By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The story of David and Goliath worked for the Forrest City Mustangs Friday night.
And rightly so. After all, Forrest City Head Coach Donnie Willis, who is as comfortable behind a church pulpit as he is on the sidelines, had been preaching the "Giant Killers" theme to the Mustangs all week long leading up to the Jonesboro game.
The result -- an edge-of-your-seat, come-from-behind 21-20 AAAAA-East conference victory over Jonesboro.
"We went in knowing Jonesboro was going to be bigger and stronger than us and we knew we would be in for a fight," Willis said. "That's why I told the team the story of David and Goliath. David believed and because of that he was successful. I wanted this team to have faith in themselves and in their teammates. I wanted the kids to play hard and persevere and not quit."
And the Mustangs didn't quit. Not when they fell behind 7-0 or when they fell behind 14-7 or when they trailed 20-15 late in the game.
Willis told the Mustang offense at the half to keep playing hard. They did and it paid off.
Trailing 7-0 at the half, the Mustangs tied the game at 7-7 when quarterback Justin Edwards hit Jesse Ballard with 7:37 left in the third quarter.
The Mustangs continued to play hard, on both sides of the football, even though the Hurricane regained the lead at 14-7. Forrest City battled back to take a one-point lead 15-14 again on an Edwards touchdown pass, this time to Jeff Bradley.
For a third time, Jonesboro took the lead back and for a third time, the Mustangs battled hard, blocking the extra point kick to keep Jonesboro's last lead at five points and then taking advantage of two fourth quarter fumbles by the Hurricane to score the game-winning touchdown, Edwards' third strike of the game was to a third different receiver, Demarcus Lockett with less than 25 seconds to play.
It wasn't just the story of David and Goliath that turned the tide for the Mustangs.
During the week, Willis made some key personnel changes.
He moved Theodis Haggins to fullback and Lafayette Smith to the backfield and kept Montrell Ashcraft on offense rather than using his talents solely on defense.
"We wanted to get a little more quickness and some harder hitting at the fullback spot," Willis said. "We made some adjustments along the offensive line, especially at the guard and tackle slots and I think everything we did helped us. We knew this game would be a make us or break us game."
The 21-20 win was the closest margin of victory over Jonesboro since 1990 when the Mustangs won 15-12 under former coach John Burgess.
It helped the Mustangs' cause that Jonesboro fumbled the ball six times -- especially after Forrest City's final touchdown when Jonesboro fumbled the kickoff and all the Mustangs had to do was run out the clock without running a single play.
"This was an important win for us," Willis said. "We needed to win because we need to start a winning tradition. It's a new season."
And, it appears, that the East conference race is a wide-open affair.
"Right now, all four of the playoff spots are up for grabs," Willis said. "And we want one of them."
The Mustangs at 3-1 and 1-0, are in a first-place tie with Cabot, West Memphis and Sylvan Hills.
They travel to Little Rock Mills Friday.
Mills defeated the Mustangs a year ago 27-21 at Sam Smith.
Team Conf. Overall Pts Scored Pts Allowed
Cabot 1-0-0 3-1-0 109 27
Forrest City 1-0-0 3-1-0 70 66
West Memphis 1-0-0 2-2-0 63 62
Sylvan Hills 1-0-0 2-2-0 72 99
Jonesboro 0-1-0 2-2-0 103 101
Jacksonville 0-1-0 1-3-0 82 77
LR Mills 0-1-0 1-3-0 50 130
Blytheville 0-1-0 0-4-0 31 112
The 2001 Forrest City Athletic Hall of Fame induction banquet was held Friday at the Forrest City Civic Center. Twelve former athletes, representing Lincoln and Forrest City High Schools were inducted. They are (Pat Todd, Clarence Jones Jr., Florine Bingham, Jim Lindsey, Sonny Holmes, Jimmie Rogers, Charlotte Fields Wright, Dudley Parker, Bill Kessinger, John Henry Watson and Rodney Echols. Not pictured is William Hampton.
The 12 inductees brings the Hall of Fame membership total to 24. University of Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles was the featured speaker at the banquet, which drew about 250 people. All of the inductees were recognized during halftime of the Forrest City-Jonesboro football game.
* YOUTH LEAGUES
Flag Football
Monday's Scores
Tigers 18, Vikings 12
Bears 28, Lions 20
Indians 34, Razorbacks 12
Youth Soccer
Tuesday, September 25
Tigers vs Rockets, 9-under, 6 p.m.
Grizzlies vs Iguanas, 10-13, 6 p.m.
Bullets vs Sting, 9-under, 7:15 p.m.
Flames vs Thrashers, 10-13, 7:15 p.m.
* ADULT SOFTBALL
Men's Fall League
Monday's Scores
Barnes Timber 25, Miller Insurance 3
M&T Paving 11, Boar's Head 10
SSA 26, Young Guns 9
League Standings
Barnes Timber 4-0
M&T Paving 3-1
Boar's Head 2-2
Miller Insurance 2-2
SSA 1-3
Young Guns 0-4
Co-Ed Softball
Tuesday, September 25
Wynne Cinema vs Movie Madness, 6 p.m.
Boar's Head vs Kemps, 7 p.m.