J'ville stays on road vs. rising Bismarck

Saveall
Saveall

Two sets of Lions, both with Class 3A playoff aspirations, clash tonight in Hot Spring County.

Bouncing back from a 28-6 loss to Mount Ida with a 53-3 rout of Two Rivers last week, Jessieville (2-1) travels to Bismarck (2-1) in the 3A-5 opener for both teams.

Scoring 25 points in the first quarter and leading 45-0 at halftime, Jessieville hardly broke a sweat last week in Yell County.

Senior quarterback Adam Saveall was a perfect eight for eight with 111 yards while Oliver Nasilai ran for a team-high 73 yards on just three attempts.

Jessieville rushed for 188 yards overall with four players averaging more than 15 yards per carry.

After an 0-10 campaign last year, Bismarck snapped a 17-game losing streak with consecutive wins over Spring Hill and Poyen before falling last week at Cutter Morning Star.

Sophomore quarterback James Kegley and senior running back Josh Burroughs trigger the team's new-look Spread offense under first-year coach David Keithley.

Kegley passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Poyen while Burroughs averages 7.3 yards per carry.

Jessieville won last year's matchup 51-21 at Phillips Field, but Bismarck won't be backing down from the challenge.

"You've gotta find one of those guys that you can beat and steal a playoff spot," Keithley said before the season. "We want to give those guys a game; whenever they leave, we want to make sure they know they've played a ballgame."

Visiting Jessieville is a 17-point favorite, according to Hootens Arkansas Football.

Elsewhere in Garland County, CMS and Mountain Pine take 2-1 records on the road to open league play.

Fresh off a convincing 56-19 win at Woodlawn, the Red Devils will look to continue their recent winning ways tonight at Dierks.

Fay Haywood erupted for 206 yards and five touchdowns in last week's game and could be in store for more against a Dierks defense that has surrendered 41 points per game in an 0-3 start.

Traveling outside Eagle Field for the first time all season, CMS faces a difficult challenge at Hector.

The 2-1 Wildcats, conference champions in three of the last four years, have averaged 42 points per game this season. Senior Jadon Graham headlines a potent rushing attack with 536 yards and five touchdowns.

CMS quarterback Michael Kimpton has impressed in his first year as the starter. The senior has 112 yards passing with two touchdowns, adding a team-high 422 yards and six scores on the ground.

Hootens ranks the Eagles No. 35 and the Red Devils No. 36 in Class 2A.

Sports on 09/22/2017

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