Coming off the HOF loss, Mustangs head to Southside
Stuttgart completed the nonconference portion of their schedule on Friday night by defeating the Forrest City Mustangs, 37-26. It was Stuttgart’s first win over Forrest City since the 1971 season, a 14-3 win over the Mustangs.
Forrest City would own the next four-season matchups against the Ricebirds, pitching three shutouts and completing the nonconference rivalry in 1988 with a 20-18 win.
Last Friday in the Forrest City Hall of Fame Game, the Ricebirds played without several starters on both sides of the ball. A.J. Higgins is still out following a week one ankle injury while Hunter Smith is rehabbing a broken foot. The surprise, however, was when senior Cedric Hawkins did not dress for the game.
Hawkins leads Stuttgart in most offensive categories.
Friday was Stuttgart quarterback Landon Melnychuk’s best game, according to Ricebird Coach Josh Price.
Melnychuk accounted for four Stuttgart touchdowns, throwing three and running for a fourth.
Replacing Hawkins on Friday was sophomore Deontae “Sparky” Clark. Clark combined to lead Stuttgart in yards from scrimmage in the win.
Clark also played some quarterback for the Birds, allowing Landon Melnychuk to split out at receiver and also get time at rover on defense.
“Sparky did great,” said Price. “He had a big catch in the endzone and went over 140 rushing yards.”
Stuttgart scored on their opening possession when Kameron Harper crossed the goal line with 9:50 remaining in the first quarter. Jack Hosman’s point-after gave the Ricebirds a 7-0 lead.
Forrest City struck back quickly, however, as the Mustangs popped a long rushing touchdown. The two-point conversion gave the home team an 8-7 advantage.
Landon Melnychuk extended Stuttgart’s first-half lead with a seven-yard rushing touchdown. After Hosman’s point-after, the Ricebirds led 14-8.
Once again, Forrest City answered when Dakwon Scott found Nehemiah Stone for a long touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt was no good, leaving the game knotted at 14-14.
Not content to sit on the ball, Stuttgart moved quickly down the field with less than one minute remaining in the game. The Birds hit paydirt following a nice throw from Melnychuk to Kendrick Hawkins. The score allowed Stuttgart to carry a 21-14 lead into the locker room.
“It was their (Forrest City’s) first home game, and they were fired up,” said Price. “They’re like most high school teams; they play better at home.”
Forrest City does not go away Out of the locker room, Forrest City mounted a quick scoring drive to pull within 21-20 when Daniel Rolfe caught a 53-yard pass from Scott and raced into the endzone.
Winless in two tries, Forrest City played well, popping numerous big plays against the Ricebirds’ defense.
After Forrest City pulled to within 21-20, the Ricebirds scored the game’s next 17 points to finally pull away from the Mustangs, leading to the 37-26 final.
Stuttgart takes their 2-1 record into conference play this Friday night as they travel to Searcy’s Harding Academy, while the Mustangs will be on the road to begin conference play at Batesville Southside, a first-ever football meeting between the two schools.
Harding Academy is 3-0 for the season and ranked inside the top three of most 4A polls.
Forrest City 0-3 will make the road trip to face Southside Batesville in a 5A-East conference game, the first meeting ever between the two teams.
Southside is coming off a 9-3 record from a year ago and has been led this season by junior Seth Case, averaging 149 yards per game. Senior Seth Duncan leads the Southern defense with 37 tackles in the first three games.
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The Stuttgart Junior Ricebirds trailed Forrest City 22-19 at halftime last Thursday night inside Ned Moseley Stadium, before rallying for take a 40-36 win over the Junior Mustangs, dropping Forrest City to 3-1 overall.
Following the break, Forrest City extended their lead to 28-19 following a three-play drive to start the half. The Junior Mustangs covered 60 yards in 1:38 culminating in a 21-yard touchdown pass.
Stuttgart answered late in the third quarter when Jawyan Terry scored from eight yards out behind his massive offensive line. Ethan Boyd’s point-after pulled Stuttgart to within 28-26 as the Ned Moseley crowd got loud. Terry finished the game with 226 yards on 22 carries.
Forrest City was able to quiet the home crowd’s enthusiasm as the Junior Mustangs marched 56 yards in two plays to go ahead 3626. The drive lasted for all of 47 seconds.
After a Stuttgart punt, Keaton Byers intercepted a Forrest City pass to give the Junior Birds possession at the Junior Mustangs’ 25-yard line with 6:35 remaining in regulation.
Stuttgart converted the turnover into points when Jawyan Terry rumbled into the endzone from six yards out to cut the lead to 36-32. The score was Terry’s fourth of the night.
The Junior Birds got the ball back, trailing by four, with 2:20 to go in the game. Needing a touchdown to secure the win, Stuttgart prescribed a steady dose of Jawyan Terry until, on the fifth play, he crossed the goal line from 19 yards out for his fifth touchdown of the game. This one moved Stuttgart ahead 39-36.