By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Thirty-six days and counting. That's not long at all.
On Thursday, Nov. 22 -- Thanksgiving Day -- the fourth Forrest City Grocery/Rumble on the Ridge high school basketball tournament tips at Mustang Arena.
The tournament runs through Saturday, Nov. 24 with four games scheduled to be played each day.
This year's eight-team field includes two Arkansas state champions -- Osceola and Hughes -- as well as one runner-up to a state title -- Woodlawn High School from Baton Rouge, La.
Osceola won the Class AAAAA state title while Hughes won the Class AAA state championship last March.
Rounding out the field are William Chrisman High School from Independence, Mo.; Columbus High School from Columbus, Miss.; Marietta High School from Marietta, Ga.; Carroll High School from Monroe, La. and of course, the host team Forrest City Mustangs.
With the exception of Forrest City, all of the teams are first-timers to the tournament.
For information on reserved seating, call Bill Baxter, tournament director, at (870) 633-0780.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Forrest City has taken three of the last four football games against Jacksonville's Red Devils.
Come Friday night, another Mustang win would speak volumes for Forrest City's run toward a second straight Class AAAAA playoff appearance.
After a slow start (1-1 in the first three nonconference games) Jacksonville has found their stride for a 3-1 start in the AAAAA-East which has the Red Devils in second place behind league-leading Cabot.
The Mustangs are locked in a tie for third and are very much in the hunt for a playoff berth.
Friday night, Jacksonville Coach Johnny Watson picked up his 100th career win when his Devils turned back Little Rock Mills 31-18.
Forrest City Coach Donnie Willis, only in his third season as the Mustangs' head coach, will be looking for his 10th career victory Friday night at Jacksonville's Jan Crow Stadium.
The Red Devils controlled most the game against Mills, recovering five fumbles and grabbing two interceptions.
Meanwhile, the Mustangs were holding off Blytheville 13-3 to snap a two-game conference losing streak.
"After the back-to-back losses to Mills and Cabot, I told the kids they had backed themselves into a corner and now it was up to them to claw their way out," Willis said. "They did that and showed some character in doing so. But the season isn't over yet, and we have a long way to go to get to postseason, which is where we want to be."
A 14-10 Forrest City win over the Red Devils a year ago at Sam Smith, helped propel the Mustangs into the playoffs after an 0-3 start in the league.
Jacksonville also signals the final road trip of the regular season for the Mustangs. Forrest City ends with Sylvan Hills and West Memphis at home.
Jacksonville has been led by quarterback Chris Rodriguez, who has quick-strike tendencies through the air. Jacksonville, not known for throwing the ball, completed five passes for more than 100 yards against the Comets. Most were quick hitters up the middle.
The Red Devils secured the win by returning to their traditional ball-control ground offense to chew up the clock and lock in the win.
Watson said he was glad to get the 100th win, but was happier to be in sole possession of second place in the league.
For Forrest City, senior tailback Theodis Haggins finally broke free against Blytheville for a big game, finishing with 128 yards and one touchdown.
The Forrest City White Junior Mustangs have an open date Thursday but the Blue Junior Mustangs will play their final season game at West Memphis East.
The Hughes Junior Blue Devils will play at DeWitt and the undefeated Palestine-Wheatley Junior Patriots will host Parkin at Wheatley.
* PREP FOOTBALL
High School
Friday, October 19
AAAAA-East
Cabot at Blytheville
Forrest City at Jacksonville
LR Mills at Jonesboro
West Memphis at Sylvan Hills
6AAA Conference
Lonoke at Brinkley
DeWitt at Hughes
PB Dollarway at Dumas
Nonconference
CAC at England
3AA Conference
Cross County at Parkin
Earle at Palestine-Wheatley (HC)
Marked Tree at Walnut Ridge
Rector at Salem
AAAAA-East Conference Conf. O/all
Cabot 4-0 6-1
Jacksonville 3-1 4-3
Forrest City 2-2 4-3
Jonesboro 2-2 4-3
Sylvan Hills 2-2 3-4
LR Mills 2-2 3-4
West Memphis 1-3 2-5
Blytheville 0-4 0-7
6AAA Conference Conf. O/all
PB Dollarway 4-0 6-1
Brinkley 2-1 5-2
Hughes 2-1 4-2
Lonoke 2-1 5-2
Dumas 1-2 1-5
England 1-3 3-4
DeWitt 0-4 1-6
3AA Conference Conf. O/all
Marked Tree 4-0 4-3
Palestine-Wheatley 3-1 5-2
Earle 3-1 4-3
Salem 3-1 4-3
Rector 2-2 2-4
Walnut Ridge 1-3 2-5
Cross County 0-4 0-6
Parkin 0-4 0-7