Tharptown opens with region foe

By Staff
Scot Beard
THARPTOWN – During its second season of region play, the Tharptown football team will have to play well early if it wants a shot at a playoff berth.
The Wildcats travel to Phillips Thursday for its first region game of the season, and they need to make this one count.
Phillips will visit Tharptown in Week Four of the season, but only this week's game will count towards the region standings.
Tharptown returns several key skill players including quarterback Brandon Cothrum, running back Trevor Hallmark and receiver Manny Ricardo.
Phillips lost Adam McCarley, the quarterback that guided the Bears to the highest scoring average of any team in the state.
The Bears had several young players on last year's team that are eager to keep the winning ways going at Phillips.
The Tharptown defense – which will have Hallmark at linebacker and Ricardo and Cothrum in the secondary – will have to shut down the Phillips offense if the Wildcats hope to win the game and get an early advantage in the region standings.