Road Warriors

East Poinsett County, No. 3 in Class 2A, shoots for its 16th consecutive regular-season victory tonight at No. 6 Walnut Ridge.

East Poinsett County (4-0, 1-0 32A) hasn’t lost in the regular season since a 67-44 defeat at Augusta on Oct. 1, 2010. The Warriors are also trying to stretch an 11-game conference winning streak.

EPC finished 11-1 last fall and reached the Class 2A semifinals behind dynamic quarterback Darius Barnes (2,450 yards running and passing) and All-Arkansas linebacker A.J. Turner, who also played wide receiver. Barnes is now at Arkansas Baptist College and working toward his academic eligibility in 2013. Turner is a freshman at Arkansas.

“We’re very similar to last year,” Warriors Coach Brian Weathers said. “The depth, as far as starters go, I think it’s better. We’ve got a lot more weapons on offense. Last year, we relied heavily on Darius and A.J.”

Sophomore quarterback Aaron Scales has rushed 40 times for 232 yards and 7 touchdowns, one of five Warriors with at least 200 yards on the ground.

Senior Jammar Sturdivant, who has orally committed to play basketball at Arkansas State, has run 25 times for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Senior Caleb Harston and junior Byron Scales (Aaron’s brother) have 217 and 213 yards, respectively. Junior Trevor McDaniel has a team-high 324 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on 33 carries.

EPC is only allowing 154 total yards per game. The Warriors have recovered 11 fumbles and intercepted 3 passes.

Harston, at end, has eight sacks. Junior end Paul Pilgrim has six sacks. Trevor McDaniel’s twin brother, Tristan, who was a member of the Arkansas DemocratGazette Super Sophomore team, has 37 tackles at linebacker.

EPC beat Walnut Ridge 46-26 last season, but Weathers said the senior-laden Bobcats (3-0, 1-0) are much improved this fall.

“Very balanced,” Weathers said. “Very, very good football team.”