Monthly Archives: February 2024

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Nettleton vs. Southside

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Southerners capture Raiders, 42-17

Delta Digital News Service

Friday, Oct. 13, 2023

Brayden Morse | Sports Editor

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Southside Southerners remain undefeated with a strong second half to beat the Nettleton Raiders 42-17 on Friday night at Raider Stadium.

Southerners quarterback Savion Hall scored four total touchdowns, one passing and the other three rushing, but Nettleton had the momentum early and fought, keeping the score 21-17 at halftime.

Southside went for an onside kick to start the game with Nettleton recovering in Southerners’ territory. 

Running back TJ Brown led the Raiders to their first score on their first drive, with three straight rushing plays to reach the endzone. Nettleton then decided to do their own onside kick and recovered at the 34-yard line. 

Nettleton’s TJ Brown (10) runs the ball against Southside during first half action in Jonesboro on Friday, October 13, 2023.

The Raiders’ drive was stalled to a successful field goal attempt by Mason Waln, giving them a 10-0 lead. 

Southside would eventually respond with Hall running straight up the middle for a 30-yard touchdown. 

The Southerners gained quick momentum when Raider quarterback Maddox Hampton threw an interception around midfield in a triple coverage scenario. 

Southside took advantage of the excellent field position with a 32-yard rushing touchdown by Hall, leading 14-10. 

The back and forth game continued, as Brown scored his second rushing touchdown on a 40-yard play to get the lead back early in the second quarter at 17-14. 

Hall’s final rushing touchdown occurred in a goal-line situation to regain the lead before halftime. 

On Southside’s opening drive of the second half, Hall threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to running back Isaac Wallis, leading 28-14. 

Nettleton drove down the field on their next drive but failed to execute on fourth down, resulting in a turnover on downs. 

After that, the Southerners would go on to score two more touchdowns and run the clock out.

The Raiders are now 6-2, looking to bounce back next week as they travel to play Forrest City in a conference matchup. 

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Brayden Morse

Brayden Morse is a multimedia journalism major in the School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He can be reached at brayden.morse@smail.astate.edu.

NOTE: Feature photo shows Nettleton’s Maddox Hampton preparing to throw the ball against Southside during first half action on Friday, October 13, 2023. Photo by Ibuki Hinohara

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Brookland vs. Southside

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Southerners skin Bearcats, 38-0

Delta Digital News Service

Friday, Oct. 6, 2023

Brayden Morse | Sports Editor

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Southside Southerners spoiled the Brookland Bearcats’ homecoming in shutout fashion with an impressive rushing attack on Friday night at Jordan’s Stadium.

Southside’s Savion Hall (11) tries to get through Brookland’s Barrett Cunningham (18) during first half action on Friday, October 6, 2023.

The long runs were established from the get-go, as Southside wide receiver Seth Case ran for 41 yards on a motion play to put the Southerners in a redzone opportunity on their first drive of the game. 

Running back Gabriel Witt finished the drive with a goal-line touchdown midway through the first quarter. 

Brookland head coach Mark Hindsley addressed Southside’s ability to run the ball on their offensive line. 

“It’s hard to stop them. When their offensive line blocks until the whistle and they do the things they do up front, that is why they had success,” Hindsley said. 

As Brookland geared up for kickoff, Southside recovered the ball in Bearcat territory. Case scored a 31-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Southerners a 14-0 lead early in the first half.

The Bearcats’ defense held the Southerners’ offense on back-to-back drives but could not capitalize on the opportunities. 

After a failed fake punt by Southside resulting in a turnover on downs, Brookland quarterback Hayden Elder threw an interception on the second drive of the game.

Southside would get excellent field position but were stopped to a field-goal try, making the score 17-0 midway through the second quarter. 

The Bearcats were once stopped again on offense, while Southerners quarterback Savion Hall rolled out of the pocket for a 51-yard rushing touchdown right before halftime. 

Unfortunately for Brookland, Southside would get the ball to start the second half. After a failed onside kick by the Bearcats, Witt ran for 37 yards to put the Southerners in another goal-line situation. 

Running back Louis Calhoun punched in for a score, Southside leading 31-0 early in the third quarter. 

The Southerners eventually got the ball back as the Bearcat offense could not connect down the field with passes. 

Back-to-back long runs from the Witt and Case duo, led to their second straight drive with a goal-line situation. Case capped off the drive with his second rushing touchdown of the game. 

