In true fall football fashion, the Mansfield Jr High Tigers took to the field in rainy, windy, and cold conditions to take on the Lamar Warriors in Thursday nights match-up. The Tigers held their own and stood firmly against the Warriors big-time running game but in the end, it was Lamar that took the 22-6 win.
Lamar was first to put points on the board. The Warriors were able to find small gaps in the Tigers defense and pounded their way downfield for the score. Even with all the rain and being down by a touchdown, Mansfield had a fire that would not be easy to put out. With the Warriors hot on his heels, Fisher Willsey scrambled outside the pocket and dumped off a pass to Drew Elmore who powered his way 65-yards for a Tiger touchdown.
#19 Drew Elmore
Once Lamar got the field, Mansfield defensive back Logan Cravey got the fans on their feet when he not only caused a Lamar fumble but recovered it as well. The Tiger offense proceeded to eat up yardage but couldn’t sustain the drive giving Lamar the ball back. The Warriors were able to use their running game to gain short yardage on multiple plays to wear both the Tigers and the clock down before scoring. The game then went into halftime with the score reading 14-6 Warriors.
Mansfield was supposed to be an easy win for the Warriors. But that wasn’t the case. The Mansfield defense held Lamar on multiple occasions showing grit in the face of overwhelming odds. The Tigers offense made many impressive drives on the Warrior defense but couldn’t finish them off to put points on the board. Mansfields defense was the key factor in the success of holding Lamar to 22 points on the night. Helping to achieve that defensive success was Ashton Toon, Clint Stovall, Braxton Byers, and Kindel Noblitt.
#10 Tyler Turnipseed
Branson Carver joined Cravey in the turnover charts when we stripped the ball from a Warrior running back right at the goal line to prevent the possibility of a blowout. Willsey ended the night completing four passes for 65 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Tyler Woolbright, Caleb Collier, and Tyler Turnipseed got their hands on the ball and put in some yard work but was not quite able to close out with touchdowns.
#35 Caleb Collier, #1 Clint Stovall, and #12 Greyson Baggett
No matter what anyone says, Mansfields Jr High team has shown great strides of improvement against some very stiff competition in the season so far. With one game left on the season, the Jr High Tigers sit with a 2-4 conference play record. On Tuesday, October 29, Mansfield will hit the road to take on the Cedarville Pirates starting at 7 p.m.
Racing in their last meet of the year until District, the Waldron Cross Country rockstars have spent the entire season stealing more loot than a pirate. On Monday, October 28, the Bulldogs took to the course to race in the Tom Stuthard Top 25 Championship in Acorn. Waldron was in the company of many other talented schools such as Acorn, Caddo Hills, Mansfield, Murfreesboro, Ouachita, Cossatot River, Horatio, Mena, and Nashville.
Jr High Lady Bulldogs
The Jr High girls team placed 4th and medaled Lexee Kesterson in 16th, Ailey Ledesma in 15th, Ashlynn Stidman in 8th, and Emily Sears in 7th. The Jr High boys team took the 3rd place win with Marshall Salmon medaling at 11th, Landon Defoor in 14th, Billy Garrison in 16th, Jordan Kerr in 17th, Whitley Fielding in 18th, and Cole Bailey in 20th.
Sr High Bulldogs
The Sr High Lady Bulldogs team did what they do best and dominated with another 1st Place win. Maria Grano took 1st, Ryleigh Anschutz made 2nd, Constance Richmond got 8th, Kentucky Spence earned 9th, Stephanie Sexton held 11th, Star Spence netted 14th, Melissa Schroeder earned 17th, McKenzi Stidman placed 20th, and Sarah Byford grabbed 25th. The Sr High Bulldogs team secured a 2nd Place Runner-Up title with Noah Kastl medaling in 24th, Evan Ledesma in 18th, Bladyn Mays in 17th, Ethan Martin in 10th, Zach Canada in 9th, and Baldy Villarreal taking 5th.
Sr High Lady Bulldogs
The Waldron Bulldogs Cross Country team will take their unstoppable game on the road to Elkins on Monday, October 28 where they look to take over the District Tournament starting at 4 p.m.
“There can only be one”. The quote from the 1980s Highlander movie has been used with undefeated teams for years. Well, after Thursday nights game, apparently there can be two in some circumstances. Both the Mansfield Tigers and Lamar Warriors 7th Grade squads walked into their match with a clean record of zero defeats. And both teams walked off the field with the same unblemished record as the ballgame ended with a 20-20 tie.
