Friday road trip takes Mustangs to Nettleton

Falling behind early in the first quarter to Paragould, Forrest City battled back in the second half to take the lead and held on to turn back the Rams 20-6 in a 5A-East conference game played Friday at Mustang Stadium.

With Friday's win the Mustangs move to 1-6 overall with their win of the season under their belts and 1-3 in the conference and moved up four notches in Hooten's Class 5A rankings.

Forrest City (1-6, 1-3) will play at Nettleton on Friday.

The Raiders (6-1, 3-1) can earn at least a share of the league title if they win out over their final two games, at Valley View and Wynne. Nettleton junior Curtez Smith ran for a pair of touchdowns in last week's 13-12 victory at Batesville Southside.

Forrest City's 20-6 win over Paragould last week was its first win since beating Paragould during the 2021 season.

Quarterback Dalyn Washington tossed a touchdown pass for the Mustangs, while Willie Murphy returned a fumble 62 yards and later ran for the score.

In other 5A-East games set for Friday, Brookland (1-6, 0-4) plays at Batesville (5-2, 3-1). The Pioneers own wins over Brookland the past two seasons by a combined 55-14.

Batesville's offense totaled 254 yards (184 rushing, 70 passing) in last week's 23-10 loss at Wynne.

Wynne (5-2, 3-1) will play at Paragould (1-6, 0-4) and the Yellowjackets own a 13-2 record vs. Paragould over the past 15 seasons.

Paragould led Forrest City early last week before losing 20-6. Wynne allowed 70 yards passing last week's 10-point win over Batesville.

Batesville Southside (4-3, 2-2) makes the short trip to Valley View (6-1, 4-0).

Southside hung with Nettleton last week, before losing 13-12. Valley View, unbeaten in 5A East action, closes the season against Nettleton and at Batesville.

In the 3A-3 conference, Palestine-Wheatley (0-7, 0-4) travels to Corning (1-7, 0-4).

Palestine-Wheatley scored a season-high in points in a 54-30 loss to Manila. Corning rallied late against Walnut Ridge but were unable to slow down the Bobcats' rushing attack in a 26-20 loss.

Walnut Ridge (6-1, 3-0) plays at Osceola (3-3, 3-0).

Walnut Ridge quarterback Walker Ward ran for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns scores in last week’s 26-20 win over Corning. Walnut Ridge is averaging more than 300 rushing yards per game so far this season. Osceola has won three straight games headed into Friday's matchup.

Manila (3-4, 3-0) stays at home Friday and will host Hoxie (5-2, 30).

Manila stamped its playoff ticket with a 54-30 win over Palestine-Wheatley, marking the first time the Lions have qualified for the playoffs in consecutive seasons.