By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Defense will be Dwight Lofton's battle cry tonight as his Mustang basketball team opens the season tonight at Little Rock Central.
"Central will put a tall line up on the floor and because of our lack of size, we will have to work harder on defending," Lofton said. "And of course rebounding. We have worked in some new things so we will see what happens tonight."
Central will hit the floor running with a 6-6, 6-7, 6-5 and 6-3 player, according to Lofton.
"We have our work cut out for us trying to keep the big guys off the boards," Lofton said.
"I know we are quick and fast but when the game starts Central will be 6-7 and when the game ends they will still be 6-7. We have to stay focused."
The Mustangs played a couple of halves last week at the Pine Bluff jamboree and Lofton said the Pine Bluff team they faced is the best indicator of what Central will give them to look at.
"Central is aggressive and very active around the hoop," Lofton said.
Last year, Central handed the Mustangs a 63-61 loss at Little Rock but when the Tigers rolled into Mustang Arena for the rematch, it was the Mustangs winning 57-51.
Friday night, the Mustangs will host Marianna and then will work towards the Thursday opener against Lanier at the eighth Rumble on the Ridge tournament.
"It is important to play the caliber of teams like a Central," Lofton said. "We will always try to do that to get us ready for conference and the Rumble."
Lofton said he will go with the same five starters he used in the jamboree -- Sophomores Marcus Britt and Stephon Weaver and seniors Nick Grady, Chris Williams and Taurus Moore.
All graded out well from the jamboree.
Off the bench Lofton will use Kelson Stewart.
"He impressed me with his effort at Pine Bluff," Lofton added. "He is a sophomore, but he graded out solid. Sherman Allen understands his role off the bench and Jarvis Palmer will be on the floor. He is more comfortable coming off the bench."
Lofton said Grady and Williams need to be the ones to step up tonight and put together a good game.
"Both are seniors and Nick needs to have a good game because he has the ability to make those around look good. He has more God-given talent than anyone else on the floor. Lofton said. "Chris needs to have a big game and has to stay out of foul trouble."
the most God-given talent of anyone on the floor. He just need sto apply it.
Coming back Friday to host Marianna after Central where does the importance lie.
Both teams are important games for us. Revived the series against Marianna last year and split with them. They are expected to have a solid team and because it is our first home game, the guys will be looking forward to that. They have had Marianna circled on the calendar twice.
It's safe to say that East Poinsett County is battle-tested now.
Never trailing all regular season and outscoring opponents by an average of 43-6, the Warriors fell behind three times, including a 10-point deficit in the second half, against perennial power Barton before rallying for a 40-30 victory in the first round of the Class AA state playoffs.
Now EPC and Wynne will both try to keep state title hopes alive when they host second-round playoff games Friday night.
The Warriors (8-0) will take on Perryville, a 43-22 first-round victor over Mountainburg. Wynne (9-2), which came out on top 35-21 in a physical battle with Vilonia last week in the Class AAAA state playoffs, will shift gears and take on a speedy Hope team that defeated Stuttgart 7-3.
Barton gave the Warriors all they could handle last week but EPC turned to quarterback Spencer Harston and wideout Keun Joplin for game-breaking plays.
Harston completed 5-of-7 passes for 182 of his 228 yards in the second half, hooking up with Joplin for a pair of TDs in the fourth quarter, both to regain the lead. Their 22-yard connection with 1:10 remaining was the eventual game-winner.
Leading just 14-8 at the half, Warrior coach Mark Courtney sat his players down and together they made adjustments that led to victory.
The strategy session paid off in the second half as the Warriors had success on the wheel route. Joplin, who had 4 catches for 156 yards, said he would be open on the hook-and-go after EPC had faked it the entire game. The defender bit on the game-winner and Joplin spun off as Harston rolled out and hit him for an easy touchdown.
Perryville (9-2) will line up offensively like Barton in the Wing-T, but the Mustangs will break off into the spread and a double-wing look.
The Mustangs have been balanced, rushing for just over 2,000 yards and passing for 1,900 behind quarterback Lance Munn. Munn has passed for 1,900 yards, including 600 each to receivers Wes Kuhn and Eric Hawkins.