Jeremy Strozier
The Tigers were outsized and outnumbered as Lamar suited up 26 giants. To add to the games stipulations, Mother Nature made sure to provide plenty of wind, rain, and cold temperatures. Did that create an excuse for Mansfield to lay down for the Warriors? Heck no! Lamar was loaded for bear, not Tigers. Mansfield gave the soon to be 4A team everything they could handle and then some.
#55 Toby Towe and #12 Eli Garner
Lamar struck first in the game with a smooth counter play busting downfield for a quick 8-0 lead. The Warriors seemed to be all that they were hyped up to be, but so were the Tigers. Mansfield drove the ball downfield mixing up their run and pass game to confuse the Lamar defense. Jeremy Strozier zipped a 13-yard play-action pass to Austin Oldham to put the Tigers on the board. After tacking on their extra points the score read 8-8.
Trey Powell
Mansfields defense began to lay down the boom on Lamars running backs making pops that echoed off of Poteau Mountain. Trey Powell and Strozier became all-out head hunters with vicious form tackles. Once the Tigers got the ball back, it was showtime. Strozier again connected with Oldham but this time for an impressive 91-yard touchdown giving the Tigers a 14-8 lead going into halftime.
As the weather got colder heading into the second half of the game, the Tigers decided to warm things up. Mansfields defense again held nothing back. Brandon Raynor, Winston Allison, Toby Towe, Leland Powell, and Eli Garner waged war against the Warriors creating a massive disturbance in Lamars game plan. During one play, the Tiger D pounced on one of the Warriors big running backs but couldn’t bring him down. In what could be called a David and Goliath moment, Boston Elmore flew in at Mac5 speed and….BOOM finished the job in awesome fashion. The Tigers took over on offense and it was the Trey Powell show from there on out. Trey took a handoff and broke every ankle on the Lamar defense on his way downfield for 66 yards.
#2 Brandon Raynor
Powell topped it off with a 1-yard power run for a touchdown giving the Tigers a 20-14 score with just minutes left in the game. Lamar quickly answered with a score of their own tying the game 20-20. After a Tiger turnover, Lamar looked to put the game away. The Warriors had the ball at the 14-yard line but threw a pass short and was struck by some “Powell Power” as Trey intercepted the ball to end the game with a 20-20 final.
#3 Leland Powell
The Tigers played a close one for sure but showed tremendous poise by not being intimidated or giving up when things got a little soggy. With only one game left, Mansfield will travel north to face off against the Cedarville Pirates on Tuesday, October 29th at 5:30 p.m. The 7th Grade Tigers are fully aware that anything can happen but will prepare hard to complete their 2019 season with a big ol’ goose egg in the loss column.
On Saturday, October 26, 2019, the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office will be participating in the DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day. The event is slated to take place at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, located at 4900 Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event will give citizens the opportunity to dispose of expired or unused prescription medications in a safe, convenient, and responsible way. This year for the first time vaping devices and cartridges will be accepted. The only issue may be devices which use lithium ion batteries. These will not be accepted.
The last event in April of 2019 resulted in 937,443 pounds (468.72 tons) of unused or expired prescription medication being disposed of properly. Of this national total, 28,073 pounds were collected in Arkansas alone. 11,816,393 pounds of medication have been taken in since the beginning of Drug Take Back in fall of 2010.
Go Hog Wild this football season when you give blood with Arkansas Blood Institute!
Join Lavaca High School at a blood drive with Arkansas Blood Institute from 8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Wednesday, November 6, on the bloodmobile. Healthy adults*, age 16 and older, can make a life-saving difference for their fellow Arkansans by giving blood.
Each blood donor will receive a collectors’ edition “Hog Wild” t-shirt.
“It’s obvious that we love our football here in Arkansas,” said Danny Cervantes, donor recruitment manager at Arkansas Blood Institute in the Fort Smith area. “But saving the lives of our neighbors and friends through blood donation is what really defines the spirit of our community.”
Arkansas Blood Institute relies solely on volunteer blood donors to meet the needs of patients at more than 40 hospitals and medical facilities statewide. There is no substitute for blood, and the donation process takes about an hour. Blood can be donated every 56 days. Platelets can be given as often as every seven days, up to 24 times a year.
If donors opt not to take the t-shirt, funds will be given to Global Blood Fund, a 501(c)(3) charity organization helping to procure much-needed blood center supplies in developing countries.
Appointments to give blood are not required but can be made by visiting arkbi.org or calling (877) 340-8777.
