Photo by Rick Nation
It’s not hard to surmise that the Russellville Cyclones are a lot better at home than on the road. Just look at the results of their first three games. At Class 5A rival Morrilton, they lost 35-21 to open the season. And last week, at Pottsville against a 4A team, the 6A Cyclones lost 32-24. But, in between, the Cyclones whipped Rogers Heritage, a member of the vaunted 7A-West, 17-0.
So the Bryant Hornets head to Russellville tonight hoping to avoid the fate of the Hertiage War Eagles.
Bryant is 3-0 going into the 7A/6A-Central Conference opener for both teams. Though, like last year, the game counts toward a conference championship, it plays no role in either team’s bid to qualify for their respective State playoffs. As a 7A team, only Bryant’s league games against Catholic, Conway and Van Buren impact their playoff status. As a 6A team, only Russellville’s league games against Greenwood, Alma and Siloam Springs have anything to do with their post-season fate.
The Cyclones have a new head coach this year. Billy Dawson has made several coaching stops, most recently a successful stint at Nashville.
The Hornets are coming off a 23-14 win over Little Rock Central in their first home game but, this week, they’re back on the road.
The two teams rank about the same on offense in the league. Bryant averages 322 yards a game and Russellville averages 308. Defensively, the Hornets are second to Siloam Springs in total defense among conference teams, allowing an average of 240 yards a game. Russellville is third at 285.
Bryant quarterback Gunnar Burks is fourth in the league in passing with 451 yards on 34 of 50 completions, one interception and three touchdowns. Michael Mullen for Russellville is 16 of 35 for 219 yards but suffered four interceptions in the loss to Pottsville last week.
The Hornets’ ground game is led by senior Savonte Turner with 243 yards on 40 carries (sixth in the league). Russellville’s top rusher is Jackson Hickey with 187 yards on 46 attempts.
Russellville’s top receiver is Caleb Stokes who has caught 15 passes for 117 yards and two scores. Bryant’s Aaron Orender has 14 receptions for 261 yards and a pair of TDs. They are ranked third and fourth, respectively, in total receptions. Orender’s yardage is second only to Greenwood’s Ryan Padilla, who had 31 catches for 421 yards.
“Russellville runs a lot of two-back sets,” reported Bryant defensive coordinator Steve Griffith. “They like to run off-tackle with a counter. It’s kind of their base offense, pretty similar to what we saw out of Conway two or three years ago. Out of that look, they will throw some play-action.
“They really like the screen game so, hopefully, we’ll be prepared to play the screens,” he added. “They will break that two-back set and go to a one-back with doubles and trips like we’ve seen other teams over the last few years. They will try to throw the football down the field and they have a one-back zone running game that they like to work out of in that situation.
“They’ve struggled a little bit offensively up to this point,” the coach mentioned. “They’re still kind of searching for their identity. We hope to come out and play very physical, stuff the run and control when they throw the football.”
As for the Russellville defense, Bryant offensive coordinator Lance Parker said, “They look pretty similar to last year. They’ve still got the same coordinator. They’ve got some bigger kids. They’re probably not as athletic or quick as Central but I think they’ll be well-coached and they’ll be in the right spot.
“We’re expecting a 4-4,” he noted. “Of course, they might try something different on us. Their interior linemen are pretty good. They’re a penetrating defense at the line. I think their corners are pretty good covers. We’ll have our work cut out for us.”
Parker said the Hornets had a good week of practice.
“I thought they did a good job,” he stated. “We kind of simplified a little bit. I think we just stuck to a few things and I think that’s helped. We’re going to try to be a little more focused. As the last several weeks have gone, we’ve had to monitor and adjust when we start getting wacky stuff on defense.
“We have 18 starters, four wide receivers, two fullbacks and three running backs and a couple of tight ends,” the coach said. “We try to get everybody involved. We’re going to continue to try to do that. No grouping is really separating itself as the one that needs to be on the field all the time so I think we’re going to continue to be multiple.”
