Cutter Morning Star will host Mountain Pine on Friday for the team's homecoming game to kick off the 2A-5 conference schedule for both sides.
Both teams sit at 1-2 heading into conference play.
Here are five things to watch in the matchup:
Big plays
Sophomore quarterback Sam Moore was 8-for-17 passing for 269 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in Friday's 50-26 defeat to Magazine (1-2). Junior Matthew Cook finished with five receptions for 208 yards, including touchdown receptions of 79 and 67 yards. Junior Tyler Mace caught a touchdown pass of 52 yards and ran for another 48-yard score.
"We have to be sound on defense, like every week," said Mountain Pine head coach Sam Counce. "We have to be able to cover their receivers. Cook is pretty fast. They try to line him up. We have to be aware of him because he has good speed and can get behind us if we are not careful. We are going to try to keep them in front of us this week on defense.
"They roll their quarterback out. Their quarterback is young, but he is pretty good and he throws a good ball. We have to pay close attention to him rolling out and trying to throw the ball. I think that is where they have had some success. We feel like that is what they are going to try to do to us, too."
"The kids are practicing hard and they are starting to figure things out," said Cutter Morning Star head coach T.C. Shamel. "When you play a sophomore quarterback who has not seen varsity speed, it just takes a while. He has had some good games and he has made some good decisions, but, at the same time, it is a whole different thing."
Mountain Pine was effective in Week 2 with junior quarterback Collin Smith and senior running back Elijah Browning only playing offense in a 48-13 road win at Dierks (0-3). Browning is averaging 5.8 yards per carry for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
Smith has 354 yards on 40 carries for an average of 8.9 yards. He has scored four touchdowns, including a 60-yarder on Friday against Centerpoint (2-1).
"Last week, Eli did not have a good game running," Counce said. "We are going to put him back at defensive end and leave Collin just at quarterback. Eli is going to play some defensive end this week.
"We are going to see how it works. We were hoping the weather would be a little cooler by now and it would not be such a factor, as far as heat and stamina trying to go both ways."
Special teams
"We have been able to give some kids a break on kickoff and kickoff returns, but it has burned us three times," Shamel said. "We are probably going to have to put some of our starters back out on special teams.
"We are trying to give them a little bit of a break. They play the whole game anyway, but our other guys just are not getting it done. We have given up two touchdowns on kickoffs and we have had two more that were almost touchdowns. You can't have that."
A long kickoff return on Friday gave Magazine momentum after Cutter Morning Star scored to cut into the lead.
"We got momentum back and then we give up a kickoff return just before the half," Shamel said. "You can't do that."
Centerpoint took control of last week's matchup at Mountain Pine with a 78-yard touchdown on the second-half kickoff. The Knights pulled away for a 48-18 victory.
Conference kickoff
"That is behind us," Counce said. "You have to have a short memory, forget about those and start the process over.
"It is a new season. We are playing for first place in the conference right now. Nobody has had a conference game. We are in the thick of it right now. We are trying to regroup and start off on the right foot."
Shamel said the Eagles are approaching the game with a similar mindset of starting out a new season.
"We are 0-0, we are a young team and we still have a chance," Shamel said. "Obviously, Mountain Pine is a huge game for us Friday night. Our schedule is set up to where, if we can figure some things out, we've got a shot."
Turnovers
Smith only has one interception through three games and the Red Devils have only lost two fumbles, but the defense has forced no interceptions and recovered two fumbles.
Shamel said the Eagles did not turn the ball over in a 46-12 home victory against Rose Bud (0-3). He said they committed 10 turnovers in their two losses.
Cutter Morning Star trailed, 42-26, before throwing an interception on Magazine's 10-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter and a chance to make it a one-score game.
"If we have even two or three turnovers and play a little bit better on special teams, we are right there at the end," Shamel said. "We've got to clean that up.
"It's a young team with a lot of sophomores. We have a sophomore quarterback and a sophomore running back. We have a lot of them on the field, and they are learning. Varsity is a different level for them."
Homecoming
Cutter Morning Star will celebrate its homecoming festivities on Friday.
"I talked to them about that today," Counce said Wednesday. "They have to take it personally. I asked them, 'Whenever you play a homecoming game, what is your thought process on who you pick?' The kids said you want to pick an easy game. I said, 'Well, Cutter has picked you guys.'
"You have to take it personally, have a chip on your shoulder about it, go in and play your heart out. Also, they know a lot of those kids. They see them in the summer and they see them around town. They know each other. They have to go in and be ready to go."
Week 4
Other matchups this week include El Dorado (1-2) at Lake Hamilton (3-0), Little Rock McClellan (3-0) at Hot Springs (0-3), Lakeside (1-2) at Camden Fairview (1-2), Fountain Lake (3-0) at Joe T. Robinson (3-1), Bauxite (3-0) at Malvern (0-3), Jessieville (2-1) at Perryville (1-2), Mineral Springs at Mount Ida, Bismarck (1-2) at Camden Harmony Grove (2-1), Smackover (2-1) at Centerpoint (2-1) and England (0-3) at Magnet Cove (1-2) in another 2A-5 matchup.
Sports on 09/20/2018