16 year olds must weigh at least 125 pounds and provide signed parental permission; 17 year olds must weigh at least 125 pounds; 18+ year olds must weigh at least 110 pounds
Among a sea of blue and white in the bleachers, and chants from the crowd, “she’s a freshman”, the Paris Lady Eagles defeated the Charleston Lady Tigers 3-0 on Thursday night in West Fork to win the 2019 Class 3A West senior high school district volleyball tournament. The tournament title completed a perfect conference sweep for Paris as they won the regular season title with a perfect 14-0 record, and added a district tournament title without losing a set. The district tournament title sends Paris to next week’s state tournament as a number one seed.
The Lady Eagles combined talent, depth, and tournament experience to dominate their opponents in the tournament. They appear to be peaking at the right time of the season. Their players who have been battling injuries during the second half of the season are back and nearly 100%, and Paris has not only added roster depth from their freshman team, but has added a freshman, Brailey Forst, who is now getting substantial playing time. All of this adds up to a team that should be heavily favored to win another state championship in the next eight days.
Freshman Brailey Forst Has Added A New Weapon to a Loaded Paris Lineup
The Charleston Lady Tigers suffered just their third conference defeat of the season, all of which were to Paris. Charleston is the district tournament runner-up and will go to the state tournament next week as a number two seed.
The Lady Tigers are an excellent team that has the potential to meet Paris in the state final in Hot Springs. As the number two seed in the tournament, Charleston would not play the Lady Eagles until the finals. It will be important for Charleston to get off to a good start against their first round opponent. They played hard against Paris Thursday night, but suffered another emotional loss to the Lady Eagles. They must regroup and be ready to play on Tuesday. As with all teams in the tournament, it is game by game; each game can be the last. For Charleston’s seniors, they want to keep playing.
In a consolation game played earlier on Thursday afternoon, the Mansfield Lady Tigers defeated the Waldron Lady Bulldogs 3-0 to win third place in the tournament. With the win, Mansfield will be a three seed in next week’s state tournament. Waldron will now to the state tournament as a four seed.
Mansfield seems to be the team that has benefited the most from the district tournament. The Lady Tigers moved themselves into the third seed in the tournament with their wins over the past four days. The Mansfield lineup changed during the tournament to include many freshman from their junior high team. The new team seems to be jelling, and the Lady Tigers could make some noise next week. By earning the third seed, they have a better chance at winning, avoiding a number one seed in the opening round. The Mansfield coaches have done a great job in doing what is best for the team. It is a difficult decision for coaches to move up freshmen ahead of upperclassmen at tournament time, but as evidenced by Paris and the play of Mansfield, both schools have made good decisions that are paying off. Mansfield will be a tough out in the state tournament.
The Waldron Lady Bulldogs played their hearts out Tuesday night versus Charleston, and appeared to be out of gas against Mansfield on Thursday. The Lady Bulldogs may have been the most improved team throughout the regular season, and in doing so, gave Charleston a tough game on Tuesday. Waldron is coached extremely well, and the Lady Bulldogs should be rested and ready to play on Tuesday in the first round of state. They will face a number one seed in the state tournament, but the Lady Bulldogs will play hard and they have a legitimate chance to win.
Paris coach Jordan Devine believes her team is ready to defend its Class 3A state title. “Our goals are always the same, conference, district tournament, go on to state. So, this is a stepping stone in their journey this year. I think we have a few things we really have to tighten up on for next week. We’ve got some big competition coming in, you know, with teams coming in. So, yeah, if we tighten up a few things I think we will be fine.” When asked about who their first round opponent may be in the state tournament, Devine said, “We will be playing the third seed out of the central, and I believe that will be CAC (Central Arkansas Christian). I haven’t seen much of them. I think they were at the Preview Party (pre-season tournament of last year’s Class 3A state tournament teams) but they were in the opposite pool from us, so I didn’t get to see much of them, but, I’ll be calling around (other coaches who have played against CAC). We’re going to come in tomorrow (practice) and probably have a good practice tomorrow and we may go a little bit lighter on Monday. Like I said, we’ve got to clean some things up. So, we’re going to come in and go to work tomorrow.”
Look to Resident Press on Sunday afternoon for a preview of this year’s Class 3A state tournament. Match-ups, game times, and other information will be published for our readers.
Congratulations to Paris, Charleston, Mansfield and Waldron on successful seasons, and best of luck to all of them in next week’s state tournament!
The Hackett Board of Education met in a regularly scheduled meeting on October 14, at 7 p.m. Members present were Jackie Terrell, Deborah Buehrer, Patricia Black, Michael Sweeten, and Stephanie Holt.
