Big games set for Ouachita County teams on Friday night

Cardinals seek to right the ship

Things haven’t gone the way the Camden Fairview Cardinals (2-4, 1-2) anticipated entering into the 2019 football season. After losing four games by a combined total of 11 points — its last two by one point each — it would be easy for CF to feel a little frustrated.

The Cardinals were favorites against the Magnolia Panthers (3-3, 1-2) last week, but after losing 7-6, find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture tied for fifth place with Magnolia and Hope. The good news for CF is there is still a lot of football left to play and CF is only one win away from being back in the thick of things; two of the three teams tied for second in conference are set to play Friday.

The Cardinals trotted out to Cardinal Stadium and had a spirited and competitive practice to prepare for the long road trip to face the DeQueen Leopards (0-6, 0-3) and didn’t appear to overlook its next opponent. CF will enter the game Friday a victim of seasonal attrition, with a starting wide receiver likely to miss the road trip due to injury and a starting punter, safety and lineman to miss for disciplinary reasons.

Dating back to CF’s game against Texarkana, its defense has only allowed two touchdowns over its last six quarters and both came on 50-50 passes in the end zone — a feat even more impressive considering the CF opts to use a sky kick on its kickoffs. Last week, the Cardinals had a season-high of 15 tackles for losses and only allowed a net of 22 yards in the entire second quarter.

The CF offense has struggled to find rhythm after its lowest output against Magnolia. While the line has blocked well, the skills players have been out of sync. CF had three interceptions in the last seven minutes of the ball game and had five big drops that came on crucial downs against Magnolia. When the Cardinals have moved the ball, penalties have thwarted the overall production.

The Leopards are averaging 10 points per game — they’ve been shut out twice — and are giving up 37 points per game. The Leopard defense has been especially susceptible to the passing game after Hot Springs was able to go 22-29 for 261 yards against them last week. DeQueen also lost four fumbles and an interception in that 35-0 loss.

Still, the Cardinals know they can’t take DeQueen lightly. The Cardinals were favored the last time they traveled to Leopard Stadium in 2017 but lost 24-21.

DeQueen offers a tough running back in its old school but effective I-formation offense in senior Marquez Ester (6’2, 185). Kade Martin (5’11, 220) lines up at fullback and was another player that was there when it upset the Cardinals two years ag0.

The Leopards are coached by Stephen Sloan.

Bears set for Homecoming against rivals

The Bearden Bears (1-5, 0-2) will host the Junction City Dragons (5-2, 2-0) for Homecoming on Friday night. While the odds are heavily in the Dragons favor, the Bears aren’t looking to throw in the towel.

It’s been a trying season for the Bears, but Bearden Head Coach Greg Anthony says his team isn’t ready to quit. Anthony lamented over the summer about how this season was scheduled two years ago, and it just so happens to be one of the toughest when the Bears were struggling with low numbers.

Last week, the Bears forfeited against Parker Chapel in the third quarter after Anthony felt like the officials had lost control of the game. The El Dorado News-Times posted a video of a Bearden student athlete hitting the holder on a field goal attempt.

Anthony said that on the play before, a Bearden student athlete had been knocked into the P.C. kicker by a PC player. The PC player wasn’t penalized and PC was allowed to re-kick because of a penalty being thrown against the Bears. This came plays after a questionable PC reception went for big yardage and an official allegedly cussed at a Bearden coach.

“These are young men that are going to look out for each other,” Anthony said. “They’re emotional and there was chippiness through out the game on both sides. The last thing I wanted was for one of our players or one of their players to take a life-altering shot and end up being hurt because someone was mad. It wasn’t because we were losing, because we have loss by way bigger margins. It was a player safety issue and I felt like I did what was best.”

The Bearden student athlete in the video posted an apology to his Facebook page. PC has since accepted the apology and now both teams are looking ahead.

The Dragons are coached by Brad Smith and are averaging over 50 points per game and are only allowing 12 points per game.

Hornets to face undefeated Centerpoint on the road

The Harmony Grove Hornets (5-1, 3-0) will travel to Amity to play the Centerpoint Knights (6-0, 3-0) on Friday night.

Centerpoint is led by 16-year head coach Cary Rogers (70-105-1 at Centerpoint) and averages 33 points per game and have won two, one-point games this season — 43-42 over Smackover, 27-26 over Fouke. The Knights are allowing 20 points per game.

The Hornets will face its biggest and fastest opponent since Forcyde when it lines up against the Knights. Landon Way has 4.6 speed at running back and Kaden Bryant has been composed at quarterback behind a heavy offensive line. On defense, the Knights operate out of a 30 formation. Way is also one of the team’s leading tacklers.

The Hornets are averaging 48 points per game on offense and will be at full strength after a big 54-7 win over Horatio last week.

The game has major conference implications with the winner remaining at the top of the standing along with Prescott, who is also undefeated in conference play.

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