CHERRY VALLEY — The Cross County Thunderbirds are entering 2A-2 conference play and the defense of their Class 2A state title coming off a big win over 4A Star City.
Cross County coach Ty Mimbs said his team was clicking on all sides of the ball last week.
“I thought we played well in all three phases of the game,” Mimbs said. “Offensively, all three of our backs rushed for over 100 yards. We passed the ball one time and it was a completion for a 29-yard touchdown. We were able to get the ball in our playmakers’ hands and disperse it a little bit, which is always a good thing
“Defensively, we were undersized Friday night, but I feel like we’re playing more confident and when you’re confident, you’re playing fast,” he added. “A fast defense is what we want, is what we’re striving to get to. On special teams, we were able to find ways to sustain a possession. Making people think on how we’re doing things with our schematics. At the end of the day, we’re always going to be focusing on ourselves and putting one foot in front of the other and keep moving and keep trying to get guys ready to go play every Friday night.”
Marked Tree
The T-Birds will have a tough opponent in Marked Tree in their conference opener Friday night.
The Indians were picked by Hooten’s Arkansas Football to finish third in the 2A-2, behind Cross County and Des Arc. Marked Tree is led on offense by all-conference junior quarterback P.J. Powell, who threw for 1,180 yards and ten touchdowns, and rushed for 325 yards and five touchdowns one year ago. Junior running back Deangelo Risper is considered to be one of the team’s fastest players and is joined by sophomores Ashton Campbell and brothers Major Pearson and Kingston Pearson. On defense, the Indians lost much of their linebacker corps from last year, and the line is expected to be filled with a lot of two-way players.
Cross County is 2-1 on the season with wins over Harrisburg and Star City. The loss was at Palestine-Wheatley. Marked Tree is 2-1 with wins over Little Rock Episcopal and Marshall and a loss to Newport.
Mimbs said he knows Marked Tree will be a challenge.
“They’re extremely athletic. They’ve got some guys that take the lights out,” he said. “We’ve just got to play smart football and find ways to get off the field. If we can do that, find some stops and keep those guys in front of us and eliminate any missed tackles and control the line of scrimmage, we’ll be successful.
“On offense, we’ve got to control our pace and take care of the football and do what we did the last couple of weeks,” Mimbs added. “Get the ball in our ball carrier’s hands that can make some plays and just be physical and dominate up front.”
Kickoff at Marked Tree is set for 7 p.m. Friday. The 107.3 BOB FM broadcast will begin at about 6:50 p.m. The game will also be streamed on the Cross County Schools YouTube page.