After approving the minutes from the September meeting, the report to the public was given by Elementary Principal Tura Bailey, High School Principal Michael Freeman and Superintendent Edward Ray.
Sweeten made the motion to approve the 2019/2020 equity compliance report. Black seconded the motion and it carried 5-0.
Next, Holt made the motion to approve the legal transfer petition of a student to the Greenwood School District. Buehrer seconded the motion and it carried 5-0.
The board then voted unanimously to accept the resignations of Stormie Matlock and Eric White.
With no other items of business the meeting of the Hackett School District was adjourned.
Parks Volunteer Fire Department Chief Travis Evans recently presented Norma Dawson of Ozark, Arkansas a check for $300 as the winner of their recent cash raffle held on Friday, October 4, 2019.
Proceeds from the raffle will be used to purchase needed supplies for the Department.
Football photos courtesy of LaWaynea Cox. Homecoming photos courtesy of Stacy Price Holbert
Adversity is a gift. A true champion believes in themselves even when no one else does. Strength doesn’t come from what you can do, it comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t. Each of these statements undeniably describes the Sr High Magazine Rattlers this football season. Compared to last year, the Rattlers have already nearly doubled their scoring stats. By the end of their 2018 scheduled season play, Magazine averaged 25 points a game. This year though, with two games still left in the season, the Rattlers are averaging 42 points a game.
Flying high from last Friday nights 44-13 homecoming win over the Lavaca Golden Arrows, Magazine stays undefeated in the 2A-4 conference standings 3-0 and 5-1 in total season play. Helping to earn their homecoming victory was Caleb Hyatt, Kaedon Trejo, and Tatum Scott all bringing in Rattler touchdowns. Adding to the score with their two-point conversions were Cameron Raggio, Brad Price, Kobe Faughn, and Hyatt. The Rattlers game was kept moving forward due to some unbelievably flawless runs made by Tsim Neeg Vang, Ashton Droemer, Jacob Hall, Trejo, Scott, and Faughn.
Homecoming was a complete success after all was said and done. This seasons 2019 Football Homecoming Court was: Queen- Lauren Young Princess- Sydnie Pickartz Princess- Jordyn Krigbaum 12th Grade Maid- Jenna Salzer 11th Grade Maid- Youa Lee 10th Grade Maid- Ally Gomez 9th Grade Maid- Raeleigh Case 8th Grade Maid- Rian Miles 7th Grade Maid- Gracee Franklin
Now, the Rattlers are preparing for this Friday nights battle at JC Westside against the 0-3 Rebels. Last season, Magazine slaughtered Westside 40-6 and Friday night, the Rattlers plan to do it again for their final conference road game. The Rebels are 1-7 on the season with their only win coming from Two Rivers and are averaging 23 points a game.
Although Magazine isn’t too concerned with the final outcome of their upcoming game, its next Friday nights final conference game against Mountainburg, that the Rattlers are anxiously looking forward to. Magazine and Mountainburg are the top two contenders in the 2A-4 standings and when it comes time for them to face-off, it could be anybody’s game. The Sr High Rattlers will hit the road on Friday, October 25 to take to the field against the Rebels starting at 7 p.m.
On Tuesday, October 22, the Hackett Sr High Lady Hornets took to the court to take on the Decatur Lady Bulldogs in the semi-final round of District. This season, the 2019 District Volleyball Tournament was held in Hackett so the #1 Lady Hornets knew they were really going to have to bring it to ensure that nobody would be taking their glory on their home turf.
After sending the Lady Bulldogs home crying with a 3-0 loss, the Lady Hornets held firm to their undefeated conference title upgrading it to 12-0. They sit 23-2-1 in total season play. With almost complete blowout sets in the semi-final round against Decatur, the entire Lady Hornet squad accomplished what needed to be done to guarantee a spot in the finals.
Kayla Richardson led her team with 14 digs while also earning one kill and one ace. Madeline Freeman secured 11 aces and two kills. Rain Vaughn grabbed seven kills. Kandace Byrd obtained five digs, four aces, and two kills. Sarah White and Kenadi Wright earned one and five kills respectively. Jamye Durham picked up three digs, three kills, and two aces. Brooke Holt acquired five aces and one dig. Jordyn Null scooped up one ace. And Shayla Foster along with Madi Taylor netted three kills each with Foster also earning two aces.
Tonight, Hackett will be facing the #2 Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows for the prestigious title of District Champions. The match will start at 5 p.m and all Hackett fans are asked to wear black to help the Lady Hornets blackout District. All Hackett students will have free admission.
