Saturday, September 30, 2017

SPORTS STORY >> End zone fumble dooms Bears

By RICK KRON 
Leader staff writer

Deon Youngblood gained more than 200 yards in rushes, pass completions, and kickoff returns and added three touchdowns and a two-point conversion to the score Friday night for the Sylvan Hills Bears, but it was his fumble on the 1-yard line in overtime that sealed the game for the Little Rock Christian Warriors.

The Bears hung tough in the game played on their own home turf, but came up short, 41-35.

“I’m proud of these kids,” said Bear coach Jim Withrow. “It was a tough loss, but we went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the state. We just haven’t been able to catch a break, yet the kids keep playing hard. Something good is going to happen.”

The Bear defense gave the home team a chance to win in the fourth quarter by stopping the Warriors on the 45-yard line. The big play was a monster sack by Tim Board on a third-down play forcing a punt.

Sylvan Hills worked the ball to the Warriors’ 26-yard line with four seconds to go.

Tito Mendoza, who has a strong leg, tried to seal a win for the Bears with a 43-yard field goal try, but it fell just short, leading to overtime.

The Warriors won the toss and took three plays to score from the 10-yard line. The extra-point try missed, but a penalty gave them another try, and they missed again, leaving the door open for the Bears.

Taking their shot from the 10-yard line, the Bears pushed it to the 1-yard line on fourth down. Youngblood got the call, but a hard hit jarred the ball loose and it bounced aimlessly into the end zone surround by Warriors who pounced on it to end the game.

“We’ll reconvene on Monday and I don’t want to hear any ‘almost’ talk,” Withrow said.

It took LRCA (5-0) almost to the end of the first quarter to score, drawing first blood at the 1:32 mark even though Cole Bland, Kyle White and Brennan Shelton laid some heavy hits and tackles on the Warrior ball carriers.

It started to look like a rout when the Warriors scored four minutes into the second quarter behind the scrambling and passing of Jackson Bowersock.

Darius Waddell then intercepted an errant Bowersock pass and flew 70-yards for the score. Tito Mendoza added the extra point.

Midway through the third quarter, the Bears pushed the ball downfield from their own 3-yard line, taking nearly five minutes to score on a run by Youngblood. During the point-after kick, the Warriors were called for being offside, putting the ball just outside the one-yard line. The Bears decided to forego the tie and shoot for the lead with a 2-point conversion, but Youngblood couldn’t turn the corner.

Down by one, the Bears kicked off to the Warriors who ran and passed it down to the Bears’ 36-yard line. With fourth down and just inches to go, Garrett Gilbert came up big stopping Hill for no gain.

That sparked a drive by the Bears (3-2, 0-2) with Youngblood, quarterback Ryan Lumpkin and running back Ty Compton sharing run duties. It took two tries by Lumpkin, from the 1-yard line, but he broke the plane, putting the Bears up. This time the two-point conversion by Youngblood worked, and it was Bears 21, Warriors 14 with 1:20 to go in the quarter.

That lead only lasted 13 seconds as the Warriors, starting on their 40-yard line after a Bears pooch kick, hit a 60-yard touchdown pass. The third quarter ended with the teams knotted at 21.

But the Warriors wasted little time in the fourth quarter to jump out in front at the 9:38 mark behind another big, 47-yard pass play.

It was Sylvan Hills turn to strike back quickly. It only took about a minute for Lumpkin to hit Youngblood zipping down the sidelines for a 70-yard pass completion and touchdown. Another good extra point and the game was again tied.

But two plays later, it was the Warriors in the end zone again. This time behind a quarterback pitch to Trey Harris who rambled 52-yards for the score.

Like Heavyweights trading blows in the final rounds, the Bears punched back as Youngblood zig-zagged his way from the 40-yard line to the end zone. A Mendoza extra point locked things up at 35 to 35.

The Bears play Mills in Little Rock next Friday.

SPORTS STORY >> JHS girls regroup to avoid collapse

By RAY BENTON 
Leader sports editor

After dominating game one, the Jacksonville volleyball team appeared to be on the brink of disaster Thursday against Parkview. But the team regrouped and the crisis was averted as the Lady Titans pulled off a 3-2 win with scores of 25-11, 24-26, 22-25, 25-15 and 15-13.

Assessing the team’s overall performance, Jacksonville coach Savannah Jacoby just said, “I’m glad they won. Before set four, I didn’t really do a whole lot of talking. I was really angry and frustrated. I didn’t really know what to say that I haven’t said before many times.

