Defense shows improvement

Farmington appears much improved on defense, which was a priority for the Cardinals entering the season.

Farmington (2-0) held Gravette to without a touchdown last week during a 40-2 victory over the Lions. That victory followed a 33-30 win over Prairie Grove when the Tigers had only 12 points entering the fourth quarter.

“We’ve changed our scheme and we’re getting better,” Farmington coach Mike Adams said of the Cardinals’ defense. “We’re making the right reads and getting into the right places, but we’ve got to be better tacklers. We’re still missing too many tackles.”

Senior Jacob Rogers leads a strong defensive front for the Cardinals, who’ve also received improved play from junior linebacker Colton Kilgore and sophomore linebacker Hayden Cox. “They played really well against Gravette,” Adams said. Farmington’s next test will come on Friday when the Cardinals play at Pea Ridge. Pea Ridge won the game 24-7 last season, but the Blackhawks are off to an 0-2 start following losses at Harrison (45-40) and Maumelle (40-30). Those are tough road games, but the Blackhawks will be home Friday where they’ve won many games in recent years.

“Pea Ridge returns nine starters on defense and they shut us out in the second half last year,” Adams said. “You can’t read a whole lot into their losses because Harrison could win the state championship in Class 5A and Maumelle is really good, as well. We’ll have to play well to win the game.”