By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Before last Friday's AAAAA-East Conference game at Mountain Home, Forrest City Coach Dwight Lofton was hoping to nail down a state tournament berth to take some of the pressure off tonight's regular season home finale against Jonesboro.
It didn't quite happen that way.
The Mustangs lost to Mountain Home 46-43 and failed to clinch one of the four conference playoff seeds.
It was Forrest City's first loss to the Bombers in four conference games. And for both teams, it was big.
Mountain Home, relishing their role as a spoiler now that they have been eliminated from the state playoff picture is going nowhere after tonight's finale at Jacksonville.
For the Mustangs, it is yet another season that comes down to the final game which will decide if Forrest City makes a return trip to North Little Rock next week or not for the Class AAAAA State Tournament.
"Tonight is the ultimate backs- against-the-wall game for us," said Lofton. "But we have been here before -- in past years with different teams and this year. We tend to play better and have more success when we are in a position such as this. We don't play as well, it seems, when we have any sort of cushion."
The Mustangs (14-11 overall and 6-7 in the East) need to win tonight. A win guarantees the team a trip to the state tournament. A loss doesn't necessarily count them out, but it could.
That depends on the outcome of tonight's Mountain Home-Jacksonville game.
There are four possibilities.
*If Forrest City loses to Jonesboro and Jacksonville (10-15 overall and 6-7) defeats Mountain Home -- the Red Devils go to North Little Rock and Forrest City stays home.
*If Forrest City wins and Jacksonville loses -- the Mustangs go to North Little Rock and Jacksonville sits out.
*Should Forrest City and Jacksonville both lose tonight --which would leave both teams at 6-8 in the East -- the Mustangs go as the fourth seed based on their 10-point victory over the Red Devils last week.
*If Forrest City and Jacksonville both win tonight, Forrest City goes and the Red Devils stay home.
West Memphis (13-0) has already clinched the East Conference championship and will be the No. 1 seed from the East. Blytheville and Jonesboro are both in the state mix as the second and third seeds. Tonight's final round of game will determine who wears which seed.
A year ago, the Mustangs defeated Jonesboro on the final playing date to earn the No. 4 seed into the state tournament. That game was a "must win."
Forrest City lost to El Dorado in the first round.
The 2000-01 season ended with a little less drama going into the final game against Cabot. Forrest City had already locked up the No. 3 seed into the state tournament. The team lost to Camden-Fairview in the opening round.
The Mustangs ended the 1999-2000 season as the No. 2 seed from the East, finishing with a conference mark of 9-5, but lost to Little Rock Central in the first-round of the state tournament.
In Lofton's second season, 1997-98, the Mustangs finished 7-7 and entered postseason as the No. 4 seed, losing to Springdale in the first round.
There are, naturally several Forrest City keys to securing a win tonight but two stand a little larger.
"We have to slow down Jonesboro's Ryan Williams, and we have to push the tempo," Lofton said. "If we get caught in a half-court game, we have signed our death warrant. Jonesboro, right now, is probably the hottest team in the league. But, like I said, we've been down this road before."
Tonight's four-game set begins at 4 p.m., when the junior varsity girls take the floor.
The JV boys will follow and the varsity squads will close out the evening.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
On Saturday, the Palestine-Wheatley Patriots lost to Altheimer in the district championship game for the third straight year.
But the Patriots qualified for the Class AA Region 6 tournament as the No. 2 seed.
Since the 1996-97 season, the Patriots have advanced to regionals seven times including this year's upcoming trip.
That is a nice streak and one any team would be proud to own.
There is another streak the Patriots would like to shed.
In each of the six regional tournament appearances, the Patriots have lost in the first round.
Thursday, P-W gets another chance when they face Harding Academy in a first-round game at Augusta.
It will be a repeat of last year's first-round regional matchup won by Harding.
In the other previous five regionals the Patriots have faced and been eliminated by Augusta, three times, Buffalo Island Central and Marmaduke.
Palestine-Wheatley enters regional play with just one senior on its roster -- guard Jestin Tomblin who will be surrounded on the court by 12 juniors and three sophomores -- all seasoned players.
In other games Thursday, it will be Augusta going against Elaine.
On Wednesday, Carlisle takes on Marvell and Class AA's top-ranked team and defending state champs, Altheimer gets DeValls Bluff.
Dante Wright, who was recently named the director for the nine-county East Arkansas Fellowship of Christian Athletes, will be the featured speaker on Monday, March 1, during a rally at the Forrest City Junior High School auditorium.
The rally begins at 6:30 p.m., and is open to all FCA Chapter members within the nine-county district.
A Texas native and former assistant football coach at Arkansas State University, Wright recently accepted the challenge to build FCA huddle groups in the 36 schools within the nine-county area.
For more than two years, the East Arkansas FCA has been working toward establishing a local office which would serve the nine-counties -- St. Francis, Cross, Arkansas, Crittenden, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, Prairie and Woodruff -- through rallies, banquets and other fund raising efforts.
Originally scheduled to open in June, the local FCA office will open its doors in March thanks in part to First Baptist Church in Forrest City, which will provide the office space needed.
The rally will begin at 6:30 p.m., with music by Fred Conley and Renee Griffin of Wynne, who recently released their first CD "Believe in this Man" which includes original Christian songs written by Conley and Griffin.
Using his athletic past as a springboard to reach out to coaches, students and others, Wright believes he can share the Gospel of Christ on a one-to-one basis.
"The ground work has been laid and now it is my job to help water what has already been planted," Wright said.
The FCA rally will help the general public know more about FCA and what FCA is about.
The rally is open to adults and students and admission is free.
The registration process for the 2004 Forrest City Recreation Department's youth baseball and softball seasons continues through March 15.
Registration for the adult men's and women's softball leagues will begin March 1.
The youth baseball and softball fees are $15 for each child living in the Forrest City city limits and $25 for each child outside the city limits.
For more information call Kenneth Taylor at 633-3667.
*Dulin's Sports Academy of Memphis, will host a pre-season baseball clinic on Saturday, March 13, at East Arkansas Community College.
To register, call (870) 633-4480 Ext. 261 or 333. The fee is $45 per camper.