Mustangs, Patriots earn nonconference wins.
It's been a while since Forrest City and Little Rock Mills met on the football field.
It has, in fact been 20 years since the two schools last faced each other in football. The Mills Comets defeated the Mustangs 14-6 during the 2001 season at Sam Smith Stadium. Since the 1979 season, the two schools have met on the football field just six times.
Tonight, the Class 5A Mustangs (0-1) under first year head coach Teli White, will take on Cortez Lee's 2-0 Class 4A Comets in a nonconference matchup.
The Mustangs opened two weeks ago losing to Star City on the road. The Comets opened with a win over Hope and last week defeated Jacksonville.
The win over Jacksonville pushed the Comets to the 2-0
The Palestine-Wheatley Junior Patriots threw a shutout over Clarendon Thursday night winning 46-0 in a game played at Patriot Field.
Anthoney Pendleton ran for 125 yards and Grant Ball finished with close to 70 rushing yards for the Junior Patriots. Running back Eric Jimmerson sat out the game with an injury.
Meanwhile in a junior high game played at West Memphis, the Junior Mustangs dropped West Memphis Wonder 28-16.
Forrest City led 14-0 at the half despite having several dropped passes.
Both teams lost fumbles to open the second half of play before Forrest City used a 27yard scoring run in the third quarter for a 20-0 cushion after the two point play failed.
The Junior Mustang defense tighten and held Wonder on downs with 34 seconds left in the third.
Forrest City added another season start for the first time since the 2014 season.
The Comets twice overcame Jacksonville leads and pulled away with a pair of touchdowns, one of them by the defense, in the fourth quarter.
Jacksonville led 14-6 in the second quarter before the Comets answered with a 73-yard drive, capped by a six-yard touchdown run by Caleb Sain and a two point conversion pass.
The Mustangs, coming off an open date last week, were shutout 35-0 in their opener at Star City and will be looking for their first points of the season tonight against Mills.
"With this being my first season at Forrest City and my first time to see the teams from this area, last week's open date was probably what I needed," White answered when asked if he would have rather have had a touchdown in the fourth quarter on an 82-yard run and then tacked on the two point try to lead 28-0.
Wonder got on the board midway through the fourth quarter cutting the Junior game last week. "We have a nine-week gauntlet ahead of us, no break ahead of us, and we need every bit of that time we can get to get to where we need to be and to where I want them to be as a team."
The Mustangs enter tonight's relatively healthy and injury free with just one starter who for sure will not play and possibly as many as four who may not see action, according to White.
Mills was 1-4 last season before turning its season around and wound up with a first-round playoff victory before finishing 5-7 in Lee’s first season.
The Comets this season have skill players but also have a lack of depth.
The Mustangs, 1-6 during last season's Covid riddled season, have size and speed to work White's new system but like the Comets, have a lack of depth in key areas.
Mustangs lead to 28-8. A 38-yard touchdown pass brought Wonder within 14 points of Forrest City at 28-14 before the Junior Mustangs came through with a safety making the final 28-16 for the Junior Mustangs.
Junior Mustangs, Patriots earn wins in nonconference