By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
WEST HELENA -- Donnie Willis got what he wanted Tuesday night.
In a preseason jamboree against Brinkley and West Helena, Willis' Mustangs played hard.
"That's what I wanted to see, Willis had said on Monday. "That's what we were looking for and what we were expecting."
The Mustangs took care of business on both sides of the football Tuesday, shutting out West Helena 7-0 and blanking Brinkley 13-0.
Using no less than a half dozen tailbacks and a quartet of fullbacks, the Mustangs moved the ball offensively while gang tackling and flying to the football on defense.
Daniel Echols scored twice -- on runs of 15 and 40 yards -- while DeMarcus Sinclair ripped off a 45-yard touchdown run.
"Echols is going to be fun to watch," Willis said. "His long TD run was a highlight clip anywhere."
Willis used both quarterbacks, senior starter Austin Easley and backup Kenyatae Chism.
"Both ran the offense well and both moved the ball," Willis said. "And on defense, I was surprised we tossed two shut outs. I thought we could, but I don't think I expected it."
Willis singled out Andrew Embry, Tony Jones, A.J. Barton, William Washington and Sinclair on defense but said everyone played hard and did their job.
Willis praised his Mustangs for their consistency at the scrimmage.
"We didn't make many mistakes at all," Willis said. "As coaches, we came away with a good feeling about what we saw. Now we have to take that and build on what we did last night."
The Mustangs open the season on Sept. 6, when they take on the defending Class AAAA state champs, Wynne at Yellowjacket Stadium.
The Blue Junior Mustangs won three of four quarters played Tuesday in a junior high jamboree held at Osceola.
Like the senior Mustangs, the Blue Mustangs delivered three shutout performances defeating Earle 14-0, Blytheville 6-0 and Gosnell 6-0 before losing to Osceola 8-0.
Osceola went undefeated through the jamboree. Each team played one quarter each against their opponents.
"We wanted to go over and compete and we competed a lot better than we thought we would," said Blue Mustang Coach Rich Trail said. "We felt like we were better prepared this year than we were last year."
Osceola drove to the Forrest City 1-yard line but the Blue defense stiffened and backed Osceola to the 20 where they faced a fourth and 20.
"We gave their quarterback too much time on the fourth down," Trail said. "and let him dance around long enough to find an open receiver for the score."
Offensively for Forrest City, Cory Embry scored three touchdowns and Preston Echols scored one.
All were rushing touchdowns.
"We didn't throw much," Trail said. "We didn't want to show all of our cards."
Both Blue Mustang quarterbacks, Marcus Fair and Stephon Weaver played well.
"Neither out-played the other," Trail said. "I thought one would come away from the scrimmage with a head up, but that didn't happen. I guess it's better to have two quarterbacks than not to have any at all."
Defensively Embry, Echols, Fair, Jimmy Bean, and Dennis Carter all looked good, according to Trail.
"Richard Flenory looked good on both sides of the ball, at middle linebacker and at fullback," Trail added. "I'm sure I'm leaving out some names."
Trail said while his Blue Mustangs were far from perfect, they played solid football and made precious few mistakes.
"Overall, last night was better than I expected," Trail said. "We didn't make many mistakes at all and that surprised me."
What lies ahead as the Blue Mustangs work toward their season opener on Sept. 5?
"Now, we just need to polish up a few things," Trail said. "Like I said, we played very, very well, but we still have some areas that need work."
The Palestine-Wheatley Patriots did exactly what third-year head coach Terry Farmer expected Tuesday night in a preseason scrimmage at Clarendon -- put points on the board.
The Patriots shut out the Lions 28-0.
Headed into the scrimmage, Farmer had said he expected his Patriots (7-3 overall a year ago) to be able to score.
The P-W Junior Patriots, coming off an undefeated season last year and losing 22 freshmen, lost to Clarendon's Junior Lions 30-8.
"We are young and very inexperienced this year," said Head Coach Dan Cockrell. "With so many ninth graders playing last year the eighth graders didn't get much playing time. So we have a long way to go and a lot to fix before Sept. 5."
Adam Kennedy scored P-W's only touchdown.
Long Real Estate, winners of the post-season T-Ball tournament played in July, recently celebrated with a picnic at Stuart Springs. The team presented the trophy to team sponsor Joyce Long. The coaches are Dewayne Armstrong and Bobby Woodard.