“But then they started saying to each other everything that I usually say. We’re not playing as a team right now. We’re playing as individuals. Keep your heads up. We can pull together. So that was the mindset for set four. It took a little while to get it in sync, but overall I was glad to see them come together like that.”

Jacksonville’s Blair Jones served an untouched ace to start the match, and that was a pretty good indicator of how the rest of game one would go. Parkview didn’t get a ball back across the net at all until the fourth point, and it was wide. Another ace made it 5-0 and Parkview had to call a quick timeout.

Jones served long after the break, but Chandee Wesley got a kill to break serve, and then served back-to-back aces for an 8-1 lead. A Federica Bossi kill made it 9-1 and the Lady Patriots had to use another timeout.

The lead grew to 14 at 21-17 before the two teams traded points to end game one. Sophomore Macaela Smith, who was recently promoted from the junior varsity squad, served her second ace, and the team’s eighth, to put a stamp on game one.

Game two ebbed and flowed with Jacksonville maintaining a lead, until a major ebb ended the game in shocking fashion.

Jacksonville jumped ahead 8-3 early before Parkview battled back to within 11-10. Parkview (6-9, 2-8) was called for a lift that made it 12-10 and Jones took serve again. She served back-to-back aces, and Parkview failed on four-straight serves to get the ball back across the net. Wesley got another kill, Parkview hit long twice and Jones served another ace to make it 20-10. Everything began to unravel at that point.

Still, Jacksonville had six set points to end game two after a Jones kill put the Lady Titans up 24-18, but they never scored again.

Jones hit long on the next point and Parkview’s Sydney Norris took serve. Morgan Peters got a kill and Jacoby called timeout at 24-20. Kyndall Hardiman then blocked a Brittney Eskridge hit. A service ace went backwards off Basia Brown, Smith’s set floated into the net, Jones got into the net, Peters got another kill and Norris bounced another ace off Brown to complete the unlikely and dramatic turnaround.

Jacksonville (7-12, 5-5) couldn’t recover the entire third game. For a brief moment things appeared to be turning for the better. Jacksonville took a 15-11 lead and Lindsey Holt took serve. Hardiman made a diving save to prevent an ace, and the ball floated over the net, where the Lady Titans looked at each other as the ball landed for a Parkview point.

The Patriots tied it when Jacksonville failed to take advantage of a free ball. Two hits set up nothing, and Wesley’s routine free ball hit the middle of the net. The Lady Titans never led again in game three.

Things continued to go poorly until the Lady Titans pulled it together midway through game four. Parkview led 11-7 and appeared on its way to the upset victory. Jacoby never called a timeout, but her players began to come together. Brown got a back-line kill to break serve. Aaliyah Burks got a kill, Bossi served an ace and Brown drilled another kill from the back row to tie game four.

Parkview called timeout and scored three straight after the break, but Jacksonville dominated from that point. After a net serve gave Holt the ball, kills by Wesley and Jones tied it up again at 14-14. Two unforced Parkview errors and an ace by Holt forced a Patriot timeout. Jones got another kill before a bad call drew Jacoby’s wrath, which caused a delay as she made her feelings known to the head official.

The tirade sparked her squad, and Parkview did not score again. Jones took serve at 19-15. She served three aces with another no return. Parkview was called for a lift and Wesley added a kill for the 25-15 win.

Both teams played nervously in the tiebreaker set. Very few points were won. Most were the result of errors by the opposition. Jacksonville did slightly better than Parkview, winning six of its 15 points. Eskridge got two kills. Smith, Bossi and Gulley served one ace apiece and Wesley blocked a hit by Alexandria Walton for another point.

Parkview led briefly at 1-0, but Jacksonville never led by more than two points. The matched ended anticlimactically. Bossi got into the net to make it 14-13, but Parkview was called for a lift to end the match.

Eskridge finished with a game-high nine kills while Wesley had seven and Jones five. Jones also served nine aces. Bossi and Smith had four aces apiece. Jacksonville had 24 aces as a team.

The Lady Titans will host Sheridan on Monday in a nonconference match, and travel to J.A. Fair on Tuesday to get back to 5A/6A District 4 play.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

SPORTS STORY >> Titans focus on seizing moment

By RAY BENTON 
Leader sports editor

The Jacksonville Titans are coming off a good outing but a disappointing loss as they prepare to hit the road to take on the Jonesboro Hurricanes at 7 p.m. Friday.

