After losing their first two conference games, things don’t get any easier for Smackover.
Tonight, the Bucks hit the road to face Rison in a 6-3A clash.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. from Rison.
The Bucks (2-3, 0-2) went 2-1 in non-conference play, but have lost in lopsided fashion to Lake Village and Harmony Grove in the last two weeks.
The Wildcats (4-1, 2-0) have won four straight after dropping their season opener at Fordyce, including a 34-7 win over Pine Bluff Dollarway last week.
Rison won last year’s matchup 54-6.
For Smackover coach David Osborn, matching the Wildcats’ physicality and intensity will be crucial.
“Rison is a solid football team,” Osborn said. “They are very physical and get after you on both sides of the ball.”
Rison’s vaunted running attack netted 273 yards a week ago with 52 of their 58 plays on offense going on the ground.
“They run a split-back look,” Osborn said. “They are going to be very old school in their approach. They will run dive until you stop it and then move to more outside runs if you do. They are heavy run, so we have to load up the box and try to get them out of their game plan.”
Defensively, Osborn said the Wildcats will change their look, but the Bucks have to be able to get people out of the box.
“They have multiple looks, but will mainly run a five-front at you,” Osborn said. “We need to try to spread them out and get some guys out of the box.
“We can’t just line up and run straight at them with the numbers they have in the box. We will need to give them some different looks and try to get the ball to our skill guys in space.”
In last week’s 46-6 loss to Harmony Grove, the Bucks turned the ball over four times in the opening quarter and the Hornets took advantage, taking a 26-0 lead en route to winning.
Brandon Lockhart came off the bench and gave the Bucks a spark by picking first downs on two fourth-down plays in the first half before scoring on an 8-yard run in the second half.
“He will be getting more looks at quarterback,” Osborn said. “Brandon is a good kid who works really hard. He kind of got a late start with us this summer so he has been trying to catch up.
“He does a good job of running the offense and the kids seem to respond to him well when he is back there.”
For the Bucks to have success against the Wildcats, Osborn said his team must find a way to slow down Rison’s powerful running game.
“We have to be able to stop the run,” Osborn said. “We need to try to get them out of their comfort zone. Offensively, we have to find a spark and get something going. We have to do a better job up front to give our guys a chance to get the ball in space.”