LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock Christian scored 30 points in the third quarter to propel the Warriors to a 44-7 victory over Greenwood and their first 5A-West Conference championship before an overflowing crowd Friday night at Warrior Field.
Little Rock Christian, No. 6 in Class 5A, never trailed and scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams before invoking the sportsmanship rule with 1:44 to play in the third quarter.
Greenwood (5-1, 7-2) came into the game ranked No. 1 in Class 5A and third overall in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette top 10.
But Little Rock Christian's defense stymied standout Greenwood quarterback Tyler Wilson, who completed 16 of 35 passes for 124 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
"We've been waiting for our defense to have a big game and they had it tonight," Little Rock Christian Coach Johnny Watson said.
Quarterback Griffin Kuhn led the Warriors' offense, completing of 11 passes for 122 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. Receiver Tyler Weddle was on the receiving end of two of Kuhn's touchdown passes and returned an interception 25 yards for a third score.
Sophomore running back Michael Dyer led the Warriors' ground attack with 26 carries for 192 yards.
Little Rock Christian (6-0 in 5A-West, 9-0 overall) took a 14-7 lead into halftime before scoring four touchdowns and kicking a field goal in the third quarter.
The Warriors kicked off to open the second half, but Keaton Curtis recovered a fumble and returned it 25 yards for the touchdown with 11:47 to play in the third quarter. Kelsey Salman's extra point kick gave the Warriors a 21-7 lead.
Later in the period, Salman added a 21-yard field goal before Kuhn completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Weddle and Salman added the extra point for a 31-7 lead.
Weddle intercepted a pass by Greenwood quarterback Tyler Wilson on the Bulldogs' first play after the kickoff and returned it 25 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown and a 38-7 lead.
On Greenwood's next possession, Daniel Harp intercepted atipped pass by Wilson and returned it 25 yards down the right sideline for another score. The Bulldogs blocked the extra point and the final margin was set at 44-7.
VILONIA 36, HARRISON 24
HARRISON - Running backs Buck Bray and Aaron Oade combined for 340 rushing yards to lead the Vilonia Eagles to a victory over the Harrison Goblins, vaulting them back into the playoff picture.
The Eagles (5-4, 3-3 5A-West) finished with 428 rushing yards as Bray ran 19 times for 207 yards and 1 touchdown and Oade had 133 yards on 15 carries and 3 touchdowns. Vilonia became the third consecutive conference opponent to leave Goblin Stadium with a victory.
Quarterback Matt Brown completed 26 of 45 passes for 321 yards and threw 2 interceptions. Harrison (6-3, 3-3) had 356 total yards to 494 by Vilonia.
- Scott McDonald
SILOAM SPRINGS 38, ALMA 0
SILOAM SPRINGS - Siloam Springs players ended a generation of heartache Friday, dominating Alma at Glenn Black Stadium.
The victory was the first over the Airedales (2-7, 2-4 5A-West) since 1987 and kept the Panthers (6-3, 4-2) in the running for their fourth consecutive playoff appearance.
Nathan Nall had four touchdown passes to stake the Panthers to a 28-0 halftime lead. The senior quarterback, playing his final home game, finished 18 of 22 for 202 yards and 5 touchdowns. Siloam Springs outgained Alma 268-45 and allowed only 11 yards passing.
- Mickey Doyle
Sports, Pages 32 on 10/27/2007