By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The bottom line was simple -- Marianna wasn't a very good football team and Forrest City needed a confidence-building win.
Right time, right team.
That equalled a 41-6 Mustang win last Friday to get the team to 1-1 as they prepare for their final nonconference game Friday against Osceola.
The 41 points was the most scored by a Mustang team since October 1998 when Forrest City defeated Little Rock Mills 61-6. It was only the eighth time since 1990 that the Mustangs have scored 40 or more points in a football game.
Three of those 40-point games have been against the Trojans.
Playing Marianna did give the Forrest City coaching staff the chance to look at some other things, like the offensive and defensive lines which underwent a facelift following the opening 28-7 loss to Wynne.
Trimming the fat, Coach Donnie Willis called it.
"We made some big changes for Marianna," Willis said. "We have guys on defense who do not go both ways now. We kept the big guys on offense with the exception of a possible short-yardage or goal line situation."
The changes, as Willis sees it, are permanent.
For the Mustangs, the Marianna game gave Willis a chance to use a lot of running backs including senior Lafayette Smith, who has been in search of a "breakout" game for some time now. Smith scored twice for the Mustangs.
The Sinclair twins -- DeMarcus and Dominique played well. DeMarcus led the Mustangs with close to 100 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
And then there was sophomore Larry Bean, who added a touchdown.
Osceola comes wounded and limping into Sam Smith Stadium at 0-2 after losses to Blytheville and West Memphis.
Willis knows Osceola Coach Clinton Gore will come prepared to play tough despite the winless start.
"He will have his team primed and ready to play," Willis said. "I think we have just as good a chance to get a win over Osceola as they have to get a win over us. I believe they are scarier at 0-2 than they would be at 2-0."
It is also Gore's first "official" game back on the sidelines after serving a three-game suspension imposed by the Arkansas Activities Association for rules violation.
"Clinton will be back and they are looking for something to happen," Willis said. "But we feel like we owe them something from last year, so we have some motivation as well."
A year ago, Osceola beat the Mustangs 18-6 on the field but had to forfeit the victory after it was learned they had used a ineligible player in the game.
"We got the win on paper, but our guys want the win on the field," Willis said. "If we just play hard we have a chance."
*In Monday's junior varsity game, the Mustangs handed Brinkley a 29-6 loss getting two touchdowns from Terrance Ware and Dominique Sinclair.
The JV Mustangs are 2-0 for the year and will make their first road trip to West Memphis next Monday.
The Forrest City seventh and eighth-grade Mustangs played their first game of the season on Saturday. The Blue eighth-graders defeated West Memphis East while the seventh-grade Mustangs lost to East.
The Forrest City seventh-graders will host Marion tonight at 5 p.m, followed by the White eighth-grade Mustangs taking on the eighth-grade Patriots at 6:30 p.m.
* LOCAL SPORTS
MEN'S FALL SOFTBALL
Monday's Scores
Gym 2000 18, Miller Insurance 10
Marion Performance 22, Morgan 11
M&T Paving 25, Section 8 Youth 14
Barnes Timber 39, Young Guns 18
CO-ED LEAGUE
Tuesday, September 17
Wynne Cinema vs Butler Building, 7 p.m. F3
Boar's Head vs T. Rodgers Const., 8 p.m. F3
FLAG FOOTBALL
Monday, September 23
Vikings vs Tigers, 6 p.m. F8
Bears vs Lions, 7 p.m. F8
Razorbacks vs Indians, 8 p.m. F8
YOUTH SOCCER
Tuesday, September 24
Tigers vs Rockets, 9-under, 6 p.m. F4&1
Grizzlies vs Iguanas, 10-13, 6 p.m. F2
Bullets vs Sting, 9-under, 7:15 p.m. F4&1
Flames vs Thrashers, 10-13, 7:15 p.m. F2
Monday's Score
Elementary
Calvary 1, Macon Road 1 OT
* PREP FOOTBALL
SEVENTH-GRADE
Tuesday, September 17
Marion at Forrest City, 5 p.m.
EIGHTH-GRADE
Marion at Forrest City, 6:30 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOL JV
Monday's Score
Forrest City 29, Brinkley 6