yards. He averages a little more than 7 yards per carry and 64 yards per game. His longest carry was for 34 yards. The second part of the Prescott rushing is headed by senior Derrium Thompson. Thompson has carried 47 times for 488 yards and averages 10.4 yards per carry. Thompson averages 62 yards per game, and his longest carry was for 69 yards. Quarterback Jacobi Nolen is the third rushing weapon in the Prescott offense. Nolen has rushed 88 times for 496 yards. He averages 5.5 yards per carry and 61 yards per game. His longest run from scrimmage this season was 76 yards.

Nolen’s leading receiver is Jacaylon Zachery. Zachery has 486 yards in receptions for the year on 18 receptions. He averages 27 yards per reception, 61 yards per game, and has a longest of 98 yards. Zachery is always a deep threat to opposing defenses.

For nine games, the Prescott offense produced 3,471 yards of total offense and averages 386 yards per game. The Curley Wolves are an irresistible force that have been difficult to slow down for opponents all season.

On defense, the leading tackler for Prescott is Jacobi Nolen. Nolen who plays both ways, has 28 solo tackles on the year combined with 48 assisted tackles. He averages 8.9 tackles per game and has 5 tackles for lost yardage. Junior Keihnan Paden leads the team in sacks with 4.5 sacks. The defense has 7 interceptions on the year and have caused 9 fumbles and recovered 6.

The Charleston defense will have its hands full containing the explosive Prescott offense. Coach Ricky May commented, “They’re pretty good. Their quarterback has something like 27 touchdowns combined (passing and rushing). Their line has two really big guys and they are so athletic. We are going to go down there and swing for the fences and give it everything we’ve got and see what happens.”

When I asked Coach May about last Friday’s performance against Lamar, he said that once again, the Tigers played hard. “The kids played hard. Man, they played hard all the way around. Like I told them, at the end of the day we can’t give up a blocked punt for a touchdown and we can’t have turnovers. One of those interceptions was just a great play by them (Lamar). They tipped it out of our receiver’s hands and there happened to be one of their guys standing around. And that was in the end zone. I don’t think Lamar turned it over at all and we turned it over three times and gave up a special teams touchdown.”

Coach May summed up the Tigers opponent this week by saying, “They’re loaded with skill people. They’re a physical ball club, well-coached, playoff-ready, have been there a lot. They were a semi-finalist last year against Booneville, one play away from being the state champion. They have a proud tradition.”

The Tigers will leave early Friday to travel to Prescott for Friday’s playoff game. Charleston will work out at Ouachita University’s indoor practice facility en route to the game. After lunch at the university, Charleston will board the bus in Arkadelphia to finish the trip to Prescott.

The forecast for Prescott this Friday is a projected high of 54 degrees and a low of 28 degrees. It is supposed to be sunny and dry. It should be a cold playoff atmosphere in Prescott Friday, and the Tigers need their fan base to bring their coats and make the trip to support their team!

Bundle up, and I will see you in Prescott!

Opponents Put Best Foot Forward

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Jason Baggett

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11:17 am

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When the Booneville Bearcats and Cedarville Pirates entered into Friday nights football game, anticipation was at an all time high for a win on both sidelines. But, an unexpected event took place that changed the lives of two families.

Cedarville Junior, Tommy Metcalf (#30) sustained a fractured fibula above his left ankle on the second play of the game. Booneville Senior, Andrew Robertson (#2) sustained an anbkle sprain later on in the game.

After a short stay at the hospital, both families were planning on being discharged, then they met and became friends created through a football game, and a chance meeting.

Cedarvile-Pirates-Booneville-Bearcats-Football — Cedarville Pirate, Tom Metcalf (Left), and Booneville Bearcat, Andrew Robertson (Right)

“They walked onto the field as opposing teams, but left the hospital as comrades.”
Bridget Pruitt – Robertson’s Mother

Unknowingly, to both families and players, these injuries have created a strong bond and new friendships that will most likely last long into both players lives.

It will be something for both towns, and families to talk about for quite some time as well.

“Us mothers are some praying momma’s! We plan on keeping in touch to see the progress of the boys.”
Stacey Shelley – Metcalf’s Mother

Photos courtesy of Stacey Shelly

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