PEARCY - Special-team plays put Lake Hamilton in position for a special victory.
Josh Nazario’s 46-yard punt return and Donnell West’s 87-yard kickoff return set up touchdowns as the Wolves (5-1, 3-0 7A/6A-South) downed the Zebras 33-25 Friday night at Summit Bank Field.
The Zebras (3-2-1, 2-1), down 26-6, pulled to 26-19 on quarterback Ladarius Skelton’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Tyran Simmons and Skelton’s 26-yard run.
But Nathan Sawrie’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Levi Rengstorf with 4:13 to play sealed an upset of the preseason 7A/6A-South favorite.
Nazario’s 46-yard punt return set up Lake Hamilton’s first score, after Pine Bluff’s Austin McGehee outkickedhis coverage on a 49-yard punt and Nazario returned it to the Zebras’ 34. Sawrie scored on a 11-yard run at 9:06 of the first quarter to give Lake Hamilton the lead. McGehee, a Purdue commitment, made it 6-3 after a 22-yard field goal with 5:23 left in the opening period.
Advantageous field position helped the Wolves close the half with two scores. Lake Hamilton drove 61 yards for a 2-yard Chris Eastburn touchdown and it was 13-3 after the extra point was blocked.
On Lake Hamilton’s final drive of the half, Trevor Mittelstadt caught two passes, the final one reulting in a 5-yard touchdown and 19-3 halftime lead.
McGehee’s second field goal made it 19-6 midway in the third quarter, but West’s return set up Chris Eastburn’s 6-yard touchdown and Johnson’s kick followed for a 26-6 lead.
Up 26-19 in the fourth, Lake Hamilton’s defense forced McGehee to punt from his end zone. Nazario returned it 11 yards to the Zebras’ 41 and Sawrie found Rengstorf behind the secondary.
BRYANT 49, LITTLE ROCK FAIR 0
BRYANT - Brendan Young ran 8 times for 69 yards and 2 first-half touchdowns as Bryant beat Little Rock Fair, sending the War Eagles (1-5, 0-3 7A/6A-South) to their 100th loss since 2002 and their 17th consecutive in conference play.
Young powered the Hornets (3-3, 2-1) to 33-0 halftime lead by scoring on runs of 1 and 9 yards. Junior utility back Brushawn Hunter ran 4 times for 60 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Bryant outgained Fair (1-5, 0-3) 393-65 in total yards. Junior quarterback Brandon Warner completed 6 of 7 passes for 95 yards.
TEXARKANA 23, EL DORADO 20
EL DORADO - Texarkana (2-3, 1-2 (7A-6A South) jumped out to a 23-0 lead and held on for a victory at Memorial Stadium.
The Wildcats (2-4, 2-1) scored 20points in the final 14 minutes of the game. El Dorado’s final desperation play ended at about midfield after a pass and several laterals.
The Razorbacks had 53 rushing attempts for 249 yards. Andrew Bishop ran for 132 yards on 30 attempts for Texarkana.
Defensively, the Razorbacks held El Dorado to 23 yards on the ground.
El Dorado’s Clayton Waldrum completed 20 of 35 passes for 250 yards.
BENTON 42, SHERIDAN 6
BENTON - Terek Beaugard had a hand in three first-half touchdowns to help Benton to an easy 7A/6A-South victory.
Beaugard threw a 45-yard pass to John Davis to give Benton a 7-0 lead 14 seconds into the game. He also scored on an 8-yard run to give the Panthers (3-3, 2-1) a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. Beaugard then threw an 18-yard pass to Colton Nix in the second quarter and Drew Dyer’s 25-yard run gave Benton a 28-0 lead at halftime.
Shawn Carey’s 3-yard run and Cason Maertens’ 6-yard pass to Casey Green capped Benton’s scoring.
Sheridan (1-5, 0-3) got its only touchdown on a 62-yard pass from Brady Bigg to Cody Thompson in the third quarter.
Sports, Pages 26 on 10/12/2013