A bull's-eye sits on the back of the Fordyce Redbugs, but Coach Tim Rodgers doesn't think the target will bother his team much in 2020.
He's not even sure whether the defending Class 2A state champions will be aware of it.
"I mean, the guys realize they won state and all of that last year," he said. "But the thing is, they haven't enjoyed it much because everything got shut down. After we won it, we got out of school for Christmas break. When we came back, basketball season was going on.
"So we weren't able to have a banquet or honor the team at all. Once we got everything together to do so, covid-19 hit, and we had to close down. Shoot, when the rings came in, I just called the guys and told them to come up to the school to get them. They just took it in stride."
Rodgers would love nothing more than to stride to another state title, but he knows that's not a given with teams gunning for the Redbugs.
"I talked to [Bryant Coach] Buck James and a few others that have won state and repeated," Rodgers said. "As Buck told me, you could either tell the kids that they can push themselves and get to that next level or you can push them to that next level. That's what we're trying to get them to understand.
"We can get them prepared, but they are the ones that are going to have to go out and perform on Friday nights."
Junction City and Gurdon figure to have a huge say in how things shake out in 2A, but others -- such as Magnet Cove and Magazine -- are looking to take larger leaps after coming off successful seasons.
"There are always three or four really good teams out there," Junction City Coach Brad Smith said. "But then, there's always four to six that kind of just jump out there that you may not expect. You know Fordyce will be there, Gurdon has everybody back. You know those two are out there, and that's not a slight to anybody else."
The Redbugs responded to losses in two of their final three regular-season games in 2019 with five victories in the postseason to dethrone Junction City. Fordyce has a large contingent returning, powered by seniors JaQuez Cross, Jaheim Brown and Josh Harrington.
Cross, who lines up at both running back and receiver, caught 58 passes for 975 yards and 14 touchdowns. Brown, a quarterback, accounted for more than 2,600 yards and 39 scores. Harrington, a catalyst on the offensive line, is a four-year starter. Another senior starter, Gary Lewis, is still trying to gain his footing after undergoing surgery on his knee.
"We're coming along," Rodgers said. "Things are starting to pick up. But we also told our kids nothing will be easy, and that if we're gonna win state, you're gonna have to go through Junction City.
"Our kids know about teams like Gurdon and Magnet Cove, too, but we know Junction City will be right there as well."
The Dragons yielded their state title to the Redbugs last year, but neither that loss nor a brief shutdown earlier this month because two players tested positive for covid-19 has shaken their confidence.
"We've got six offensive starters back and about five on defense, but we're ready to get after it," Smith said. "We're down a couple of guys, but we're expecting them back. Life is a card game, and you play it the best you can. The guys have done a good job of staying with it and working hard."
"We know there are some very good teams out there, with Fordyce, Gurdon and others. We just have to control what we can control. The expectations are always high, and we're going to go out and try to meet what's expected of us."
Expectations are high at Gurdon, too. The 2020 Go-Devils have the potential to be one of the school's best, said Coach Kyle Jackson.
"We're going to try to win every football game," he said. "We think our program and what we do in the offseason puts us in position to be competitive every single year. The guys have worked hard this summer, and hopefully, that'll pay off."
Jackson has 16 regulars back from last year's crew that finished 10-4 and advanced to the state semifinals.
There is some unfamiliarity that Jackson and his team will have to deal with, though. Gurdon is making the move from the 2A-7 Conference to the 2A-5, where it hasn't had many dealings with teams in that league.
"In 2A, we've pretty much been in the same conference in Southwest Arkansas with teams like Foreman and Mineral Springs," he said. "But now, we're further north, and we have no history with any of the teams. We haven't really seen them anywhere.
"We were fortunate enough to beat Magnet Cove in the quarterfinals last year, but other than that, it's a bunch of unknowns."
Magnet Cove Coach Caleb Carmikle said he's got a team equipped to push Fordyce, Junction City and Gurdon.
The Panthers have key contributors returning, namely running back Landon Stone. The all-state performer finished with more than 2,700 yards rushing and scored 30 touchdowns during the team's 11-2 campaign.
Carmikle knows stopping Stone will be a focal point for opponents this season, but he's not expecting much of a drop off from his senior.
"He's a special football player," Carmikle said. "He was the Little Rock Touchdown 2A Player of the Year, and he's in line to have another big season. This senior class, as a whole, is one of the biggest reasons I wanted to make sure we played a season. They deserve it.
"Our goal every year is to win a conference championship and set ourselves up to have a chance to make a run in the postseason. We did that last year. In order to repeat that, we've got to go through Gurdon though, and they're the newcomer in our league."
For Magazine, a familiar face returns to the sidelines to usher in a new era. Ryan Chambers has taken over as head coach for Doug Powell, who resigned earlier this year to assume that same position at Waldron.
"It feels really good to be in this spot, to be honest with you," said Chambers, who was the team's offensive coordinator the previous three seasons. "I'm comfortable here, and I think I know what it takes to kind of build the program back to where it was."
Aside from helping the Rattlers earn postseason berths in each of the past three seasons, Chambers guided the team to their first state championship in 2010 when he earned MVP honors during a 48-20 victory over Danville in the Class 2A final.
The Rattlers return six starters on both sides of the ball, led by all-everything standout Kobe Faughn. The 5-11, 200-pound running back ran for more than 600 yards and 12 touchdowns for a team that went 9-1 last season. The senior also starts a linebacker, where he registered 74 tackles a year ago.
