By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
BLYTHEVILLE -- The Forrest City Mustangs scratched and clawed their way to a13-3 win over Blytheville Friday night, snapping a two-game AAAAA-East Conference losing streak.
The Mustangs move to 4-3 overall for the year and get even at 2-2 in the league. Blytheville remains winless at 0-7 and 0-4.
"Our kids went out and played hard," said Mustang Coach Donnie Willis. "It may not have been their best outing, but they played hard and that was the key. Defensively we got the job done and offensively we scored at the right times. We're right back in the chase for the playoffs and we have three very important conference games left to play. We have to be ready each time we put on the pads."
The Mustangs are locked in a four-way tie for third place in the conference with Jonesboro, LR Mills and Sylvan Hills. next up for the Mustangs is a Friday road trip at Jacksonville.
The Red Devils, coming off a big 31-18 win over Mills on Friday, stands at 3-1 in the conference and in second place behind league-leading Cabot.
The Mustangs took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when quarterback Justin Edwards found Eric Jimmerson for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 1:48 to play. The extra point was good.
Blytheville answered in the second quarter with a 27-yard field goal to cut Forrest City's lead to 7-3 at the half.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Forrest City dominated in time of possession, holding Blytheville to just 10 offensive plays.
The Chicks saw the ball even less in the fourth quarter, taking only seven snaps on offense.
Forrest City, meanwhile, added to their total late in the game when Theodis Haggins scored on a six-yard run with 3:46 to play.
The Mustangs finished with 254 yards, 203 of that on the ground while the Chicks finished with 64 yards.
Haggins finished with 123 yards on 27 carries for the Mustangs.
Montrell Ashcraft carried three times for 26 yards.
Edwards completed three passes for 49 yards.
Blytheville suffered five turnovers -- two lost fumbles and three interceptions.
It was the second straight win over Blytheville. A year ago, at Sam Smith, the Mustangs won 37-23.
After the Jacksonville road trip, the Mustangs will finish out the season with home games against Sylvan Hills and West Memphis.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
CHERRY VALLEY -- The Palestine-Wheatley Patriots chewed up the Cross County Thunderbirds 46-8 Friday night and improved to 5-2 overall for the season and 3-1 in the 3AA Conference.
Senior tailback Ray Gardner ran for 162 yards on 16 carries and scored one touchdown while Teddy Matthews hauled in two touchdown passes from junior quarterback Clyde Kennedy.
Gardner's touchdown gives him 12 for the season while raising his rushing yards total to 815 for the year.
The Patriots opened an 8-0 lead over the T-Birds in the first quarter when Matthews caught a 15-yard pass from Kennedy with 2:07 showing. The two-point pass play was good.
Kennedy hooked up with Matthews again in the second quarter for a 20-yard scoring strike and a 14-0 lead.
A Cross County fumble led to Kennedy's 10-yard touchdown run with 5:42 left in the first half and a 20-0 lead.
The Patriots recovered their on-sides kick and with 4:43 showing, Kennedy kept again, this time for a 35-yard scoring run. The two-point pass made it 28-0.
Gardner's 17-yard touchdown run with 1:02 to play before the half put the Patriots in front 34-0 at the break.
Cross County's Daniel Bennett scored on a 71-yard run as the T-Birds avoided the shutout with 4:31 to play in the third quarter. Bennett added the two-point run as well cutting P-W's lead to 34-8.
Elijah Duncan made it 40-8 P-W lead in the fourth when he broke free for a 13-yard run and Damien Walker capped the Patriot scoring with a 45-yard touchdown run with 1:08 to play in the game.
Kennedy finished with 96 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns. He completed five of 13 passes.
Walker had 61 yards on two carries and one touchdown. Duncan added 75 yards on five carries and one TD while Quinton Mason had 52 yards on seven carries and Jonathan Wheeler had 36 yards on four carries.
The Patriots finished with 640 total yards, 539 of that on the ground and ran their season total to 2,950 total yards with 2,519 of that rushing.
The Patriots will host Earle Friday night for homecoming activities.
ENGLAND -- The Hughes Blue Devils remained in a three-way tie for second place in the 6AAA Conferene Friday behind a 39-14 win over the England Lions at England.
The Blue Devils, 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the league, are tied with Brinkley and Lonoke behind league-leading Pine Bluff Dollarway.
Hughes owns the head-to-head tie-breaker over Lonoke, a team they have already defeated this season.
The Blue Devils host DeWitt this week and play Brinkley on Oct. 26.
The Forrest City seventh-grade football teams will conclude their season Tuesday, Oct. 16, when the three teams will take part in a round-robin jamboree at Sam Smith Stadium.
The three-team jamboree will begin at 5 p.m. The second game will be at 6 p.m. and the third at 7 p.m.
* PREP FOOTBALL
High School
Friday's Scores
Forrest City 13, Blytheville 3
Cabot 35, LR Mills 0
Jacksonville 31, LR Mills 18
Jonesboro 13, West Memphis 12
PB Dollarway 46, Brinkley 25
Hughes 39, England 14
Lonoke 28, DeWitt 13
Palestine-Wheatley 46, Cross County 8
Earle 40, Walnut Ridge 6
Marked Tree 28, Rector 6
Salem 28, Parkin 0
High School
Monday, October 15
Forrest City at West Memphis, 7 p.m.
(Junior Varsity)
Tuesday, October 16
FCity Seventh-Grade Jamboree, 5 p.m.
Sam Smith Stadium
* CITY LEAGUES
Men's Adult Softball
Monday, October 15
Boar's Head vs Young Guns, 6 p.m.
Barnes Timber vs SSA, 7 p.m.
M&T Paving vs Miller Insurance, 8 p.m.
Youth Flag Football
Monday, October 15
Lions vs Bears, 6 p.m.
Tigers vs Vikings, 7 p.m.
Indians vs Razorbacks, 8 p.m.