Junction City’s victory in the Class 2A state title game Saturday couldn’t have looked any more different than the one it won a year ago.
The Dragons needed a Hail Mary pass on the game’s final play last year to upend Bearden on a clear night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Saturday afternoon’s game was played in a driving rain that never cleared up and was essentially over when JarKell Brown caught a pass in the flat on Junction City’s second play of the game and raced 64 yards for the Dragons’ first touchdown.
“It’s a lot easier this way,” Junction City Coach David Carpenter said when asked to compare the two games.
There was one common thread: Jaqwis Dancy gliding across the artificial turf.
The junior running back ran for a 67-yard score in the first quarter and scored on a 20-yard run in the third quarter of Junction City’s 60-0 blowout of Des Arc, the largest margin of victory in a state title game since the modern playoff era began in 1968.
Dancy, the cousin of former Dragon and current Arkansas defensive tackle Byran Jones, finished with 163 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 rushes and had 225 all-purpose yards to earn Most Valuable Player honors.
He had 232 all-purpose yards whilealso earning MVP honors last year in a 27-26 title game victory that wasn’t sealed until Dorian Evans caught a 30-yard touchdown pass off a tipped ball as time expired.
Dancy, who rushed for 1,674 yards this season, credits his ability to deliver on the big stage to pregame chats with Jones, whom he grew up with in Junction City and considers a brother.
“He said just treat it like practice, it’s just a higher-tempo of practice,” Dancy said. “He just told me to play as hard as I can and not worry about winning it. Just play hard. Everything else will fall in.”
It didn’t take long for Dancy or Junction City to do that Saturday.
After Brown’s long touchdown and Randall Holyfield’s 31-yard run gave the Dragons a 13-0 lead, they got the ball back and faced second-and-3 at their 33. Dancy took a handoff around the right end, crossed midfield as he sprinted down the sideline, then cut in at about the 18 before cutting back toward the sideline to get around Des Arc’s Tyler Hill to create an easy path to the end zone.
“I just seen the outside, so I had to take it,” Dancy said. “I trust my speed.”
His second score came in early in the third quarter on a 20-yard run that made it 48-0.
Dancy spent the majority of a postgame interview shivering as rain continued to fall on those gathered in the middle of the field at War Memorial Stadium. He said he was fine through the first 2 1/2 quarters before taking a seat on the sideline watching after the score had gotten out of hand.
By then, his work was done.
“He’s a good athlete,” Carpenter said. “He loves the weight room. He’s an extremely strong young man and works at it real hard, trying to improve and be the best that he can be.”
Sports, Pages 32 on 12/22/2013