DARDANELLE 35, NASHVILLE 19
NASHVILLE -- Nashville had no answer for Dardanelle senior quarterback Kristian Thompson.
Thompson ran for 234 yards and three touchdowns and threw for another as the Sand Lizards scored 28 consecutive points to pull away from Nashville to advance to the Class 4A state semifinals after a 35-19 victory Friday at Scrapper Stadium.
Thompson scored on runs of 45, 55 and 44 yards -- the latter two in the fourth quarter. Chris Kershner had both receptions for 49 yards, including a 37-yard catch from Thompson just before halftime to give Dardanelle (13-0) the lead.
Nashville (10-2) junior quarterback Leonard Snell ran for 122 yards and threw for 281 yards and 3 touchdowns on 24-of-49 passing. He also was intercepted three times, twice on tipped passes.
Trey Hughes had 9 receptions for 98 yards and 1 touchdown, Brady Bowden had six catches for 60 and a score, and De'ajeon Armstrong added 75 yards and a TD on two catches for the Scrappers.
Nashville's La'Michael Pettway was held to just one catch in the second half and finished with six receptions for 50 yards.
T.J. Tucker ran for 119 yards for the Sand Lizards, and Kershner also returned a punt 88 yards for a score to make it 21-7 late in the third quarter.
Thompson started the fourth quarter with his 55-yard touchdown run, and 2:21 later Armstrong found the end zone for the Scrappers on a 54-yard catch-and-run down the left sideline.
Snell connected with Hughes for a 30-yard score with 2:07 left to make it 28-19, but the point after was blocked. Thompson raced away for his third score for his final score.
Nashville opened the game with an onside-kick attempt which Justin Summers recovered for Scrappers at the Sand Lizards 39. A Nashville pass attempt was tipped and intercepted by Turner Partin at the goal line and returned the interception to the Dardanelle 45, but the Scrapper defense held and forced a three-and-out.
Snell used his legs to move the chains once and threw for three more first downs on the ensuing possession, and Snell hit a diving Brady Bowden for the first score, covering 7 yards with 4:58 left in the first quarter.
Thompson raced through a big hole over the left side and sprinted down the sideline for a 45-yard touchdown on fourth-and-2 to tie the score at 7-7.
Thompson kept up the middle on an option play and gained 38 yards to the Nashville 35. Two plays later, Chris Kershner made a sliding grab in the end zone for Thompson's first completion and a 37-yard touchdown. Gerardo Hernandez's point after made it 14-7 with 1:49 remaining in the half.
Sports on 11/29/2014