Bryant came away last week with a 35-20 victory against Little Rock Central. They still haven’t lost a game, but they did lose a quarterback. Ren Hefley broke his left clavicle last week. An injury that will sideline the right-hander for at least five weeks.
Coach Buck James believes Hefley’s backup is more than capable of steering the offense while Hefley is on the mend.
Jake Meaders is a sophomore signal-caller who has had experience against quality competition, including in the scrimmage against Pulaski Academy this preseason.
“We’re as confident as we are with anybody we got at any position,” James said. “We practice all the kids the same and we expect ‘em to be able to perform at a high level. And I think that’s the kids’ expectations. That’s what good football teams are supposed to do, and we have complete confidence in those guys.”
An injury scare befell lineman Preston Kyzer last week as well, but he is set to suit up this week.
The Southside squad coming to Bryant to face the Hornets on homecoming is no pushover. They have only won one game this year, but they played Har-Ber tough. Conway had to beat them in overtime and Cabot only edged them by two points.
“We expect to play better than what we played Friday night, but you’ve gotta give these other teams credit, too,” James said. “It’s a well-coached league. Central and Southside both have good athletes. I think you will see scores start to get closer because you have teams gettin’ into their groove."
Bryant and Southside kick off at 7 p.m. with homecoming festivities beginning at 6:25.