During the Late 1970s and early 1980s, the Forrest City Mustangs rarely ever lost to Wynne.
The 90s have been quite a different story -- where a Forrest City victory over Wynne has been a rare commodity.
The Mustangs last registered a win over the Yellowjackets in 1997.
Is this the year for the Mustangs to end the drought?
The answer will be unveiled tonight at Sam Smith Stadium as will Forrest City's new and improved offensive scheme.
The two teams always play each other tough but over the past four years, each team's fortunes have taken a different path with Wynne putting together a 45-6-1 overall mark while the Mustangs have been 13-27 over the same stretch.
Wynne Coach Don Campbell begins his 13th season at Wynne and has won a state title. Donnie Willis begins his fifth season with the Mustangs and is still looking for his first winning season.
The Mustangs have 25 seniors on roster this season -- more than the team has had since the early 90s. Will it be enough to turn the Mustang fortunes around?
On paper, it should be.
The year Campbell dressed out 25 seniors was the same year the 'Jackets won the Class AAAA state title.
Wynne is the preseason pick to win their conference while the Mustangs have been picked for a fifth-place finish in their league. Forrest City wants more and wants to begin tonight.
Wynne needed a 25-yard field goal to slip past Searcy in a preseason scrimmage game. Forrest city shut out West Helena 13-0.
Campbell says the key for his 'Jackets is not giving up the big play to Forrest City. Willis says the key for his Mustangs is "execution."
"They have a gigantic line, backs with great speed and a distaste for the fact that we have won the last four straight games," Campbell said. "They will try to line up and just run over us."
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Non-Conference Matchup
Wynne Yellowjackets
at
Forrest City Mustangs
Friday, Sept. 5
Sam Smith Stadium
7:30 p.m.
Last Year's Score
Wynne 28, FCity 7
Last Year's Record
Forrest City 4-6
Wynne 10-2
2003 Preseason Ranking
Class AAAA
Wynne 8th
Class AAAAA
Forrest City 19th
Prediction
Wynne by 8 points
It is the fifth consecutive season opening game between Hughes and Barton.
It is the sixth season opener for Hughes head coach James Wright.
In the five previous head-to-head matchups, Barton holds a slight edge, 3-2.
The game will be played on Hughes' home field, which is not quite as well lighted as Barton's stadium but will serve the purpose well in helping to camouflauge the football against Hughes' dark blue uniforms and the no quarterback, spinning and whirling Single Wing offense.
Both teams are coming off very successful seasons in 2002. Both teams won 10 games and both teams are playoff tested.
Both are ranked in most of the preseason polls and both teams belong to conferences steeped in tradition -- Hughes in the 3AA and Barton in the 6AA -- both of which are 10-team, super conferences in their second year of existence.
The Blue Devils finished second to Marked Tree in their first trip through the 3AA a year ago. A November spurt, shot Hughes into the third round of the playoffs, however, and made the Blue Devils the league's only 10-win team.
Hughes also joined Salem as the only two schools from the league besides Marked Tree to win a playoff game since 1994, which was also the year Hughes played for the state title under former coach Gus Malzhan.
The 6AA conference includes the most prolific program that AA has ever seen, in Barton, holder of many state titles.
The league enters 2003 with the defending state champion, Harding Academy, and two of the previous three state runners-up Augusta in 2001 and Carlisle in 1999.
After a couple of years wit hlow numbers, Barton is back on the rise with about 30 players. Hughes' numbers reach 28, almost half of those being seniors.
Non-Conference
Matchup
Barton Bears
at
Hughes Blue Devils
Friday, Sept. 5
at Blue Devil Stadium
7:30 p.m.
Last Year's Score
Barton 24, Hughes 8
Last Year's Record
Hughes 10-3
Barton 10-2
2003 Preseason Ranking
Class AA
Hughes 10th
Barton 3rd
Prediction
Barton by
8 points
The Palestine-Wheatley Patriots enter the 2003 high school season carrying some heavy baggage.
While the Patriots have made a habit of reaching the state playoffs each year, the team has never made it past the first round since reviving its football program in 1996.
Could this be the year the Patriots finally rid themselves of the "one game and out" playoff suitcase?
The players think so. Head Coach Terry Farmer thinks so.
Like Hughes, Palestine-Wheatley belongs to the 10-team 3AA Conference and they start the year as the preseason favorite to finish second. The Patriots finished the 2002 season in a tie for fourth and reached the playoffs.
With the exception of one sophomore, Farmer lists every Patriot player as "good to go" in Friday's opener.
Junior Fred Leak, who led the P-W Junior Patriots to an undefeated season as a freshman, will get the start at quarterback this season.
Leak, known for his scrambling abilities, will be called on to throw the football more this season as the Patriots will try to levelize the offense, which has always been "run-oriented."
A year ago, Des Arc emerged as a team to reckon with by finishing third in the 6AA conference to earn its seventh straight playoff berth. The Eagles were jolted back to reality in a first-round playoff loss to Hughes.