Some would consider the Titans’ 35-20 loss to Searcy a moral victory. Prognosticators had said the Lions would be able to name their score against an overmatched Jacksonville team. It didn’t work out that way. The 15-point final margin was Searcy’s biggest lead of the game, and didn’t come until the last touchdown after Jacksonville had cut it 28-20 early in the fourth.

Jacksonville kept Searcy out of the end zone the entire first quarter, the first time any team had accomplished such a feat against a Lion team that was averaging 54 points per game entering the contest.

The Titans also held Division I quarterback prospect Mason Schucker to a season low of 191 yards passing. He was averaging more than 400 yards per game.

But Jacksonville wanted a victory, and didn’t take much to the moral-victory mantra.

“They were disappointed,” said Jacksonville coach Barry Hickingbotham about his players. “I think they were proud of their effort, and they should’ve been. They left it all out there. But they also left knowing they had some opportunities out there where it could really have been a different outcome. And that’s me included.

“I made some mistakes with the timeouts. We dropped two touchdown passes. We just have to finish. So I think it’s a situation where they gave each other a hand, said good effort, good job, but the job is not done.”

It doesn’t get any easier this week. Jonesboro is 3-1 with a victory over a team that beat Jacksonville. The Canes beat Catholic High 28-26 in Week 3. Catholic beat Jacksonville 34-17 in Week 2. Jonesboro’s only loss is to 7A Conway.

Jonesboro rolled Jacksonville 57-21 last season at Jan Crow Stadium. That team featured two major-college prospects at wide receiver. This team doesn’t have that kind of talent out wide, but there are some playmakers, and the defense is better, according to Hickingbotham.

“They have a running back like Searcy has, except I think this guy (junior Daniel Johnson) is a little thicker,” Hickingbotham said. “I don’t think they have the explosiveness they had last year at receiver, but they have a bunch of guys catching the ball. You’re going to have to account for everybody because anybody could get it. And they’re running a two-headed monster at you at quarterback. So they give you a lot to have to prepare for.”

Seniors Tyson Williams and A.J. Aycock are sharing time at quarterback for Jonesboro, but it’s not a situation where one is primarily a passer and the other a runner. Either could run any play. In last week’s 42-7 win over Mountain Home, Williams attempted six passes and Aycock threw 10, while Williams carried five times and Aycock six. Both played limited duty because the mercy rule was invoked early in the third quarter and the starters took a seat. But ratios were similar in the close game with Catholic.

Williams competed 7 of 14 pass attempts for 113 yards, and carried four times for 14 yards. Aycock completed 10 of 18 attempts for 112 yards, and also had four carries for 4 yards.

Johnson isn’t the only capable running back for Jonesboro either. He leads the team in average, but senior Ji’marcus Bibbs has two 100-yard games also. Against Batesville, Johnson carried 19 times for 210 yards, while Bibbs had 13 carries for 152.

Johnson and Bibbs both went over the 100-yard mark against Catholic as well, with Bibbs leading the way. The senior had 21 carries for 179 yards, while Johnson 16 for 100.

The Canes have talent on defense as well, especially up front. Jacksonville’s offense showed drastic improvement from the Sylvan Hills game, where it had 92 total yards and three points, to Searcy, but the Lions didn’t have the line that Jonesboro has.

“They have a defensive end that’s about 6-foot-6, 270 pounds and he’s an animal,” Hickingbotham said. “They have a tackle about 6-1, 6-2, 300 pounds that ate Catholic alive. That’s going to be a big test for us because we’re always in that numbers game.

“We’re at a disadvantage each and every week in 6A with our numbers. So we have to rotate a lot of guys and work hard to keep people fresh. We’re going to focus a lot on conditioning this week because I think that played a role in wearing down last week.

“We’re trying to get in there and win one of these we’re not supposed to win. We gave ourselves that chance last week. We want to have a chance to win in the fourth quarter and we gave ourselves that, we just didn’t finish. We going up there and we’re going to try to do better and get one this week.”

SPORTS STORY >> Lady Rabbits sweep ’Stangs

By RAY BENTON 
Leader sports editor

Blended conferences cause a lot of confusion, but it was important for Lonoke to not only avenge its season-opening loss to Central Arkansas Christian on Monday, the Lady Jackrabbits needed a sweep. That’s exactly what they got, trailing only briefly throughout the entire match, Lonoke beat the host Lady Mustangs by scores of 25-16, 26-24 and 25-19 in North Little Rock.

