The Leopards have lost games to Mena, Ashdown and Nashville to start this season. Hope is coming off a close loss to rival Prescott 41-38 in overtime, as Hope looks to improve to .500, having played well in every game so far this season. The Bobcats beat Ashdown 14-12 and have losses to Nashville and Prescott by a combined 6 points. 

Coach Phillip Turner spoke on this upcoming game Wednesday: “I feel good about this week. We have been stressing execution, because DeQueen’s kids play hard every week.” 

But Hope will be the more athletic team Friday night. On the outside, Isaac Love, Jay Monk, and Zyun Brown could be poised for very big weeks. Quarterback Tyler Patterson has been playing very well this season, and we could see a lot of big numbers this week from him. 

Running Back Timorrion Lindsey spoke on the offense Wednesday at practice: “I expect the offense to dominant, to get up and down the field and score as many times as possible.” 

Defensively, Turner said, “We have to tackle the quarterback, and we have to stop the fullback. We can’t let him get going. They are a flex-bone /wish-bone type team, they want to run the clock and keep our offense off the field."  

Look for the Bobcats to continue to come out with the same intensity they have had all season long and set the tempo early. SWARK.Today Player of the Week Kam Walton made this point about the Bobcats defense as well. “I expect the defense to punch the opposing offense in the mouth from the start and set the tone,” he said. 

The players know how important this game is and are looking forward to the challenge. Look for the Bobcats to score early and often this week and put on a show for the Homecoming crowd. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.