Bulldogs set to host Wildcats
Since dropping to the 2A ranks, the series between Rison and Strong has been one-sided with the Wildcats winning all five contests.
However, two of those wins were decided by six points with another having a 13-point difference.
Tonight, the Bulldogs (3-1, 0-1) get another chance at the Wildcats (4-0, 1-0), as the schools collide in an 8-2A clash at Jerry Burson Field.
Game time is set for 7 p.m.
A year ago, the Bulldogs fell just short at Rison, losing 22-16 when a Strong pass was intercepted in the end zone late in the game.
For Strong coach Greg Anthony, whose team fell at Harmony Grove last week 48-12, last year's game at Rison is one that has been discussed during their preparations.
“I told the kids that you know you can play with them,” Anthony said. “We’ve just got to be able to not only play with them, we’ve got to be able to play with them and take that next step if we get them in that situation again.”
But while the Bulldogs enter on a down note
after losing on the road last week, the Wildcats are coming off of a 54-14 thrashing of Bearden at home last week.
In three games, the Wildcats have surrendered just 26 points, and Anthony had plenty of praise for Clay Totty's team.
“This is probably Rison’s best team they’ve had overall since they won their state championship in 2004,” Anthony said. “They’ve got big linemen. They’ve got a very good running back that’s run a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. They’ve won the state weight meet in the last several years. It’s just a good program to model after. Coach Totty has been there for about 20 years now, so they’ve got stability. There’s just not any weakness around them anywhere. They’re just solid all the way through.”
When asked what makes the Wildcats such a tough opponent, Anthony said it's their size.
“They are so physical,” Anthony said. “Not only are they big, but they are physical and strong. That’s what Rison football is. It’s just ground and pound. You know what’s coming. They’re telling you, ‘I’m coming right there, stop me if you can.’”
Anthony spoke of the close relationship he has with Totty.
“He’s a Fordyce graduate, and I graduated from Bearden,” Anthony said. “Whenever I was coaching at Henderson, Clay was a graduate assistant over there, so me and him went on the road recruiting together a lot. I got out of coaching in 1999 just for personal reasons and different things, so I moved to Benton. I would drive from Benton to Rison or wherever they were playing, and I volunteered and did whatever I could do to help because we just had that type of friendship.”
Totty has built Rison into one of Arkansas' most successful programs regardless of class, and Anthony talked about how Totty has handled the expectations.
“I talk with coach Totty all the time, and it’s just unreal the expectations that the program has gotten to,” Anthony said. “He took on it early age-wise, but he’s weathered the storm, and it’s to the point where if he doesn’t make a run for Little Rock, they start after him really hard, so it’s good that your program is at that level, but bad that that pressure is on those kids year after year. He’s done a great job.”
As far as last week is concerned, Anthony said that he wants to make sure the Bulldogs don't dwell on the loss to Harmony Grove.
“We haven’t even showed the kids the film,” Anthony said. “We talked about it when we came in on Sunday and watched film on Rison and lifted weights. We tried to find the good stuff from it and take it and build on that, but it was one of those nights that you wish never happened. We’re just trying to look forwards instead of backwards.”
If there is one key factor for the Bulldogs, Anthony said they must match Rison's physicality.
“We’ve got to be able match them with being physical,” Anthony said. “We just can’t sit back and on our heels and take it and let them have their way. We have to match them strength for strength and power for power. Another thing is we have to have people make plays when they have the opportunity. We can’t have any missed tackles or missed assignments. I’m not saying we have to be perfect, but when that opportunity comes, we have to do it. Mentally, we have to block out what happened last week. There’s still a lot of stuff to play for, so we just have to get back to what we did in the first three games.”