Lonoke is in blended District 9, while CAC is blended District 8, but the two teams will converge for the 4A-Central Conference tournament when the postseason rolls around in a couple of weeks. CAC had beaten Lonoke 3-1 back on Aug. 24.

Lonoke’s sweep on Monday gives the Lady Jackrabbits the advantage when 4A-Central coaches convene to discuss how to seed a conference tournament with teams from four different blended districts.

Lonoke’s blended district doesn’t include another team above the 2A classification, and competition there has been easy as they have rolled up a 6-0 record and won all 18 sets by wide margins.

Monday’s match wasn’t that easy, but Lonoke only trailed for a brief moment in game two. When Keiunna Walker’s kill attempt sailed long, CAC led 3-2. Lonoke then scored the next four points in a row, and never trailed again. CAC did come back and tie game two at 24. A Kennedy White tip kill gave Lonoke match point with Walker at the service line. She dialed up a big sinking serve that landed in the middle of the CAC defense for a set-winning ace.

A key strength for the Lady Jackrabbits this season has been depth, and it was needed on Monday. Middle blocker Maddie Pool went down with an ankle injury late in game three.

Junior Hope Newkirk entered the game for the first time with Lonoke clinging to an 18-16 lead after scoring the first five points of the set. She finished things off with a match-point kill right down the middle of the court, landing just inside the boundary.

“She stepped right in and held her own,” said Lonoke coach Laura Park. “That being said, this was another total team effort. The goal is to try to get better each game and peak in the postseason. It’s hard to tell if you’re getting better in our blended conference. But you get better playing teams like CAC, and I think we showed improvement tonight.”

Lonoke (12-4-1, 6-0) grabbed a 3-1 lead early in game one, and that score toggled between a one and two-point margin for a long time. Lonoke finally put some distance between itself and CAC (13-4, 4-1) when Pool served three-straight points, including an ace, that made it 11-7. Walker and Gracie Mason later served up aces that helped the Lady Rabbits stretch the margin to as much as 19-12.

Pool took serve again after a White kill put Lonoke up 21-16, and she served out the set, including one more ace for good measure for Lonoke’s 24th point.

Lonoke’s biggest lead in the hotly contested second game was four points. The Lady Jackrabbits led 11-7, 15-11 and 20-16 before CAC mounted a comeback. The Lady Mustangs first tied it at 21 with a 5-1 run that forced Park to call a timeout. Only one of CAC’s five points in the run were the result of a kill. The other four were all Lonoke errors.

After the break, Lonoke junior Emily Armstrong got a kill from the right side that broke the CAC streak. She then took serve and sent CAC’s back line diving to save an ace. Lady Mustang Faith Elder made the save, but the ball floated just over to Lonoke’s side of the net, where Pool made an easy dunk over the net for a 23-21 lead. The next serve was wide, and CAC tied it on a kill by Bailey Jones. They traded points to 24 before White’s kill and Walker’s ace gave Lonoke the win.

The Mustangs battled back from Lonoke’s fast start in game three, and trailed just 18-16 when Pool went down. Before Newkirk came through with the kill on match point, Kayla Shelton got three kills to help extend Lonoke’s lead back to 22-17. Kills by Walker and Armstrong on Shelton’s serve made it 24-17 before Newkirk sealed the match.

Lonoke’s depth at hitter shows in the stats. Five different players had at least five kills. Walker led the way with nine. Shelton and Pool finished with seven each while Armstrong and White had five apiece.

Jones led all players with 11 kills for CAC. Brittney Perry had seven and Cicely young six.

Over the weekend, Lonoke also defeated CAC in its own one-day tournament at the Gina Cox Center. Neither team was at full strength for the event, but Lonoke won the tournament, which included Sylvan Hills, Palestine-Wheatley, Helena-West Helena Central and the Little Rock Flames home-school team.

SPORTS STORY >> Maverick offense is on target

By RAY BENTON 
Leader sports editor

The Cabot defense continues to perform well, and it continues to face stronger and stronger challenges. That trend continues this week as the Panthers face Fort Smith Southside, which has scored at least 35 points in three of its four games. The Mavericks are only 1-3, and have suffered an inexplicable 49-0 loss to Greenwood, but they’ve lost a pair of shootouts, one to Springdale Har-Ber and the other last week to Conway, and hammered Rogers-Heritage 50-17 in Week 3.

