Zebras, undefeated, still earning their stripes

— The Pine Bluff Zebras can still say they’re undefeated, but it’s been a while since they’ve been dominant for an entire game.

Pine Bluff (4-0, 1-0 6ASouth) recovered from an uneven first half to take a 34-7 victory over Benton on Friday at Jordan Stadium. Judging by records alone, the winless Panthers didn’t appear to be a threat, yet Benton made the Zebras work for everything in their 6A-South opener.

“We just didn’t play well,” Pine Bluff Coach Bobby Bolding said.

“I don’t think we played well. We had a great week of practice. But we’ve got to go back to work.” The Zebras entered this season coming off anance in the 6A state title game, and began the season with a blowout of Class 7A Fort Smith Northside. But then came a victory over crosstown Class 5A rival WatsonChapel that required a gamewinning touchdown in the final seconds. Then, came an inconsistent showing in a victory at Little Rock Central, which has lost 25 consecutive games.

Pine Bluff opened Friday’s game under a full head of steam, recovering a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and scoring off a 12-yard touchdown run from Jawhan Hunt.

Hunt later put the Zebras up 14-0 on a 4-yard run late in the quarter, and the Zebras defense was in the midst of stifling Benton’s Spread passing attack.

But the Panthers (0-4, 0-1) pushed back.

Benton quarterback Grant Jones responded to Hunt’s touchdown with a 80-yard touchdown pass to Zach Riley, who beat the coverage down the Pine Bluff sideline.

Meanwhile, the Panthers seemed to adjust to the Zebras offense, a ground-based attack that spreads the carries among several running backs.

With Pine Bluff unable to run the ball and Jones beginning to find a rhythm, the Zebras weren’t in a self-congratulatory mode at halftime.

“They were playing with their knees bent more and their pad level lower at the line of scrimmage,” Bolding said.

“Because of that, we weren’t getting any movement. That’s just basic, fundamental football.” Pine Bluff took the second-half kickoff and went on a nearly nine-minute drive before Lemmie Daniels scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. The Zebras found some breathing room after Walter Ashley scored on a 5-yard touchdown run.

Before inserting the second-team offense midway through the fourth quarter, the Zebras ran the ball 41 times.

“I love being 4-0, don’t get me wrong,” Bolding said. “But we’re not a very good 4-0 football team.”NO. 4 EL DORADO 37, LR FAIR 0

El Dorado made it a quick evening, cruising to a victory at Little Rock Fair.

The Wildcats (3-1, 1-0 6A-South) had 393 yards of offense, including 209 yards rushing. The sportsmanship rule was invoked in the second half after El Dorado jumped out to a 37-0 lead in the first half.

El Dorado scored on its first three plays from scrimmage. Taylor Reed completed 5 of 7 passes for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wendall Thompson had 2 receptions for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Reed connected with Thompson for a 42-yard touchdown with 10:10 left in the first quarter to give the Wildcats an early lead.

Two plays later, El Dorado’s SeanFrierson recovered a fumble at the Fair 9-yard line and John Miles scored on the play. The extra point attempt was no good and the Wildcats settled for a 13-0 lead with 9:51 left in the first quarter.

El Dorado’s defense forced a punt with the Wildcats taking over at their 28. Reed dropped back and lofted a pass down the left sideline to Thompson, who ran 72 yards for a touchdown. Colby Murphy’s kick extended the lead to 20-0 with 7:25 left in the first quarter.

Defensively, El Dorado held Fair to 113 yards.

Sports, Pages 24 on 09/25/2010

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