By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City Mustangs are right where they want and need to be as they prepare for Little Rock Mills Friday at Little Rock.
Coming off a huge 21-20 home win over Jonesboro last Friday, the Mustangs have a chance to get off to a 2-0 start in the AAAAA-East with a win over Mills.
The Associated Press, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and at least one high school prediction site on the internet has the Mustangs favored over Mills.
The last best conference start for the Mustangs was 1997 when they defeated Jonesboro and North Pulaski to open 2-0 in league play.
The date with Mills is in the right place at the right time for Forrest City. And...there is the little matter of retribution. The Comets came to Sam Smith a year ago and walked out with a 27-21 upset win.
So far, the Comets have only one win under their belt this season, a 30-25 nonconference win over Hot Springs, winless in the AAAA-Southwest and dwelling in last place in both the offensive and defensive categories as well.
Headed into Friday, the Mustangs are in a four-way tie for first place with Cabot, Sylvan Hills and West Memphis.
The Mustangs are ranked fifth among the eight league teams in point scored (70) and the Mustangs' defense ranks third in the league in points allowed (66).
The Mustangs (3-1 overall) has scored 10 touchdowns through four games -- three on the ground and seven through the air.
The offense has totalled 1,048 yards so far hitting for almost five yards per offensive play.
The Mustangs have distributed the running game to no less than a baker's dozen in the backfield.
Theo Haggins, moved from tailback to fullback last week, leads the 13 Mustang backs with 139 yards on 43 carries but has just one touchdown. Senior tailback Montrell Ashcraft is second with 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns while Ray Dixon, who spends most of his time on defense, is third with 45 yards and Jesse Ballard, normally thought of as a receiver, is fourth with 44 yards.
Until last week's game against Jonesboro, Forrest City Head Coach Donnie Willis had been using the tandem-quarterback scheme -- utilizing senior Justin Edwards and junior Austin Easley effectively.
In fact, both Edwards' and Easley's stats are almost identical.
Both have put the ball in the air 41 times. Easley has found his intended target 17 times while Edwards has hit his receivers 18 times.
Easley's completion percentage is 41.5 percent while Edwards' is 44 percent. Easley has one more touchdown (4) however, than Edwards (3).
Senior tight end Eric Jimmerson, who Willis has said from the first, has Division I potential, leads the Mustang receivers with 116 yards on 19 catches and one touchdown.
Like the Mustang running backs, the receiving corp has nine different Forrest City players making catches.
Mills, dead last defensively, has given up 130 points in four games, just a tad more than 32 points per outing.
A 2-0 start for the Mustangs would set up a big-league showdown next week when Cabot is scheduled to roll into Sam Smith for Homecoming.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City White Junior Mustangs will try to earn their first win of the season tonight when they host Jonesboro Annie Camp at Sam Smith Stadium.
The White Mustangs have opened with losses to Newport, Jonesboro MacArthur and West Memphis West.
"We've had a good week on the practice field, and I think Thursday night will give us a good opportunity to get a win," aid Forrest City Coach Stan Siler.
Meanwhile, the Blue Junior Mustangs will be looking to rebound from their first loss of the year last Thursday when they travel to Pine Bluff for a nonconference matchup against Robey South tonight.
The Blue Mustangs lost to Blytheville last week, 24-20 and stand at 3-1 for the year.
Elsewhere, the Palestine-Wheatley Junior Patriots will be going for their fourth straight win tonight when they travel to Marked Tree.
The Junior Patriots are coming off big wins over Elaine, Rector and Walnut Ridge.
It is the best start for the Junior Patriots under fourth-year coach Dan Cockrell. The Junior Pats opened 1-1-1 in 1998 and again last year through three games.
Kentrell Buchanan, a Forrest City seventh-grade student, was named the Most Valuable Player at the Des Arc Ms. Mac Classic Tournament played in July, becoming the first player in the history of the tournament to win the award from the second-place team. Buchanan, playing for the Forrest City 12-year-old All Stars, was 15-of-21 from the plate. In a 17-8 win over Little Rock Junior Deputy, Buchanan hit three home runs. During the summer youth league in Forrest City, Buchanan played for Cochran Auto in the Bambino (11-12) League and helped lead the team to a 12-2 mark and the league championship.