Southside was without starting quarterback Taye Gatewood against Greenwood, and that appeared to be a key to the lack of production. With Gatewood out, Southside threw the ball just five times, completing three for 35 yards, and managed just 122 total yards of offense.

There were no statistics available for the game against Heritage, but against Har-Ber and Conway, Gatewood was the playmaker. Against Har-Ber, he completed 22 of 33 pass attempts for 351 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran nine times for 42 yards and two scores.

Against Conway, Gatewood completed a remarkable 18 of 21 pass attempts for 337 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran 19 times for 115 yards and three more scores.

“They’ve scored some points,” said Cabot coach Mike Malham. “Hopefully our defense can keep playing well. I think we’re getting better each week. I thought we got better last Friday as the game went on. They came out and used up half the first quarter and scored on us, but they didn’t have another one like that. But this is a different challenge and it don’t get any easier.”

Cabot and Southside built a nice long-distance rivalry in the early 2000s. The two teams met in the state championship twice, each going 1-1. It’s been a rekindled rivalry since just before becoming conference mates. In 2015, the Panthers were 10-0 7A-Central champions with any eye on another run to the title game, but Southside came to Panther stadium and ruined those plans in the second round of the playoffs.

Last year, Cabot’s goal line stand as time expired at Southside played a huge role in keeping the Mavericks out of the playoffs.

“They’re a good program and it’s always a dog fight with us and them,” Malham said.

Cabot will continue to be without two key starters, one on each side of the ball. Fullback Adam Flores and Division I defensive line prospect Dayonte Roberts missed last week’s game, and both will be out at least two more.

Flores’ backup, junior Bradley Morales, had a great outing against Catholic after moving from halfback to fullback. He had 14 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a 68-yard touchdown run that answered the Rockets’ long opening drive.

“He’s not as big and strong as Flores but he’s got some speed,” Malham said. “He showed that when he got loose and they couldn’t catch him. Of course little T.J. had a great night. He’s so quick, he’s just tough to get a hold of in the open field.”

A pair of sophomores, Hunter Horka and Hayden Matthews, filled in for Roberts, and did well.

“The two sophomores are coming around,” Malham said. “And another sophomore, Logan Bell, is playing at the defensive end. Those guys have been good so far to be so green. Hopefully they’ll keep getting better. They’re getting a chance right now and they’re contributing.”

And the game plan, at least offensively, is the same as always.

“They’re capable so we got to get ready to play,” Malham said. “Last year we went to the wire and got lucky. (Southside fumbled the pitch on the last play from 1 yard out.) If we can’t move the ball and hang onto it, it’s going to be a long night. There are no gimmies in this conference. We just have to try to do what we do best. Hold the ball, keep our defense on the sideline rested, and keep their offense on the sideline dying of old age.”

EDITORIAL >> Jerry Jones on his knee

That was a dramatic gesture when the visiting Dallas Cowboys and their owner Jerry Jones knelt down with his players and then stood up with their arms locked Monday night before their game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Jones, who was raised in the Rose City community in North Little Rock, was expected to urge his team not to join protests that are spreading across the NFL. He was, after all, a major supporter of Donald Trump and gave his inaugural committee $1 million.

The fans booed the Cowboys, but the billionaire owner of America’s Team felt he had to take a stand without disrespecting the flag. Everyone stood during the playing of the national anthem, but Jones and the Cowboys sent a powerful message to the president: No player should be called names and everyone must have the right to speak and act their conscience on and off the field.

EDITORIAL >> Fall festivals coming up

Fall festival season kicks off Saturday when Jacksonville holds its fifth annual Festiville at Dupree Park and Sherwood hosts its 41st annual Sherwood Fest at Sherwood Forest off Maryland Avenue.

Both events will have plenty of live entertainment, family fun, games, festival food, carnival rides and more. For a full schedule, see page 1A.

Ukulele Bill, who performs at 10 a.m. in Sherwood, will give away three ukuleles.

The Sherwood Rotary Club will hold a 5K at 8 a.m. and a family walk at 9 a.m.

Keep Sherwood Beautiful will hold a castle-building contest until 2 p.m., and there will even be a Robin Hood-style archery contest at 10:30 a.m.

Jacksonville’s Festiville, formerly known as Wing Ding, which was formerly known as Cityfest and Muscadine Days in an earlier day, will open on Thursday with a carnival. Saturday has lots of live music and local performers.

