BEEBE — Beebe quarterback Aaron Nunez was driven to the turf on a doomed fourth down call, and the change of possession was the point of demarcation in a tight battle with Wynne.
Wynne was leading 35-28 lead at the time, but the Yellowjackets reeled off three touchdowns in less than two minutes early in the fourth quarter to pull away to a 56-28 victory that had the makings of a 5A-East Conference upset at Wooten Field.
“That was the first time we were really able to make a play,” Wynne Coach Chris Hill said. “We needed a little momentum.”
But the 3-yard sack with 11:43 left in the fourth quarter was the catalyst for Yellowjackets (5-0, 3-0), who took a 42-28 lead four plays later on running back Josh Selvy’s 58-yard touchdown run.
Selvy’s presence helped.The Yellowjackets totaled 485 yards, including 361 rushing on 24 carries.
Selvy, rushed for 271 yards and 4 touchdowns on 9 carries, including touchdown runs of 92, 27 and 65 yards the first three times he touched the ball to help Wynne take a 28-20 lead into half as Beebe (0-6, 0-3) ate clock with its Dead-T attack.
That didn’t keep the Badgers, who racked up 320 of their 335 yards of total offense on the ground, from lingering into the third quarter.
“That’s what we want to do,” Beebe Coach John Shannon said. “We know we don’t have the best athletes in the world, so we want to frustrate teams, keep their offense on the sidelines and eat clock. We did that for three quarters.”
Running back Eric Thorn led Beebe with 162 yards and 2 touchdowns on 26 carries, while Nunez added 74 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing, including a 1-yard score with 4:53 left in the third quarter to tie it 28-28.
BATESVILLE 45, FORREST CITY 6
BATESVILLE - Jared May caught a 78-yard touchdown pass from Kenton Crawford and returned an interception 37 yards for another score in the first quarter to lead Batesville (4-2, 3-0 5AEast) past Forrest City (4-2, 2-1).
NETTLETON 37, PARAGOULD 8
JONESBORO - Lance Walker scored two touchdowns leading Nettleton (2-4, 1-2) over Paragould (2-4, 1-2).
Paragould took an early lead when Dylan Hoggard scored on a 6-yard run. The successful two-point conversion gave the Rams an 8-0 lead.
Montell Moore scored on a 64-yard run three plays later and Nettleton tied the game at 8-8.
Nettleton’s Tanner Ballard blocked a punt and then ran 20 yards for a score and Nettleton led 30-8 at the half.
BLYTHEVILLE 22, GREENE COUNTY TECH 16
PARAGOULD - Shawn Rainer ran for 118 yards to help Blytheville (3-3, 2-1 5A-East) claim a victory over Greene County Tech (1-5, 0-3).
Sports, Pages 27 on 10/06/2012