Friday, November 11, 2011
Three White County teams advanced their dreams of a state championship Friday night, while two others saw their seasons come to an end in first-round playoff action Friday night.
Searcy 41, Little Rock McClellan 14
Searcy’s first play from scrimmage, a lost fumble, didn’t go how the Lions planned.
However, Searcy was on point for the rest of its first round playoff game, defeating McClellan 41-14 at Lion stadium.
Running back Antwan Arnold started the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run. Then, quarterback Dezmond Stegall connected a 57-yard touchdown pass to Darius Bowman and a 45-yard strike to Arnold.
In the first play of the second half, Cam Woodruff recorded an ankle-breaking 55-yard touchdown run that put the game far out of McClellan’s reach.
Searcy will host Pine Bluff in the second round at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Harding Academy 48, Mountain View 6
Harding Academy continued to steamroll through 3A opponents Friday night in the first round of the playoffs, beating Mountain View 48-6.
The Wildcats allowed the Yellow Jackets to score on their opening possession for the only time Friday night. The Mountain View defense could not contain Wildcat David Brooker, who scored 4 touchdowns for Harding Academy.
The Wildcats will host Greenland for a second-round playoff game Friday at First Security Stadium.
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
Beebe 54, Watson Chapel 48
Beebe pulled off a road upset in the first round of the playoffs Friday night, defeating Watson Chapel 54-48 to advance to the state quarterfinals.
Head John Shannon’s strategy of ball control worked well, as the Badgers held onto the ball for 83 offensive plays — more than double the number of plays ran by Watson Chapel. Beebe recorded 511 total yards of offense — 457 yards rushing and 54 yards passing.
“We knew with their athletes, we would have trouble with them in open space and we wanted to hold onto the football and eat the clock,” Shannon said.
The Badgers will visit Camden-Fairview in the second round of the playoffs Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Greenland 42, Riverview 21
Riverview’s season ended in a sea of turnovers.
The Raiders committed five second-half turnovers Friday night, falling to Greenland 42-21 in the opening round of the class 3A state playoffs.
Riverview (4-7) took a 21-14 lead when McKenzie Jones ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 2:50 left in the first half, but from there it was all Greenland.
The Pirates (9-2) scored with 8 seconds left in the half to tie the game, then took the lead for good less than four minutes into the second half.
Camden Harmony Grove 36, Bald Knob 14
Bald Knob’s inability to stop third and fourth down plays, combined with a slow-moving offensive, led to the Bulldogs getting ousted from the 3A state playoffs at the hands of Camden Harmony Grove Friday night, 36-14.
Trevor Hydron put up the first of the Bulldogs’ scores, a 45-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Cordell Crisp. Tyler Gilmore punched in the 2-point conversion.
Gilmore also rushed for a 3-yard touchdown for Bald Knob’s second score, but the effort wasn’t enough to keep the Bulldogs alive.
