Cabot senior quarterback Jarrod Barnes' status for Friday night's 7A-Central Conference game against Little Rock Central is up in the air.
Barnes, who has orally committed to Arkansas, sprained his right ankle on a kickoff return in Cabot's 37-14 loss to Conway last Friday night.
Cabot Coach Mike Malham said Wednesday that Barnes is day-to-day. Barnes, 6-foot-0, 175 pounds, had an MRI on Saturday and Cabot's trainers said there was no swelling in the ankle and that it wasn't broken. He has iced the ankle this week, but Malham is not sure if he will play against the Tigers.
If Barnes can't play, junior Cody Skinner will start at quarterback for the Panthers (5-1, 2-1 7A-Central)
In six games this season, Barnes has accounted for almost 1,000 yards of offense. He has rushed for 501 yards and 8 touchdowns on 67 carries and has completed 26 of 41 passes for 493 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Malham said having Barnes out of the lineup would make a difference for the Panthers.
"You don't have a guy that's that fast and explosive on our team," Malham said. "We've never had a D-I [player] in our backfield before."
Cabot blew a 14-0 lead against Conway and the Wampus Cats (1-5, 1-2) scored the final 37 points to earn their first victory of the season.
"We didn't play very good on either side of the ball," Malham said. "Conway did an excellent job last week."
During Cabot's 5-0 start, the Panthers had last-minute victories against Pine Bluff, El Dorado and Fort Smith Southside. Malham admitted that the Panthers could have easily been 2-3 or 1-4 going into the Conway game.
"Too many times, we've been toeing that line," Malham said. "It didn't work out Friday night. They [Conway] whooped us pretty good. We're licking our wounds."
Central (3-3, 0-3) is in a similar position as Conway having not won a conference game before playing Cabot. But Malham isn't looking past the Tigers, especially if Barnes can't play.
"You can't take anything for granted in this conference," Malham said. "We have to take everybody serious. Everybody has good athletes."
WHITE HALL
Bulldogs have bite
From 0-10 to 6-0, White Hall has been one of the state's biggest surprises in 2016.
The Bulldogs have been led by senior running back Lance Smith and are tied with Watson Chapel atop the 5A-South Conference.
"We got more speed this year," White Hall Coach Mike Vaughn said. "We can run a little better.
"Our summer program helped us. They bought in."
Smith, 6-0, 205, has rushed for 774 yards and 17 touchdowns on 118 carries this season. He had 114 yards and 4 touchdowns on 20 carries in the Bulldogs' 64-36 victory at Hot Springs Lakeside last Friday.
"He's bigger and stronger," Vaughn said. "He's gained 25 pounds. He's dedicated himself in the weight room."
Vaughn credited White Hall's offensive line for their success so far as well. White Hall returned three starters on its offensive line this year -- senior tackle Kolton Studdard, senior guard Colton Rogers and senior center Justin Johnson.
Defensively, the Bulldogs have been led up front by lineman Christian Lowery and Kyler Barber. Lowery, a senior, has 7 sacks and Barber, a junior, has 83 tackles and 8 sacks.
"Lowery has been great on defense and special teams," Vaughn said. "He's had a phenomenal year. He's in the right place at the right time.
"Kyler started out at linebacker for us. We had some injuries, so we had to ask him to move inside. He had 25 tackles one game, so we left him there. He has the quickness and the desire. They all get after it."
White Hall faces Jefferson County rival Watson Chapel on Friday night for first place in the 5A-South. The Wildcats (4-2, 3-0) are led by junior quarterback Jakobi Jackson, who has passed for 1,132 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The Bulldogs have lost to the Wildcats the past two years, so not only is going 4-0 in the 5A-South important for the Bulldogs, beating a county rival is as well.
"You see these guys every day of the year," said Vaughn of Watson Chapel. "They'll razz you a little bit. But we're excited. Any time you play a close rival like that, it's an exciting game."
FOREMAN
Triple-option threat
The triple-option offense is working out just fine in Foreman.
Under first-year Coach Mark King, Foreman (5-1) is tied for first place in the 7-2A Conference with Mount Ida at 3-0. The Gators host Mount Ida on Friday night for an opportunity to take over the 7-2A lead outright.
One year after going 1-9, Foreman is on the winning track with King.
"The kids have bought in," King said. "The kids don't miss practice. They're here every day. I have a hungry group. They're hungry to win."
Foreman's 2016 success can be traced to a three-day flexbone offense camp.
King was hired by Foreman from Horatio in the spring and took his team to Perryville for the camp, where Harding assistant coach Kenny Wheaton was the main instructor. Wheaton runs the flexbone camp for high schools in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.
Through six games, Foreman has averaged 41.5 points and 333.3 rushing yards per game with the triple option, which King calls the most unselfish offense in football.
"If you get into the I-formation, you got your star tailback," King said. "With the Spread, you've got a quarterback who slings it to the No. 1 receiver. Our kids don't know who's getting the ball. They're in it for each other. They've bought into it."
King said he first implemented the triple option at Horatio in 2015.
Before the triple option, King used the Wing-T offense, but with smaller linemen at Horatio, the triple option was put in.
"We do everything Harding does, to the formations," King said. "Our calls are the same."
Foreman is led by senior fullback Kolton Moore. Moore, 5-11, 190, has rushed for 917 yards and 10 touchdowns on 79 carries. He had a season-high 251 yards in Foreman's 56-41 victory over Dierks on Sept. 30. Last week, Moore finished with 184 yards and 1 touchdown on 18 carries.
"He's a great football player," King said. "He's exactly what you need in this offense. He also has the speed. He was on our 400 relay team that finished second in the state in 2A. He's got great speed and great power. He's a great kid. He's a great leader."
Senior quarterback Tucker Hall, 6-0, 190, has 529 yards and 7 touchdowns on 73 carries. He's only thrown 24 passes, with 5 completions for 149 yards and 2 scores.
"He's the key to the offense," King said. "He gets us in the right position. For a first-year player running this offense, he's doing an exceptional job."
EXTRA POINTS
Little Rock Christian junior quarterback Jackson Bowersock has completed 170 of 252 passes for 2,124 yards with 21 touchdowns and 9 interceptions this season. Bowersock threw five touchdown passes in the Warriors' 73-35 loss to Pulaski Academy on Friday. The Warriors (1-5, 1-2 5A-Central) have played one of the toughest schedules in the state, with Class 4A contenders Warren and Shiloh Christian and 5A-West co-leader Harrison in the nonconference portion of the schedule. Little Rock Christian travels to War Eagle Stadium on Friday to face Little Rock Parkview. ... Wynne hosts Batesville in a 5A-East Conference showdown Friday night at Yellowjacket Stadium. The Yellowjackets (6-0, 3-0) have not defeated the Pioneers (4-2, 3-0) since 2012. ... Little Rock Catholic has struggled this season, but one of the highlights for the Rockets is sophomore running back Samy Johnson. Johnson has rushed for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns on 114 carries. Catholic (1-5, 0-3 5A-Central) hosts North Little Rock (6-0, 3-0) on Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Sports on 10/13/2016