Community night sets tone for 24th Rumble on the Ridge

The "Community Night" catchphrase is catching on quite nicely throughout Forrest City.

It has an appealing ring to it and it seems to be a perfect fit for Forrest City basketball fans.

And over the past Covid-laced year, that has become a good thing.

It was just about this time last year when Mustang basketball fans were stunned to learn that the Rumble on the Ridge basketball tournament, a Forrest City fixture since 1997, held over the three-day Thanksgiving weekend, was not going to be held due to the pandemic. It wasn't the only casualty.

The Arkansas Activities Association, which governs all Arkansas prep sports, took it a step farther, making the decision to shut down all multi-school events in or out of the state, such as tournaments, classics or showcase events and the longrunning Rumble on the Ridge, which would have been the 24th playing.

Being skewed by the pandemic's reaching assault on high school sports, this year's Rumble on the Ridge is indeed going to roll for the 24th time, pushing the tournament's silver anniversary to 2022.

Last year's Rumble on the Ridge, scheduled to be played at Mustang Arena, was armed with an all-Arkansas field consisting of Marianna, Marion, Blytheville, Bay, England, Jacksonville, Little Rock Hall and Forrest City.

Four of those teams, Marion, Little Rock Hall, Marianna and Blytheville, are returning for this year's tournament. For Hall, it will be the team's sixth visit to the Rumble, which ties them with Jonesboro for the most appearances for a team in the tournament other than host Forrest City. Both schools are still looking for the elusive tournament title.

Marion, Ridgeway, Tenn., and Paragould are each first timers to this year's tournament.

While there was no tournament last season, Forrest City Mayor Cedric Williams, who along with Joey Astin have taken over the tournament director duties since the passing of tournament founder and director Bill Baxter, made certain Forrest City basketball fans were treated last year to a Thanksgiving helping of basketball at Mustang Arena, just not as big a helping as most Mustang fans were hoping for.

Thus the idea for a "Rumble Community Night" event was born, featuring Marianna Lee and Forrest City in a doubleheader varsity boys and girls benefit game.

"This year, we have, what I feel is a very good tournament lineup presented by the

participating teams," Astin said. "Of course, I feel like most all of the coaches will have that Lou Holtz syndrome. We're not going to be very good this year, even though they think they probably know better."

Keeping the tournament fresh and appealing from year to year might just be the toughest job for Williams and Astin as well as the bevy of volunteers needed each year to keep the tournament running smoothly.

So Williams and Astin, for the past two years, as well as again this time around, have rebranded the Wednesday night event once again as "Community Night" at Mustang Arena with vendors and booths set up around the upper deck of the arena.

Adding specialized events to the tournament, including the slam dunk contest and the three-point shoot out, follows the annual Rumble on the Ridge banquet held Thanksgiving Eve for the tournament teams.

This year almost all Covid restrictions have been removed from the table and the prep basketball seasons are up and running.

The good news is that the Rumble on the Ridge is back at Dwight Lofton Mustang Arena.

"We are moving forward, if for no other reason but to restore some normalcy to the tournament and to the community," Astin said. "At this point there are no Covid mandates in effect and I don't anticipate any. We will encourage fans to wear their masks, but that will be an optional request. And we will not be checking vaccine cards at the door. We are expecting a good crowd for the first day of the tournament on Thursday, because all of the teams are close by and we hope that will make it easy for the fans to make the drive. And we went with a lot of local teams this year, since there are still some Covid travel restrictions, and it worked out well."

All of that has led Astin and Williams to let the "Community Night" theme stand for a third straight year.

Tonight, the Rumble Community Night will feature the Arkansas Big Dawgs senior Olympic men's basketball team, who performed last year, taking on the Forrest City Police Department team in a benefit basketball game. Both teams will feature several local basketball legends and will tip at 6 p.m., preceding the slam dunk and three-point shoot out contests.

Admission to the Wednesday night events is $1 or a canned food item. Children 12-under will be admitted free on Wednesday.

"We should be able to move through the Wednesday night activities at a good pace," Astin said.

Game day tickets for the three-day Rumble are $7 per person, per day while children five and under are free. A threeday pass may be purchased for $15.

First and second round games begin Thursday and Friday at 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, the designated trophy rounds begin at noon with the championship game set for approximately 4:30 p.m.

The host team Mustangs will play former 5A-East conference foe Paragould Thursday in the 6:30 p.m., game.

Marianna Lee, the defending Class 2A state champions will open play Thursday against Blytheville.

Marion and LR Hall will each face one of the Tennessee teams in Thursday first round match ups.

Additional information about each of the eight teams in this year's tournament can be found in the Rumble special section located inside today's TimesHerald.