Running back Dustyn McAnally has rushed for over 1,000 yards while Andy Tidwell has piled up 600.
In last week's 43-22 victory over Mountainburg, Munn passed for 3 touchdowns and ran for another.
Both teams dropped from Class AAA to AA and Perryville reached the playoffs for the first time since 1996 this year.
The Mustangs use a 5-2 defense, but may go with a 3-2 or 4-2 look to counter EPC's spread attack.
Harston has thrown for nearly 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns with just 3 interceptions. Joplin and Ked Madden have combined for over 1,000 yards receiving. Tailback Brandon Sturdivant, the defensive leader, has rushed for 1,000 yards and 15 TDs but also scored on a 47-yard screen pass last week.
*Wynne-Hope, two teams no strangers when it comes to the Class AAAA playoffs. They met in 2000 and 2001, with the winner moving on to the state finals.
Hope defeated the Yellowjackets 17-14 in overtime in the 2000 semis before falling to Greenwood. A year later, Wynne returned the favor, winning 41-21 on its way to the 2001 title.
Wynne (9-2) comes in after an impressive victory over Vilonia, using a 25-play, 99-yard touchdown drive at the end of the first half to take a 21-8 lead. After 24 straight running plays, Wynne coach Don Campbell dialed up a rare pass and quarterback Bo Glenn hit Tyler Boeckmann for a 23-yard score.
Senior halfback Courtney Williams carried 22 times for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns behind strong play from the offensive line.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
LITTLE ROCK -- The Forrest City Lady Mustangs used a 15-3 start Wednesday against Jacksonville and finished with a 60-41 win over the Lady Red Devils at the Heavenly Hoops tournament at Mount St. Mary's.
"We jumped out on them quick and by the half we were up 37-11," said first-year Lady Mustang Coach Jacky England.
Jacksonville had no answer for senior Sequoria Grady who finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
She was the only Lady Mustang in double figures. Viveca Kimble finished with nine while Shari Rogers had seven and Fareeda Washington added five.
Ten different Lady Mustang players scored against Jacksonville.
The Lady Mustangs (1-1) will play the final game of the tournament on Saturday at 3 p.m., against either Sylvan Hills or North Pulaski. The winner will finish fourth.
North Pulaski and Sylvan Hills played Wednesday, but as of press time, no final score was available. Other games Wednesday had Mount St. Mary's against Watson Chapel and Russellville against El Dorado.
Saturday's final round of games will begin at 3 p.m.
Forrest City lost their opener on Monday to El Dorado.
Against Jacksonville, Forrest City led 15-3 after one period, 37-11 at the half and 50-28 after three periods.
"Jacksonville wasn't near the team that El Dorado was Monday, but we played hard and I don't think our girls let down any after we got the big lead," England said.
Forrest City and Jacksonville will meet twice more this year since both teams are members of the AAAAA-East Conference.
The Lady Mustangs swept jacksonville in league play a year ago, winning 80-75 in double overtime and 81-62.
The Lady Mustangs will host Marianna Friday night at Mustang Arena.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
It's a new-look season-opener for the Forrest City Junior High basketball teams tonight.
The Junior Mustangs and Junior Lady Mustangs will open on the road at Earle, making their first appearance on a Forrest City season schedule in many years.
Both teams will have new head coaches as well with Chris Houser taking over the junior boys while Chris McManners will coach the junior girls.
Houser, from Marion, replaces long-time former coach Jimmy Williams while McManners, from Hoxie, replaces Jacky England, who moved up to coach the senior Lady Mustangs.
The three-game set will tip at 5 p.m., when the eighth-grade boys take the floor.
The ninth-grade girls will play at approximately 6 p.m. and the junior boys will close out the night.
Also on tap tonnight, the Calvary teams will host Christian Home Educators from Jonesboro beginning at 6:30 p.m., with the Lady Eagles and followed by the senior boys.
The Calvary senior girls are 1-1 for the year as are the senior boys.
Hughes open on Nov. 30.