By DAVID PIERCE
Sports Connection Team
The Blytheville Chickasaws are mired in a five-game losing streak dating to last season but a remedy could come in the form of the Cave City Cavemen Friday.
Yes, the Cavemen have posted a 2-1 mark but are coming off a 48-0 blowout at the hands of Melbourne Sept. 13. A win in their opener against Mountain View halted a 14-game losing streak which stretched to the 2022 season. They followed it with a 42-7 drubbing of Izard County which just recently moved from 8-man football.
Cave City, along with Southside, transfer to the 4A-3 from the 4A-2 replacing Rivercrest and Harrisburg which dropped a classification with the latest AAA reclassification cycle.
The Cavemen have improved thanks in part to an experienced group of returnees who Coach Danny Brustrom is relying as the Cavemen club away at the competition.
Already the team has scored nearly as many points in three games – 56 - as it did in 2023 when they scored just 61 points and were shut out four times.
Leading the offense is quarterback Levi Jones who is a dual threat passing and running for multiple touchdowns through three games. His play is indicative of the team’s balanced offensive philosophy rushing and passing for nearly identical yardage through three games.
Jones targets Clayton Walling and already the pair has hooked up on two scores this season. Shawn Walling is the staple out of the backfield and has been able to grind out yards behind an improved offensive line.
On defense, the coaching staff chooses a three front look as they don’t have the size to go toe-to-toe in the trenches. The coach says they rely on the skill and speed of the players on the backside to offset the lack of size. Chris Robinson is the leader on defense and has the potential to be a college prospect, while Shawn Walling is a reliable at defensive end.
On the opposite sideline, the Chicks (0-2) made a leap from week 0 to week 1 when they erased the memories of a 46-6 loss to Mills University Studies with a narrow defeat at Nettleton, 26-20. Actually, Blytheville had crossed into Raider territory late in the game but turned the ball over allowing Nettleton to run out the clock.
Fatigue and penalties continue to plague the Chicks but the offense found some spark in Derick King who has scored all four – three receiving, one rushing - of the team’s touchdowns this season.
Like Cave City’s Jones, Blytheville quarterback Jontavious Johnson is as equally effective on the ground as he is the air. The Chicks could find some offensive rhythm that has been missing in its first two games.
Chris Hatcher has been steady on defense and is the vocal leader of the unit. He appears on his way to leading the team in tackles for a second consecutive year.
The two teams last met in 2021 when Cave City defeated Blytheville, 48-21.
Game time is 7 p.m. Friday in Cave City.