CONWAY -- The start of Friday's Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star football game was delayed almost an hour when lightning was spotted just before kickoff.
Then the West team's runaway was interrupted by a pesky East team.
It was almost 11 p.m. before the West team trotted off the artificial turf at Estes Stadium to light applause from its coaching staff after securing a 23-14 victory over the East in a game that started 7:58 p.m. because of the weather.
"It just didn't happen for us," said East Coach Tom Sears of Hoxie. "We had a chance at the end. That's all you an ask for."
A West defense that held the East to 190 yards of offense and forced two turnovers made sure the East didn't get any closer than it did.
With the West clinging to a 23-14 lead in the fourth quarter, the East twice moved the ball into West territory. But Kendrix McCann of Texarkana recovered a fumble on the West 39 to thwart one drive, then the West's defensive line stuffed Salem's Dillion Turner on fourth and 1 from inside the 5 with just more than a minute remaining to seal it.
"Our defense was great the whole game," said West quarterback Josh Qualls of Rogers Heritage. "We had some play-makers on defense and they played like All-Stars the whole game."
Qualls might have given credit to his defense, but it was his passing that led to all three of the West's touchdowns. The Arkansas Tech signee set an All-Star Game record for completions by finishing 25 of 31 for 222 yards and 1 touchdown.
Brandon Gates of Heritage gave the West a 7-0 lead with a 2-yard run in the first quarter, then Qualls' 2-yard pass to Camden Fairview's Deion Holliman put the West ahead 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The West offense sputtered when Morrilton's Toney Hawkins went in at quarterback and the East took advantage. Hawkins threw two interceptions, and the East turned both into touchdowns to tie the game 14-14 going into halftime.
Turner's 11-yard pass to Forrest City's John Williams made it 14-7 after Hawkins' first turnover, and Turner's 7-yard pass to Newport's Kristen Crite tied the game after the second interception.
"They executed better than we did," McNabb said of his team's performance in the second quarter. "I don't know if they were better overall, but they executed better and made some big plays on us."
Qualls turned the tables for the West when he re-entered in the fourth quarter.
Starting at their own 10-yard line, Qualls completed 4 of 5 passes on the drive, the last of which turned in the West's longest offensive play of the game. On third and 11 from the East 48, Qualls scrambled to his right before finding Charleston's Chance Shelby open along the right sideline for a 41-yard completion to the East 7.
Gates ran untouched up the middle on the next play for a 7-yard touchdown that made it 21-14.
"Game changers," Sears said of plays made by Qualls. "He made some great plays, some plays where he just scrambled and kept his eyes down the field and made some great throws."
The East fielded a punt at its own 2-yard line later in the third quarter, and two plays later Carlisle's Bo Weddle was stopped in the end zone for a safety by Watson Chapel's Josh Harris to make it 23-14.
The West stopped two East drives in the fourth quarter to seal its victory.
"That first group that came out there and played defense, they're pretty good," McNabb said. "If you notice how big that defensive front was, that's tough to manage. They just played extremely well."
Sports on 06/28/2014