More on line for Fordyce, Clarendon

Fordyce Coach Tim Rodgers said he believed his Redbugs would be able put their early-season loss to Clarendon behind them as the season progressed, and for the most part, he believed they did.

But Friday’s matchup with the Lions has Rodgers and his team reliving that September matchup at Paul “Bear” Bryant Stadium.

“They put it to us pretty good,” Rodgers said in reference to Clarendon’s 33-21 victory at Fordyce on Sept. 24. “I mean, Clarendon just lined up and ran over us. They simply ran it, and we had a hard time stopping them, especially in that first half. They pushed us around.

“But I think our kids are a little bit more focused this week. They’ve lost to Clarendon once. They’re starting to realize that it’s getting close to the end, and this week could be it if we don’t take care of business.”

Fordyce (9-3) has managed to get the job done in win-or-go home situations for the past two seasons, and Rodgers said he is hoping his players can continue that trend when they face Clarendon (9-2) in the semifinals of the Class 2A state playoffs.

“We’ve got to keep our eye on the prize,” said Clarendon Coach Mark Courtney, whose Lions haven’t gotten this far in the postseason since 2000. “We can’t get the cart ahead of the horse, either, because we’ve got a really tall mountain to climb this week.”

The Redbugs have won 13 consecutive postseason games dating to 2019 when they captured the first of back-to-back titles. That streak nearly came to an end last week at Magnet Cove when the Panthers pounced out to a 29-7 lead in the third quarter before Fordyce scored the final 23 points to win.

“I guess you can say we kind of took Magnet Cove for granted a little bit,” Rodgers said. “They hit us in the month and woke us up. That got our attention, and we were able to come back and win it late.

“Hopefully, the way we finished that game and the focus we had after being down carries over into this next one. But we can’t afford to get off to that same kind of slow start.”

Fordyce knows firsthand what can happen when facing a huge deficit against Clarendon. The Lions ran out to a 26-0 lead in their first meeting behind the running of quarterback Kaleb Williams and running back Kanye Cohen. Clarendon rushed for almost 300 yards, with Cohen finishing with 140. The Redbugs were within 26-21 in the fourth but didn’t have enough to complete the comeback.

Rodgers noted that his team didn’t have two of their inside linebackers in that game, which hurt Fordyce’s chances of trying to slow down what Clarendon was doing.

“They ran inside, and we just didn’t have an answer for it,” he said. “The second half, we moved some kids around, went back to playing just a base defense and did a lot better. But Clarendon got after us pretty good. They’ve got some big linemen up front and kind of had their way with us.

“So one of the big things we’ve been kind of emphasizing and working on is being more physical and not letting them get ahold of us.”

Clarendon has gotten the best of nearly everyone it’s faced. The Lions’ two losses — a 22-20 defeat to Hazen and a 34-26 setback to fellow semifinalist McCrory — were games that Courtney said his team felt they should’ve won. But there also have been matchups where the first-year coach believed they haven’t played well despite winning by a comfortable margin.

“Honestly, I don’t think we played really well against East Poinsett County,” said Courtney, whose team beat the Warriors 35-22 in the quarterfinals after mercy-ruling them 48-0 on Sept. 17. “Usually when that happens, you catch an L. But the beauty of the game last week was that it was a little bit of an eye-opening for us.

“Our effort wasn’t great, we were sloppy. To be able to do that and still get a win kind of woke my guys up a little bit.”

Both Williams and Cohen have been stout for the Lions, as has Arkansas Razorback commit Quincey McAdoo, who effectively put East Poinsett County away with a touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Clarendon has been bullish defensively, too. The Lions had allowed 14 points total in the four games prior to last week. That side of the ball, Courtney said, will be a factor in the rematch, especially since the Redbugs will have their starting quarterback, Trey Merritt.

“Fordyce didn’t have Merritt in that first one, and he makes a difference,” he said.

“I kind of think we caught them at just the right time and jumped on them early. And then we stumbled in the third quarter and let them make a game of it before we were able to close them out.

“We’re going to have to play very disciplined and within our philosophy. We saw that the other night. As soon as somebody takes a play off to do their own thing, it creates holes, and these good teams take advantage of that.”

Rodgers said he is expecting his Redbugs to play much better this time. Even still, he feels it may take a little something extra if they’re going advance to the 2A championship game for the third year in a row.

“The last two or three weeks, we’ve come out slow,” he said. “Against Magnet Cove, we threw an interception and had a punt blocked. Those things, we can’t do that against Clarendon. We’ve got to be focused from the start and stay focused all the way through.”