CabotFest will be held downtown Saturday, Oct. 14.

The Cabot Lions Club will hold its annual pancake breakfast that kicks off the festival from 6 a.m. till 10 a.m. Oct. 14 in the Cabot First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.

The Beebe Arts and Crafts Fair, previously known as Beebe Fall Festival, will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Beebe Ball Park.

Ward Harvest Fest will be held from 6 till 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at the chamber, 80 W. Second St.

So get out to the festivals this weekend and in the weeks ahead. Greet your neighbors and have a funnel cake and lots of fun. See you there.

TOP STORY >> Jacksonville VFW turns 50

By JEFFREY SMITH 
Leader staff writer

The Jacksonville VFW Post 4548 will celebrate its 50th year on Thursday.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars post began meeting at Little Rock Air Force Base in an old decommissioned bunker. It was chartered in 1967.

The VFW post moved to a brick building across the street from its current building in 1981 across the street at 6704 Old Hwy. 67. It is open from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

It was later was renamed to honor Michael W. Ray, a Cabot soldier who died in May 1970 during his second tour in Vietnam. Ray was awarded the Bronze Star.

Jacksonville VFW Post commander Michael Ritchey said the VFW offers services to veterans, active duty military and their families. The Jacksonville VFW has 825 members of those 575 are lifetime members.

The post has a bar but has grown to be more family friendly with the addition of pond for fishing derbies, a pavilion for picnics and a smoke house for barbecues. It has dinners and live musicians.

The post has a VFW Auxiliary and a motorcycle riders group.

“They do a lot of outreach for our veterans and the community when needed on behalf of the VFW. We build wheelchair ramps for veterans. The auxiliary makes hospital visits, promotes local school scholarship programs and patriotism,” Ritchey said.

The VFW informs veterans of services and benefits. The state chairman lobbies legislation on VA benefits, improving the VA system and helping veterans with retirement tax exemptions.

The Jacksonville post has an annual Thanksgiving dinner for senior citizens in the community. The motorcycle groups rides with the annual Toys for Tots ride.

“We do holiday baskets for those in need. We sell Buddy Poppies to raise money for disabled veterans,” Ritchey said.

The Jacksonville VFW also holds charity bingo games from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and from 4 to 8 p.m. Sundays. Ritchey said it helps provide income to support charitable donations in the community.

“We are looking for new veterans who served overseas. You don’t have to be an active member just being a dues card holder helps the VFW. They are a voice the state commander can lobby on behalf of,” Ritchey said.

TOP STORY >> 5th annual FestiVille

Jacksonville’s fifth-annual FestiVille of music, food and fun is Friday and Saturday at Dupree Park. Admission and parking is free. Hours are 3 to 10 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.

The carnival runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Armbands for rides are available for $20 from 3 till 10 p.m. Thursday and for $20 from 5 till 10 p.m. Friday.

“New for this year are shooting demonstrations by Arkansas Game and Fish Shooting Sports Complex instructors,” FestiVille organizer Dana Rozenski said.

Performing on Friday at the Pavilion Stage are Drums Alive from 3 to 4 p.m. Lighthouse Charter School from 4 to 5 p.m. Craig Anthony from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. and Chris Crawford from 6 to 6:50 p.m.

At the A&P Stage are American Lions from 4 to 4:45 p.m. The Guilty from 5 to 5:45 p.m. and The Rowdy from 6 to 6:45 p.m.

Movies in the Park will show “Sing” at 7 p.m. Friday on Field 4.

FestiVille has 50 vendor booths. Food vendors are Kona Ice, W and M Concessions, ReggaeFlavas, Marie’s BBQ and Catering Services and Boss Hog Barbecue.

Saturday will have a 5K run, a “Grill in the Ville” barbecue contest cooking pork shoulders and ribs. An Arkansas Street Machines car show from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Car entry is $25. Volleyball tournament registration is at 8:30 a.m. and games start at 9 a.m. Entry is $10 per player.

The fire department will hold the finals of the elementary schools kids’ obstacle course. FestiVille will have a rock climbing wall, canoe and kayak rides, a kids area and a petting zoo.

