East Poinsett County drove 70 yards in the final minute Friday night to finish off a 36-32 road victory over McCrory.
Senior quarterback Aaron Scales scored from the 2 with 3.2 seconds remaining for the winning score. His 36-yard pass to a diving Clay Malone set up the final touchdown.
“We had a timeout left, but we hurried to the ball and were able to run the play,” EPC Coach Brian Weathers said. “If we had been stopped, I would have called the timeout. … It was about the most exciting way to end a game that I’ve ever seen.”
EPC overcame an 18-6 halftime deficit to claim the victory. The Warriors outgained McCrory 449-246, but two fumble returns almost cost EPC the game. McCrory, which scored on its opening possession, took a 12-0 lead when it returned an EPC fumble 35 yards for a touchdown.
Later in the first half, the Jaguars returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown.
EPC scored 30 points in the second half, including 24 in the fourth quarter.
“It’s amazing what you can do when you hold on to the football,” Weathers said.
For Scales, it was a monster game both offensively and defensively. Scales, 6-2, 180 pounds, completed 21 of 31 passes for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for 42 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively, Scales was in on seven tackles and intercepted a pass.
“He had a huge game, but that’s something we’ve come to expect out of him every game,” Weathers said. “He’s a hard-nosed player in everything he does.”
Senior Quinn Young caught nine passes for 122 yards, while Malone finished with six receptions and 101 yards. Kyler Gordon, who caught a 53-yard scoring pass with 3:17 left, led the Warriors in rushing with 84 yards on 18 carries.
McCrory took a 32-28 lead with 1:00 left, setting up EPC’s winning drive.
DANVILLE
Big numbers in loss
Quarterback Jake Madding and running back Grant Cathey put up some impressive numbers in the Danville’s 68-34 loss to Dardanelle last week.
Madding, a sophomore, completed 6 of 7 passes for 217 yards (averaging 36.2 yards per completion) while Cathey caught 2 passes for 127 yards and rushed for 111 yards on 16 attempts (a 6.9 yard per-carry average).
Cathey’s catches went for 79 and 48 yards. The senior was tackled inside the 5 on his 79-yard reception.
“One of their players hit his ankle and tripped him up at the 1,” Danville Coach D.J. Crane said. “I gave him the ball on the next play, so he got his touchdown.”
Madding also had a 49-yard touchdown pass to senior Sam Millard.
“Two of those passes were designed big plays,” Crane said. “The other was a swing pass that [Cathey] turned into a big gainer.”
Defensively, it wasn’t a great night for the Little Johns. Dardanelle scored on every possession in the first half and held a 53-13 advantage at the half.
“We were outmatched,” Crane said. “Dardanelle has a very good team and they took advantage of that and jumped on us early. I think if we would have had a little more success early, it could have been a closer game.”
CROSS COUNTY
One half was enough
Anfernee Davis scored five touchdowns in Cross County’s 55-16 victory over Harrisburg on Friday night, and the 5-11, 170-pound junior did it all in the game’s first 20 minutes.
“There were four minutes left in the first half, and we sat him down,” Cross County Coach Steve Williams said. “He played some more on defense, but we didn’t play him at running back the rest of the night.”
Davis carried 10 times for 174 yards and scored on runs of 10, 65, 30 and 12 yards. His recorded a fifth touchdown on a 35-yard fumble return, a turnover he caused when he burst into the backfield on a cornerback blitz.
As a sophomore last season, Davis ran for more than 1,500 yards and scored 22 touchdowns while playing in only seven games.
“He’s a little stronger and he’s a little bigger,” Williams said. “He’s a speedster. We’ve clocked him at 4.5 [seconds in the 40-yard dash], and he’s real shifty.”
Williams said his running back’s most impressive run came on his 30-yard scoring play.
“We ran a draw and he got knocked backwards,” Williams said. “But he used his hands to keep his balance, bounced off the tackle, ran around the right end and scored.”
The final score was also the halftime score. Williams said his team never came close to scoring in the second half, but the Thunderbirds were also never forced to punt.
“Our defense is a little better than last year,” said Williams, whose team defeated Harrisburg 81-57 in 2013. “Last year we gave up 300 yards passing to Harrisburg, and this year we held them to 110 [200 total yards].”
Cross County plays at Arkansas Baptist (0-1) on Friday.
Call us
Coaches are asked to call the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with football game reports before 10:30 p.m. each Friday this fall. Call 1-(800) 272-4650 or (501) 378-3411.
We need records, score by quarters, scoring plays and top rushing, passing, receiving and defensive performances. The Democrat-Gazette also will publish statistics each Friday throughout the regular season.
Email statistics and news tips to high school football coordinator Jeremy Muck to jmuck@arkansasonline. com.
Scores also can be tweeted using the hashtag #arpreps.