Garland County teams played important contests in both football and volleyball, and the Razorbacks got a commit from Lakeside.
TUESDAY
STANDOUT LAKESIDE GOLFER COMMITS TO ARKANSAS
Will Gordon no doubt made Razorback fans happy when the star Lakeside golfer committed to the University of Arkansas.
Just entering his junior year as a Ram, Gordon played in the Junior PGA Championships in August at Hot Springs Country Club and finished 24th. He made both cuts and played all four days during the tournament.
Gordon said the pressure of committing is lifted off him now that he has made his decision to be a Razorback, and now he can focus strictly on golf.
THURSDAY
CMS PLANS TO 'TURN PEYTON LOOSE'
Rose Bud comes to Garland County Friday to challenge Cutter Morning Star's Eagles for a homecoming shootout.
"After watching film and diving in, there are some mismatch issues they had with (Augusta)," Cutter Morning Star head coach Nick Finley said. "They do a really good job with their play action. I think there are some areas that we can take advantage of. You have to execute and not give up big plays. I think you put yourself in a position to win. I feel like we can compete and take care of business if we do not have big plays, turnovers, which we did last game and it did not work out for us."
Last week Corning bested Cutter Morning Star (1-1) at home 32-22.
OAKLAWN SET TO HOSE PRESTIGIOUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL AWARD AFTER THE 2024 SEASON
The Broyles Foundation, which annually gives the Frank Broyles Award to the best assistant coach in college football, announced Monday that Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort will be the presenting sponsor for the 2023 Broyles Award, and the award will be presented at Oaklawn's hotel and event center following the 2024 season.
This year, Oaklawn will just be the presenting sponsor of the award, and the 2023 award ceremony will be held in Little Rock at the Statehouse Convention Center. Following the 2024 college football season and the years after, the award ceremony will be held in Hot Springs.
Oaklawn Vice President of Marketing Chris Ho said Oaklawn thought it would be a good fit to host the Broyles Award.
FRIDAY
WOLVES FACE THE BOMBERS IN ENTICING TRENCH BATTLE
PEARCY -- When fans think of Lake Hamilton football, they think of a ground and pound rushing attack; this year is no different.
Junior running back Hayden Barton will be a key player in the Wolves' matchup tonight against Mountain Home.
"He is a really physical running back but also really skilled with his hands," Lake Hamilton head coach Tommy Gilleran said. "He catches the ball well and of course he runs the ball well, which we know. You can use him a lot of different ways. Off the field he is a goofball. He likes to mess around and play around. I think he enjoys life. He reminds me of his dad. I knew his dad a little bit. He was a little bit younger than me. I know he was kind of a goofball, too. He likes to play around and enjoy things.
J'VILLE RUNNING BACK CARRIES LIONS FORWARD
JESSIEVILLE -- The Lions found a running back to carry the load this season.
Sawyer Castleberry registered 202 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 26 attempts through the first two games of the season for Jessieville.
The Lions sit at 1-1 on the season, and Castleberry played a large part in Jessieville's early season success.
SATURDAY
MENA DOWNS FOUNTAIN LAKE IN IMPORTANT CONFERENCE CLASH
FOUNTAIN LAKE -- Mena and Fountain Lake's volleyball teams faced off Thursday night in a rivalry conference game.
Fountain Lake went into the game undefeated on an eight-game winning streak. Mena, who was 7-2 overall, came out of the gate with high energy, ready to play.
Mena dominated in the first set, finishing the set with a 25-15 win.
SUNDAY
LAKESIDE MTXE VOLLEYBALL CHURNS OUT COLLEGE COMMITS
The Lakeside MTXE volleyball team boasts quite the stacked roster.
Lakeside has four college commits on its team this year, and they've led the squad to a 7-2 start and 5-0 tally in the Class 5A-South.
Senior Madi Belle Landry committed to play at Ouachita Baptist University, and the outside hitter racks up kills every match. Landry has been tabbed as a standout for a while, getting invited to be a manager at the Arkansas Activities Association All-Star game after her sophomore year and getting to practice with the All-Stars.
FOUNTAIN LAKE NOTCHES FIRST WIN OF SEASON
Overcoming the loss of its two quarterbacks and a long drive to northeast Arkansas, Fountain Lake earned its first win of the season Friday night with a 28-20 victory over Cedar Ridge.
The Cobras started the season with a 16-6 loss to Mountain Pine and followed with a 34-8 loss to Brinkley. After graduating most of its offensive production at the skill positions from last season, the Fountain Lake offense struggled in its first two games.
"It was a great win for our guys," Fountain Lake head coach Kenny Shelton said. "We played a really solid first half. We were up 12-0 at halftime. Came out, got the opening kickoff, went down and scored, made it 20-0. Then we kind of hit the wall. Kind of gassed out a little bit. They hit some big plays. Next thing you know it's fourth quarter, about six minutes left and it's all tied up."
SUBLIME CATCH LEADS WOLVES PAST MOUNTAIN HOME
PEARCY -- The case for never giving up and fighting till the end was made in grand fashion by the Wolves Friday night, as they took down Mountain Home 44-38 in a shootout at Wolf Stadium.
With Lake Hamilton leading by three going into the fourth quarter, the Bombers had stolen a 38-34 lead before the Wolves cut it to two off a safety with 1:21 to go. A few plays later, on fourth-and-10 from the Mountain Home 38-yard line and 25 seconds to go, Wolves senior quarterback Easton Hurley connected with David Felan for the acrobatic catch in traffic at the 1-yard line, to which Hayden Barton drove to ultimately set the final after the good two-point conversion.
"Great catch by David Felan," Lake Hamilton head coach Tommy Gilleran said. "He drops one wide open in the fourth quarter and then he catches one that's like unbelievable. I'm just proud of the effort of these guys. We had a lot of seniors last year and then this year we have a younger team, but they're starting to get better each week. We just got to keep battling and figuring out how to get better."
MILLS LIGHTS UP ROSE BUD
Homecoming was not a factor for Cutter Morning Star as the Eagles avenged last year's loss to Rose Bud with a 42-8 rout of the Ramblers at Eagle Stadium Friday night.
The Eagles (2-1) held a 10-point lead at halftime last year in Rose Bud before the Ramblers (0-3) came back to take a 64-42 win, but that was something that junior quarterback Peyton Mills refused to repeat.
"Really it was just kind of get a payback from last year because we had a close one against them last year, but my main focus is just kind of keep the season going strong," Mills said of his motivation in the win. "We're 2-1 now, so that's nice, too."