Saturday is a full day of performances. At the Pavilion Stage are Dogtown Ukulele Band from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Carla’s Dance from 10:30 to 10:45 a.m. Limelight Performance Academy at 10:45 to 11:15 a.m. Huff N Puff from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jacksonville High School cheerleaders from 1 to 1:15 p.m. Sharon’s Dance Studio from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Dance FX from 2:45 to 3 p.m. Divine Pearls of Jacksonville from 3:15 to 3:30 p.m. Vocal Jazz from 4 to 5 p.m. and New Livin’ Quartet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

On the A&P Stage are Six Ways from Sunday at 11 to 11:45 a.m. The Cliff Hudson Band from noon to 12:45 p.m. Critical Mass from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Stays in Vegas from 2 to 2:45 p.m. Danny C from 3 to 3:45 p.m. The Kolton Thomas Band from 4 to 4:45 p.m. Sol Def Band from 5 to 6 p.m. Bree Ogden from 6 to 7 p.m. and Eddie and the Defiantz from 7 to 7:45 p.m.

TOP STORY >> 41st Sherwood Fest

Sherwood Fest will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Sherwood Forest, 1111 W. Maryland Ave. Admission and parking are free.

More than 4,000 people are expected to attend the 41st annual event.

The entertainment schedule includes many local musicians and performers including at 10 a.m. Ukulele Bill, 11 a.m. Impact Gymnastics, 11:30 a.m. Annie Zimmerman, 11:45 a.m. Magician Rocky Clements, 12:30 p.m. Dance FX, 12:45 p.m. Arkansas Circus Arts, 1 p.m. Alexandra Powell, 1:15 p.m. Limelight Performance Academy, 1:30 p.m. Sharecroppers, 2:30 p.m. Arkansas Circus Arts, 3 p.m. Cheer Time Revolution, 3:15 p.m. Brian and Terri Kinder, 4:15 p.m. Ms. Karen’s Dance Studio, 4:30 p.m. Arkansas Circus Arts, 4:45 p.m. Marissa and Jacq’s Dancers, 5 p.m. Allie Keene, 5:15 p.m. Jax Gym Trampoline and Tumbling, 5:30 p.m. Caleb Allen and 5:45 p.m. Arkansas Circus Arts.

Ukulele Bill will give away three ukuleles during his show.

Three contests are returning to the event this year, including the Sherwood Rotary Club’s Conquerthe Climb 5K Fun Run and 1K Family Walk/Run, Keep Sherwood Beautiful’s Castle-Building Contest and Archery.

The 5K will begin at 8 a.m. at Sherwood Forest. After the 5K there will be a 1K family run/walk, which will begin around 9 a.m. Strollers and people-friendly pets with current tags are welcome.

Register online at webscorer.com. Sept. 27 is the deadline to guarantee a race T-shirt. Proceeds will support the Sherwood Rotary’s scholarships and youth programs.

The 5K registration fee is $15 for ages 18 and under or $25 for ages 19 and up.

The 1K Family Walk/Run is $10 per person. For more information about the races, email sherwoodfest5k@gmail.com or visit www.webscorer.com.

Keep Sherwood Beautiful will register teams of up to four people for the Castle-Building Contest at the information booth until 2 p.m. The group will provide recycled materials for participants to build a castle and requests that participants only use what the organization provides to be fair to all teams.

Keep Sherwood Beautiful will judge the castles and award trophies to the best three. The contest is open to all ages and will begin at 2:30 p.m.

An amateur archery contest will begin at 10:30 a.m. Trophies will be awarded to the top three competitors in an adult and children’s divisions. Recurve bows and arrows will be provided. Participants may not bring their own equipment for the contest. Medieval costumes are encouraged but not required.

After the winners are announced, attendees not wishing to compete may try their hands at archery under the guidance of Sylvan Hills High School Archery Club coaches and trained volunteers.

For more information, email sherwoodfest@cityofsherwood.net.

Unlimited-access armbands for rides will cost $5. The mechanical carnival rides include the Alpine Chairlift, Power Wheel, Pirates Revenge, Turbo Tubs of Fun, G-Force Twin Spin, Space Maze Lazer Tag and Hang Time, which simulates skydiving.

A free Knight Castle and Pirates Bounce/Slide Combo will be available to people without armbands.

Aaron Acosta will provide free balloon animals from noon to 3 p.m. Magician Rocky Clements will hold additional magic shows at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Arkansas Circus Arts will also provide roaming entertainment in between their performances on the main stage.

Some vendors will be providing yard games, giveaways and crafts at their booths.

Concession booths have already sold out. Other vendors can reserve booths online at www.cityofsherwood.net/265/Sherwood-Fest-2017.