The Razorbacks won the rivalry game last season to take the trophy in a high scoring, 65-35 affair that ended with Arkansas High on top. Though both teams are eliminated from playoff contention, there is still some things at stake here, a “Battle of the Bridge” Trophy, and it is the Razorbacks' Senior Night, so Hope has a chance to ruin that and regain the trophy all in one night.
“I expect we come out and play hard from the opening kickoff and try and bring the Battle of the Bridge back to Hope," Coach Phillip Turner said on Wednesday after practice.
Offensively, look for the Bobcats to rely heavily on senior quarterbackTyler Patterson, as Arkansas High likes to load the box and play a lot of man coverage on the outside, it could be a very big night for the offense and a fun night for Coach Eric Collins to call plays. The offensive line will look to protect Patterson.
I caught up with Coach Collins as he spoke on the O-line Wednesday, “We’re battling for a trophy," he said. "They have it; we want it. It’s going to be a battle of who can establish dominance in the trenches. We have to stay focused and keep Patterson’s jersey clean.”
The matchups among the skills position players will be fun to watch this Friday night as both teams are very athletic on the outside. Coach Antonie Castell spoke Wednesday on the Bobcat receivers: “We have been working releases, getting off the ball, blocking, and we plan on going right at their man defense.” Look for Isaac Love, Jay Monk, and Zyun White to find the endzone often and rack up a lot of yards. Burner WR Noah Cheatham could be in line for a lot of big plays as well.
On the defensive challenges offered by the Razorbacks, “Arkansas High has a very athletic QB if we don’t contain him, he can take it to the house”, Coach Turner said. He had a great game last year against Hope, but this defense will have a chip on their shoulder to contain him better. T
he D-line has an opportunity to apply pressure and this very talented linebacking group led by the senior trio of Juan Ortiz, KD Gulley, Jalen Staggers will be hungry out there Friday night. The secondary will be challenged with the speed of the Arkansas High receivers, but the Bobcats definitely have the speed to match up with them step for step.
Coach Colby Tillman spoke on the secondary, “We just have to do our job and fly to the ball. They have a guy they like to move around to different spots, so it’s going to be our job to stop him.”
Look for the Bobcat defense to come out, hit Arkansas in the mouth and make a key play early on to get the momentum in the Bobcats favor. The Battle of the Bridge is set for a 7:00 pm kickoff. Go Bobcats!