STUTTGART — Stuttgart was clinging to a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s Class 4A playoff game with Warren when the Ricebirds jarred a fumble from Lumberjacks quarterback Drake Jones that bounced along the muddy ground at Moseley Stadium.
“It looked liked it was going to go out of bounds,” Stuttgart Coach Billy Elmore said. “Then it seemed like it sat there forever.”
Stuttgart defensive lineman Eddie Simmons relieved Elmore’s anxiety.
Simmons, a 260-pound lineman, pounced on the ball, and the Ricebirds needed only three plays to put away the Lumberjacks when running back Dre’lon Ice raced 65 yards for a touchdown in a 27-6 victory at Ricebird Field.
But Stuttgart (11-1), which rolled up 425 offensive yards and allowed only 162, found Warren (9-4) a tough foe to shake over three quarters despite dominating just about every statistical category.
The Ricebirds ate up almost six minutes of clock during a 99-yard drive that spanned the first and second quarters, taking a 7-0 lead when quarterback Dontrell Brown ran over left guard for a 5-yard touchdown run with 10:46 to go in the second quarter.
Warren, which had 72 yards on 14 first-half plays, struggled along with running back Kilay Cox, who entered with 1,538 rushing yards. Cox finished with 56 yards on 14 carries after being held to 5 yards in the first half.
“We’re a young ball club, and they just took it to us,” Warren Coach Bo Hembree said. “We didn’t have an answer. We’ve been able to have one all year, but tonight they got after us.”
Stuttgart drove to the Lumberjacks’ 10 with less than a minute to go in the second quarter, hunting for a two touchdown lead at the break.
But running back Tyler Luster had the ball punched free at 8, and Warren junior cornerback Odis Miller scooped it up at the 5 with nothing but open brown turf in front of him.
Miller raced 95 yards for a touchdown and Warren trailed 7-6 with 25 seconds left in the first half.
“We’re only down one at that point,” Hembree said. “We go into the half, feel like we’ve made some good adjustments and can claw back in it.”
Stuttgart dented those hopes on its first drive of the half, set up by Courtney Carroll’s 21-yard punt return to the Warren 46.
Brown, who rushed for 125 yards on 23 carries and added 87 yards on 7 of 10 passing, capped the 8-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter and a 13-6 lead after a missed point-after try.
“Dontrell has been our catalyst,” Elmore said. “We’re a power running team with some play-action pass, and he does a good job managing the offense for us.”
A shanked 19-yard punt on the next drive set up Warren at its 48 with roughly two minutes left in the third quarter, and the Lumberjacks - aided by a pass interference penalty inside the 20 - drove to the Stuttgart 4.
But Warren was hit with a holding penalty, setting up second-and-goal from the 15. On the next play, Jones bobbled a low snap, and bolting from the pocket was swarmed for an 8-yard loss when the ball was knocked free and Simmons recovered.
Three plays later, Ice, who rushed for 129 yards on 10 carries, took a sweep around right end, shed two tacklers at midfield and sidestepped a third at the Lumberjacks’ 35 and raced for a touchdown a 21-6 lead with 9:19 left in the game.
“It was the back-breaker,” Hembree said.
HIGHLAND 40, HEBER SPRINGS 14
HARDY - Quarterback Sterling Stowers finished with 188 yards rushing and two touchdowns and threw for another score as the Rebels (13-0) used two quick second-half scores to pull away from Heber Springs in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state playoffs.
Highland will host Ozark (11-2) next Friday in a semifinal game.
Leading 13-6 to start the third quarter, Highland running back Avery Johnson broke loose for a 47-yard touchdown on the Rebels’ first offensive play of the half. After Cody Odell recovered a fumble on Heber Springs’ ensuing possession, Stowers went 29 yards on the next play for the score. Ethan Hoppe’s extra point gave the Rebels a 26-6 lead.
Stowers connected with Johnson on a 25-yard touchdown pass to open the fourth quarter, and Stowers added a 68-yard touchdown run later to extend Highland’s lead to 40-6.
Heber Springs scored on a 16-yard run by Chandler Jones, and Ethan Bly’s two-point conversion made it 40-14.
Jordan Brewer scored on a 19-yard run on Highland’s opening drive of the game. Hoppe’s extra point made it 7-0. Heber Springs answered when Clint Ligon scored on a 12-yard run to pull within 7-6. Brewer added another touchdown on a 2-yard run late in the first quarter.
OZARK 35, BOONEVILLE 14
BOONEVILLE - Ozark quarterback Jonathon McKenzie threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Hillbillies (11-2) jumped out to a 35-0 in the first half and cruised past Booneville (8-4) in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state playoffs.
Ozark will travel to Highland (13-0) next week.
McKenize opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run on fourth-and goal with 5:51 left in the first quarter. McKenzie then connected with Toby Richard on a 46-yard touchdown pass on the Hillbillies’ next possession to make it 14-0 with the 2:59 left in the first.
Sports, Pages 32 on 11/24/2012