By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The 2-4A Conference picture gets blurrier with every passing week.
Newport’s victory over Lonoke in Week 5 put the Greyhounds on top of the standings, but they lost their next two games against Stuttgart and Heber Springs, who each have two league losses. Clinton, Newport’s guest Friday, remains the only unbeaten 2-4A team a month into conference play.
That makes Lonoke’s road game at Marianna-Lee this week an outright battle for second place.
Marianna-Lee (4-2, 3-1) won its third straight 2-4A Conference game last week, 44-20 over Batesville Southside, and the Trojans’ 34-14 victory over Heber Springs the week before put them in contention for the league championship.
Marianna-Lee will host a Lonoke team coming off two straight home games against struggling opponents. The Jackrabbits (6-1, 3-1) recovered from a sluggish first half two weeks ago for a 50-14 rout over Batesville Southside and quickly jumped on Cave City last week in a 41-8 homecoming victory.
The Trojans, a one-time regular in the playoffs under former coach Billy Saia, are making a bid to return to glory this season under third-year coach Clyde Noel after posting 2-8 records the past two years.
“They’ve definitely got speed going their way,” Lonoke coach Doug Bost said. “They’re an I-formation team; they want to run the ball with a lot of sweeps and power plays. They’ve got a 6-6 quarterbThe Jackrabbits (6-1, 3-1) recovered from a sluggish first half two weeks ago for a 50-14 rout over Batesville Southside and quickly jumped on Cave City last week in a 41-8 homecoming victory.
The Trojans, a one-time regular in the playoffs under former coach Billy Saia, are making a bid to return to glory this season under third-year coach Clyde Noel after posting 2-8 records the past two years.
“They’ve definitely got speed going their way,” Lonoke coach Doug Bost said. “They’re an I-formation team; they want to run the ball with a lot of sweeps and power plays. They’ve got a 6-6 quarterback who can chunk it down the field, so they’re a little more balanced team than what they have been.
“Defensively, they play man to man, so our receivers will have to run good routes to get open.”
A victory over Marianna-Lee would put Lonoke a game behind the league-leading Clinton, which still must play Newport and Heber Springs before a Week 10 showdown at Lonoke.
“You got three teams with two losses, us and Marianna’s lost one, and then, you got Clinton,” Bost said. “It’s definitely jumbled up. I believe it’s probably going to come down to the last week, that’s why we keep telling the kids they control their own destiny.”
Lonoke’s less-than-challenging opponents the past two weeks seem to have been the perfect segue into the final three-game stretch in which the Jackrabbits must play Marianna, Stuttgart and Clinton.
“We got to play just about everybody the last two weeks,” Bost said. “Everybody got game time. We rested our starters some, so they should be fresh and ready to go.
“Definitely, the last three weeks will all be tough ball games. We have to have three good weeks of practice.”
Lonoke made quick work of Cave City last week with 358 yards offense and six scores in the first half to activate the sportsmanship/timing rule for a continuously-running clock in the second half. Senior receiver Darius Scott made the most of his four receptions from quarterbacks Logan DeWhitt and Tarrale Watson with 151 yards and two touchdowns, and had 59 rushing yards and a score.
The Jackrabbits have proved to be a tough opponent on the road following last year’s playoff run and three road victories to start the 2010 season. Bost credits his team’s ability to hush opposing crowds, as well as the Jackrabbits fans who support their team across the state.
“It doesn’t bother them going on the road,” Bost said of his players. “They take their crowd out of it, and after that, it just becomes a regular ballgame. Lonoke also travels good fans, and to have them there to support us — it makes you feel good when they’re making more noise than the home crowd.”
