Last week, Ben Fisher got an opportunity to see how his Blytheville Chickasaws respond to adversity.
Following a three-hour bus ride out of state, the Chicks (2-0) overcame five turnovers and a late deficit against host Okolona, Miss. to escape with a narrow, 25-24 win.
"The first quarter, we looked great," Fisher said. "I don't know if we got complacent, we just lost our edge there and we let them right back (in it). They were fast and big. They reminded me of Helena, size-wise and speed-wise. We let them back in the ballgame with turnovers. We talked about, we've got to get that killer instinct back that we had against Osceola."
The Chicks have worked on correcting the turnovers with ball security drills this week as they prepare to host Class 6A foe Marion Friday night.
"A lot of it was us, but a lot of it was Okolona," Fisher said. "Instead of tackling us, they started trying to rip the football out and they had some success with it. It wasn't all just us fumbling; it was them yanking and punching and pulling. But we've been preaching ball security all week."
Blytheville had some late-game heroics from star running back Demadre Clark against the Chieftains.
Hurt earlier in the game, Clark returned late in the fourth quarter and scored the game-winning touchdown with 4:49 left.
"He took a facemask to the side of his thigh," Fisher said. "He had a deep bruise, but he toughened up and got back in the ball game and picked up some big first downs and scored the winning touchdown. That was big because he could've said, 'I'm done for the night' but he didn't. He showed some toughness. And they all did. They beat us up, we were the walking wounded out there. Rolled ankles. Facemask to the thigh. Jordan Jackson, someone stepped on his back and he was hurting, but he got back out there. We showed some guts. We put ourselves in that situation, but we ended up in a dogfight."
The adversity late in the game showed the Chickasaw coach something that had been missing from some previous Blytheville football teams.
"We were starting to self-destruct, but I was proud of the way we came back," Fisher said. "I don't know, in the past, if we would have come back because it started rolling down hill pretty fast on us. We got it together; we never really lost our composure like we have in the past. I was proud of that. You could look in their eyes -- even when we fumbled and they scored the very next play -- and you could see we never panicked. There was never any worry. We get the ball back and we're moving it and then they stripped (quarterback) Bailey (Cason) and they return it for a touchdown. The linemen, the backs and everyone said, 'we've still got this. Let's get the ball back defense' and we got it back. We were talking on the bus, it didn't matter what we called, we were going to score. You could just tell by our body language and the look in their eyes. I was really proud of that."
Despite the bumps and bruises, the Chicks are fairly healthy heading into the final non-conference game.
Linebacker Chase Turner returns, "which will be great for our defense," Fisher said.
Meanwhile, despite Marion's 0-2 start, including lopsided losses to Nettleton (56-24) and Wynne (64-7), Blytheville isn't overlooking its former conference opponent.
Fisher said the Patriots "were a completely different football team" last week against Nettleton, compared to the season opener with Wynne.
"You've got to throw the scores and the record out because the improvement they made from Week 1 to Week 2, it scares me," Fisher said. "Now they just had another week."
He said Marion has big linemen blocking for its fast running backs.
"We're not taking them lightly by any means," Fisher said. "Their back (Tom Young) is real shifty and he's quick. He likes to bounce it outside so we're going to have to keep him contained this week. Their skill kids are good. If you give (the quarterback, Tyler Holmes) time, he can throw the football. We've just got to get some pressure in his face when he wants to throw it."
Defensively, the Patriots are big, fast and physical, according to Fisher.
Fisher believes Marion's spread offense will help his club prepare for conference play, which begins the following week against Class 5A top-ranked Wynne.
Blytheville is looking for its first 3-0 start since opening 6-0 in 2008, which included a big win over rival Jonesboro.
The Chicks and Patriots are meeting for the first time since Marion left the conference in 2005. Blytheville defeated the Patriots, 34-14, in 2004, to keep Marion out of the playoffs that year. Marion returned the favor the next season with a 26-0 win that prevented Blytheville from making the postseason.
Friday night's kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Haley Field.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com