The Eagles begin the year with a new coach but must find some offensive strength after losing All-Conference quarterback Brandon Stidham.
The Patriots landed Class AA's 13th preseason pick while the Eagles forgot to land on any of the preseason polls.
Des Arc returns fewer than 12 starters as the 2003 season opens. With only three seniors on roster, the Patriots will have to rely on their juniors and sophomores for a successful run through the 3AA this season.
"Des Arc isn't quite as strong as they were last year, but we can't look past them," Farmer said.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
It wasn't the ending that head coach Rich Trail wanted to see.
Trail's Forrest City Junior Mustangs battled Marianna to a 14-14 tie Thursday in the junior high season opener for both football teams.
"We outplayed them in the first half and they outplayed us in the second half," Trail said. "We played hard, we just didn't do our job in containing them in the second half. They had the momentum and we didn't."
Forrest City led 14-0 at the half before Marianna scored 14 unanswered points in the second half.
John Washington and Antonio Robinson scored one touchdown each to lead Forrest City. Michael Holland added a two-point conversion.
Washington's TD came on a fourth and 10 play from the Marianna 20.
"That was huge for us," Trail said. "He (Washington) dragged at least three defenders into the endzone with him."
Trail said his team may have been a little tired late in the game, especially washington and Robinson, who also turned around on defense and played linebacker.
"We can take this and build on it," Trail said. "We got a little sloppy and had some penalties. We have a few little things to correct. Marianna was quick and they hit some big plays in the second half. You can't blink against a team like them. We did and there they were."
The Junior Mustangs had a chance for the win but with under a minute to play, their possession stalled.
"That was the story in the second half," Trail said. "We couldn't keep the offensive effort going."
The Junior Mustangs will play their home opener next week when they host Wynne on Thursday, Sept. 11
The seventh and eighth-grade Forrest City teams will host West Memphis East on Tuesday, Sept. 9, beginning at 5 p.m.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Kendric Smith scored two touchdowns Thursday night and Thomas Lowe added another as the Hughes Junior Blue Devils opened the 3AA Conference season with a 22-6 win over Walnut Ridge.
Smith put Hughes on the board with 7:35 to play in the second quarter when he scored from five yards out and then added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
Lowe scored with two minutes left in the first half when he broke free for a 56-yard scoring run. Katarrus Poney added the two-point conversion run and Hughes took a 16-0 lead at the half.
Walnut Ridge avoided the shut out midway through the third quarter scoring on a long run but missed the conversion try to trail 16-6.
Smith made it 22-6 with 4:08 left in the game when he scored on a 68-yard run.
The Junior Blue Devils will travel to Rector on Thursday, Sept. 11.
Marked Tree 28, Salem 6
At Salem, Bryan Coleman scored all four of Marked Tree's touchdowns as the Indians pummeled Salem 28-6 in junior high football Thursday.
Salem (0-1) answered late in the second quarter when quarterback Jeb Nelson hooked up with Josh Bontarger for a 7-yard touchdown pass.
Coleman led the Indians (1-0) with 149 yards on 16 carries. William Ruthven, who connected with Tyler Blagg for a two-point conversion, ran for 95 yards on 11 carries.
Cross County 20, Rector 0
Cross County's Michael Cook scored two touchdowns to lead the Thunderbirds over Rector 20-0 in junior high football Thursday at Rector.
Cook led Cross County with 56 yards on 12 carries.
Craig Walker was second on the team in rushing with nine carries for 40 yards. He also added a touchdown on a 61-yard interception return.
Newport 13, Batesville 12
At Batesville, Geoff Hayes' game-winning extra point put Newport in the win column following Cory Hall's 14-yard touchdown pass to Cody Knight to knot the game at 12-12.
Hayes gave Newport the early 6-0 lead in the first quarter, dashing into the end zone from the 5-yard line.
Batesville's 60-yard touchdown pass knotted the game at 6-6 before the Junior Pioneers took a brief 12-6 lead before halftime with a 2-yard run.
Harrisburg 36, Hoxie 0
Harrisburg Hornets tailback Nick Burnett scored three touchdowns Thursday night, finding the end zone on runs of 50 yards, 10 yards and three yards.
Linebacker Byron Lindsey also found the end zone after picking off a Hoxie pass, dashing 40 yards for the score.
Trumann 28, Paragould 8
Richard Nelson ran for 156 yards on just five carries and scored three times to lead Trumann to a 28-8 win over Paragould Thursday night in junior high football.
Nelson scored on a 70-yard run and caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Barker in the second quarter, helping Trumann (1-0) to a 20-0 lead.
Earle 6, Palestine-Wheatley 0
Earle's Junior Bulldogs scored on a busted play and made the touchdown stand in Thursday's 6-0 win over the Palestine-Wheatley Junior Patriots.
"We played hard and we had our chances to win," said P-W Coach Terry Clardy. "We made some minor mistakes which kept us off the scoreboard."