McGEHEE — Harding Academy broke open a tight game with three second-quarter touchdowns, then turned the game into a rout by scoring on its first three possessions of the second half in a 62-33 Class 3A playoff victory over Mc-Gehee at Owl Stadium.
Quarterback Will Francis threw five touchdown passes, with Hunter Gentry catching three of them. Jake Mackey and Kohl Blickenstaff contributed two touchdowns apiece.
“Will has done that for us all year, and we have some special kids on the corners that he throws the ball to,” Harding Coach Roddy Mote said. “Our O-line did a great job and didn’t give up a sack. It was a good all around team effort.”
Harding (12-0) scored on its first five possessions of the first half, but McGehee matched Harding’s first three touchdowns before the Wildcats pulled away.
Francis threw 46 yards to Blickenstaff to go ahead 28-19 after Trey Davis made his third extra point with 1:11 left in the first period.
Davis scored on a 1-yard run, ending a 90-yard drive, to put Harding Academy ahead 34-19 with 5:25 left in the first half. Blickenstaff made it 41-19 when he returned an interception 88 yards for a touchdown with 1:24 left in the first half.
McGehee answered with a 55-yard run by David Shepard with :26 left in the first half. The run for two points was no good and it was 41-25 at halftime.
“When you get this far, it’s all good and I’m just proud of the effort of our kids,” Mote said.
Harding scored on its first three possessions of the second half to put the game on the running clock, and the Owls could manage just one more touchdown.
McGehee scored on its second offensive play, less than 30 seconds into the game, on a 30-yard run by Shephard. Tabor McGraw made the kick after the score for a 7-0 lead.
Harding came right back behind Francis, who passed 55 yards to Gentry to tie it 7-7 after Davis’ extra-point attempt was good at the 10:43 mark of the first period.
Sports, Pages 33 on 11/24/2012