Hope's Isaac Love catches a pass from quarterback Tyler Patterson which he would run into the end zone in Friday's home loss against Hot Springs.
Today the Hope Bobcats travel to War Memorial Stadium to take on Little Rock Parkview, a team that was rated number one in the 5A South conference and in Class 5A and is looking to improve on a nine-win season last year that ended in the 6A semifinals. The game will be broadcast by SWARK.Today.
The Parkview Patriots (3-2) dropped a conference this year and afterward its coach Brad Bolding said in Hooten’s Arkansas Football preview issue (which devoted two pages to the team), “We hope to maintain that 6A mentality in 5A.” Its two conference games have indeed been victories. But its two nonconference contests have not, with the Patriots losing in the middle September Fridays to Bryant (at home 20-10) and then North Little Rock (a loss on the road 28-27 in a game that went into overtime). It has won its conference games by 42 (at home against DeQueen) and 12 (away against Hot Springs).
The Bobcats (1-4) fell last Friday to Hot Springs in its second conference game in its own stadium, 49-13, after winning handily in its first conference game against DeQueen, 45-29.
Despite the wear and tear from five games in the month of September and all but one of them lopsided losses, Coach Phil Turner said, “We have a couple kids battling some minor ankle injuries but that's about it. Team morale is still good. The kids are still showing up and working hard and trying to get better every day. We're just working on fixing us offensively and defensively.”
Turner said the team’s offense has been working more this week on becoming more balanced. “The passing game has been good for us here lately but we have to get our run game going so we're not one dimensional,” he said.
Certainly the place they will be playing and who their opponent is has been a motivation for the Bobcats this week. “The kids are excited to go play in War Memorial and excited to go play the #1 team in 5-A,” Turner said. “All they have been talking about is that is where the Razorbacks play. So they are very excited.”
Against Parkview, Turner realizes his team must be on its top game as well as turn one of the Panthers’ vaunted tendencies against them. “They are a good team. They are very big and athletic, and they have put a lot kids in Division 1 college here lately. We have to try to take advantage of their aggressiveness on defense and we must stop their run game.”
Kickoff is at War Memorial Stadium at 1 Stadium Drive in Little Rock at 7:00 p.m.
Attendees are urged to read the guidelines released Wednesday for parking and seating.