Entering the fourth quarter, Brookland was still looking for their first score. Their next drive was stalled as Elder threw his second interception of the game. 

Southside ran the clock out to win 38-0. 

Coach Hindsley expressed his thoughts on the outcome of the game and what the team needs to do moving forward. 

“There were no positives (takeaways). Negatives, there were a bunch of them. We have just got to get better. We have got to get better as a team. We have to get better offensively and defensively. We have to get more focused and have the right mindset going into every week,” Hindsley said. 

Brookland is now 1-4 on the season and looking to get back in the win column as they travel to play Valley View in a conference matchup next Friday. 

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Brayden Morse

Brayden Morse is a multimedia journalism major in the School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He can be reached at brayden.morse@smail.astate.edu.

NOTE: Featured photo shows Brookland’s Tyler Hammett (12) pushing through Southside’s defense during first half action on Friday. Courtesy of Terrance Armstard

Day 1 – The 38th annual Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic

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Golden Hurricane defeats Cedar Ridge Timberwolves, 61-27

Delta Digital News Service

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023

Brayden Morse | Sports Editor

JONESBORO, Ark. – Day one of the 38th annual Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic is complete, with wins from Jonesboro, Rossview, Bartlett and Fayetteville on Thursday night at Don Riggs Hurricane Gymnasium to move on to the winner’s bracket.

Cedar Ridge’s Kyle Provence (3) tries to stop Jonesboro guard Caleb Chew (15) during the first round of the 38th annual Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic basketball tournament in Jonesboro, Thursday, November 30, 2023. Photo by Atsuki Ohbuchi

The Jonesboro Golden Hurricane defeated the Cedar Ridge Timberwolves 61-27. 

Jonesboro guard Chris Stacy led the team in scoring with 14 points, and led the team with three, three-pointers in the third quarter. Two of the three-pointers were on back-to-back possessions to increase the Golden Hurricanes’ lead.

Jonesboro head coach Wes Swift shared his thoughts on Stacy’s performance.

“He’s a knock down shooter. We need him to stretch the floor. He played a nice role in that third quarter,” Swift said.

The score was 23-14 at halftime, with the Golden Hurricane leading. Coach Swift felt like the score was too close of a margin and needed to play better on both sides of the ball.

“With the score at halftime, we can work on the offense against the one-three-one. We didn’t have a lot of points at halftime and they (Cedar Ridge) do a really good job on their one-three-one. We wanted to play inside out and they did a good job of allowing us to get the ball in the paint,” Swift said. 

“With the score at halftime, we can work on the offense against the one-three-one. We didn’t have a lot of points at halftime and they (Cedar Ridge) do a really good job on their one-three-one. We wanted to play inside out and they did a good job of allowing us to get the ball in the paint,”

Jonesboro head coach Wes Swift

Swift also had some comments about his defense in the first half.

“We didn’t press and we thought we could press them. We felt like we needed to, to get some easy buckets and try to stretch that lead out a little bit. I thought we had a really good third quarter once we turned the heat up a little bit,” Swift said. 

The Golden Hurricane play the Rossview Hawks (Rossview, TN) on Friday night at 7 p.m. while Cedar Ridge plays the Nettleton Raiders on Friday at 4 p.m.

The Hawks defeated the Nettleton Raiders 54-53, as the Raiders shot a buzzer-beater three-pointer and hoped for a foul for an and-one.

Nettleton fought hard all game, while being down by eight points with two minutes left in the game and coming back. The Raiders would of course minimize that lead with a couple three-pointers and fouls, but failed to make all of their free-throws. 

Nettleton head coach Bubba Deaton expressed his thoughts on the loss and some positive and negative takeaways.

“We did some good things. We’ve got a lot of things to improve on. We didn’t play very well in the first half offensively. Didn’t get stops in the second half. To be down eight with two minutes left and give ourselves a chance, shows some grit. Probably should’ve gone to the press a little earlier. We shared the ball and we missed some shots that we normally take,” Deaton said. 

The Bartlett Bulldogs (Bartlett, TN) defeated the Osceola Seminoles 78-34. Bartlett guard and Arkansas State signee R’Chaun King scored nine points in the win.

The Fayetteville Bulldogs beat the West Memphis Blue Devils 71-43. The Bulldogs will play Bartlett on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. Osceola will play West Memphis on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

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Brayden Morse

Brayden Morse is a multimedia journalism major in the School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He can be reached at brayden.morse@smail.astate.edu.

Note: Photos by DDNS Staff Photographer Atsuki Ohbuchi