An up-tempo team that comes close to running 100 plays in each of its games faces a squad that tries to run every second off the play clock and keep its opponents' offense off the field.
While they have accomplished it two different ways, the Bombers and Hurricane have both racked up points and yardage in their past two meetings.
"They're big up front, they're deep at running back, they have a ton of skill kids," Mountain Home head coach Bryan Mattox said of Jonesboro. "They have two quarterbacks they can throw out there. They're top five in 6A, it seems almost every single year. It's a big challenge, but it's an exciting challenge. We want to see where we stack up against a team like that."
Last season, Jonesboro defeated Mountain Home 63-38 in a game that saw the teams combined for more than 1,200 yards of offense for the second straight season. The Bombers totaled a school-record 634 yards to 574 for the Hurricane, but Jonesboro pulled away in the second half for the win.
Two years ago — the last time Mountain Home visited the Hurricane — Jonesboro piled up 778 yards of offense, including 497 through the air, storming to an 83-41 win over Mountain Home, which racked up a season-high 519 yards in the loss, but allowed a school-record amount of points.
"The higher the score, the more it favors Jonesboro," Mattox said. "The more possessions they get, that's what they want. They had over 90 offensive snaps in the game we watched. It's a contrast in styles. We want the exact opposite of that.
"Offensively," he added, "if we can kind of pick up where we left off in the second half against Batesville, get some long drives, keep the ball away from them and get points out of it, then we need to put their offense in a position where they've been out of the game a long time."
Mountain Home trailed 24-7 before rallying within 24-20 late in last week's loss to Batesville. Quarterback Isaac McKay netted a season-high 263 rushing yards against Jonesboro last season.
"Isaac and Junior (Williams) were really getting in a rhythm in the second half last week," Mattox said. "With the option game, you don't block them, you read them. Last year, Jonesboro was in a 3-4. It looks like they've switched to more of a 4-2-5 look this year. But we need to be prepared for an odd front."
Jonesboro running back Chunky Fountain rushed for 176 yards and four touchdowns against the Bombers last season.
"We're going into Jonesboro and Pine Bluff, the two top teams on our schedule almost every year," Mattox said. "But the kids aren't down. They came out Tuesday with a real physical practice. When you've had the injuries we've had, sometimes you shy away from contact and that hurts your tackling.
"We made a commitment this week to get back to those fundamentals," he added. "It's going to be real important that we can tackle in space against these guys. Win or lose, we're going to get better every day. We want to play football games where we aren't the ones who beat us, where someone is going to have to play a heck of a game to beat us."
The Hurricane have two highly-recruited offensive tackles — Noah Gatlin (6-7, 300) and Darius Thomas (6-6, 305).
"Both of their tackles are getting Division I offers," Mattox said. "You have one on each side you have to deal with in their run game. They're balanced. They are a complete offense. If you cheat too many people in the box to defend the run, they'll throw the screens. If you tighten up your secondary to defend the screens, they'll throw it vertical. They make you play the width of the field, and they stretch you vertically, too."
The big play hurt Mountain Home against Jonesboro two years ago, but the Bombers actually had one more play than Jonesboro (8-7) that went for more than 20 yards in last season's meeting.
The Bombers allowed almost 40 yards per kickoff return, however, against Batesville last week.
"Our special teams needs to improve, particularly our kickoff coverage," Mattox said. "That's something we've spent some time on. Our kids and our coaches know we can have a repeat of last year where we close the season strong. I'm proud of the way our kids fought last... Click here to read full article
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