There won't be a 24th installment of the Rumble on the Ridge this season in Forrest City, and that suits Mustangs Coach Dwight Lofton just fine.
But it's not because he views the longtime tournament as irrelevant. It's just the opposite.
"Really, I would've been disappointed if we would've had it because it wouldn't have showed how significant it is," Lofton said of the three-day event that usually begins on Thanksgiving. "I would've probably been mad because all of the other big-name events were canceled. That's actually how I looked at it. Of course, it's hard not to see it being played this year because we've been doing it for twenty-something years.
"But now, I'm not going to know how to act staying at home with the wife all day on Thanksgiving. Usually at about 3:30 p.m., I'm rolling."
Lofton and other coaches around the state have had to roll with alternative plans during the upcoming holiday season after the Arkansas Activities Association prohibited multischool tournaments from being held this year because of coronavirus concerns.
That means that neither the Rumble on the Ridge nor the many other tournaments and classics that are held around the holidays will take place.
To compensate for the loss of tournaments, some coaches have scheduled more regular-season games during those breaks. Lofton said Forrest City will play rival Marianna on Nov. 27 at Mustang Arena. The girls will play at 6 p.m., followed by the boys.
"That's a big one," he said. "Two rivals playing, you can never go wrong with that."
A lot went right for Forrest City (1-0) in its opener against Nettleton on Monday night. The Mustangs didn't have two of their top players, including Kesean Washington, but pulled out a 63-60 victory behind a 30-point night from guard Robert Echols Jr. What made his performance even more significant was that the junior was playing with a heavy heart after his father recently passed.
"It's unbelievable," Lofton said. "He buried his father two weeks earlier, then came out there and dropped 30. I couldn't have done that. He's a great kid."
VIOLA GIRLS
Ideal start
Viola didn't suffer its first loss last season until Dec. 28 – a stretch of 21 unbeaten games. The Lady Longhorns, who are ranked No. 2 by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in the Class 1A preseason rankings, may very well be on their way to doing the same thing this season.
All eight of Viola's victories (not including its 58-53 win over Bergman in a benefit game) have come by double figures, but its past three conquests were by an average of 27 points. The closest any team has come to beating Viola was No. 6 Rural Special, which lost 56-44 on Nov. 6.
"We've started off playing really well and have some quality wins," Viola Coach Jason Hughes said. "Really, with all of the time off this summer, we've come out better than I expected, especially since we lost two starters off that good team last year."
Viola went 39-3 last season and finished runner-up in the state final to Kirby. The Lady Longhorns lost Keyaira Moore and Braidlyn Fierce to graduation, but others have collectively helped fill those voids.
In Tuesday's 63-34 victory over Mammoth Spring, Viola had four players finish with at least 10 points.
"We've had some players step up and really accept their new roles," Hughes said. "I'm just happy that, one, we're getting to play, and two, we're playing well."
NORTH LITTLE ROCK BOYS
No Ware, no tear
Standout center Kel'el Ware wasn't in uniform for North Little Rock's first game of the year against defending Class 5A co-champion West Memphis on Tuesday, but the Charging Wildcats adjusted the way Coach Johnny Rice hoped they would.
"We did all right," Rice said in reference to his team's 74-52 victory. "We did some good things, especially with it being the first game.
"Kel'el was out, but he'll be back later this week and will be able to practice a couple of times before Saturday's game [against Little Rock Parkview]. He sure adds a different aspect to what we've got going on, but I thought we did OK [Tuesday]."
Ware, a 6-11 junior, was a member of the All-Arkansas Preps Underclassman team last season, and provides both scoring and shot blocking inside for North Little Rock.
Rice was happy with what he got out of his two senior guards in D.J. Smith and Tracy Steele. The duo combined for 43 points.
"They're going to have to do that for us to be successful," he said. "Their roles are a little different this year, but they've accepted them and are up to the challenge. We also got a good effort from Kelon Jackson. He's a long, athletic sophomore that I've been trying to get locked in to kind of doing the dirty work."
VALLEY SPRINGS GIRLS
Scheduling oddities
Valley Springs started this season the same way it ended last season, and it's got Coach Ryan Johnson feeling good about his team.
Yet, he's guarding against getting his hopes up, particularly because of the scheduling difficulties the coronavirus has caused already.
"With all the cancellations and things, we're just trying to get as many games in as we can," said Johnson, whose team won its final 11 games of 2019-20 and has started 8-0 in 2020. "It's a little bit more complicated in basketball because you could have a senior boys team that may be quarantined, but the senior girls can play. It can get a little lopsided.
"It's not like football where it's just one team from a school that's playing on a night."
Johnson said that exact situation happened Tuesday when the school's game against Shiloh Christian had to be rescheduled because of quarantine measures affecting the boys game. Also, the Lady Tigers are trying to reschedule Friday's matchup against South Side Bee Branch after those same measures caused the postponement of the girls contest.
"That's the hard part because you'll look up and your senior boys or senior girls may not have played for a week and a half," Johnson said. "But through it all, we've played well."
TIP-INS
The Hoopin' for Hoodies event, which usually has several games played at either North Little Rock or Mills over a few days, will have three games take place over the next three days. Little Rock Central will play Marion today at 7 p.m. at Mills; North Little Rock will host Little Rock Parkview on Saturday at 6 p.m.; and Marion will play Fort Smith Northside on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Mills.