Little Rock Christian lost one of its top offensive threats on the first play of the game Friday night against White Hall, but the Warriors found plenty of other options.
Damarea Crockett rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns and Tanner Gentry caught three touchdown passes, including a 79-yarder down the sideline that helped the Warriors put away the Bulldogs 44-33 at Warrior Field.
"You know, when we play, we can be a good football team," Christian Coach Jeff Weaver said. "Hopefully we'll build off this and be ready to go."
Things didn't start all that great for the Warriors (1-1), who were trying to respond from 40-30 loss at Fountain Lake last week.
Receiver Joe Hampton was lost to a broken finger on the game's first play, then White Hall (0-2) drove 70 yards before Courtney Anderson's 3-yard run and Garrett Blaylock's two-point conversion run gave it an 8-0 lead.
On the Warriors' second possession, Brooks Boshears dropped a snap from the Bulldogs' 14, picked it up and flung it into the end zone for his first of three touchdown passes to Gentry. Then Little Rock Christian's Josiah Weaver recovered a fumble, and three players later Boshears found Gentry from 13 yards out to go up 14-8.
The game was poised to go into halftime tied 14-14, but White Hall punter Charles Failla went down to corral a low snap and downed the ball on his own 4 with 32 seconds left before half. Boshears threw two incomplete passes and Crockett was stopped for a 4-yard loss, and Little Rock Christian was set to kick a field goal until an offsides penalty moved it back at the White Hall 3.
Weaver elected to send his offense back onto the field, and Crockett took a direct snap and scored from 3 yards out.
"I didn't want to have a downer going in [to halftime]," Weaver said. "I felt like if they stop us, they stop us, but it was worth the risk."
The score gave Little Rock Christian a 21-14 lead, but White Hall Coach Mike Vaughn said it was enough to change the course of the game.
"Momentum is a fickle, little old woman," Vaughn said. "That was a biggie right there."
White Hall quarterback Kirk Baugh and Anderson did what they could to keep the Bulldogs in it.
Baugh, a senior who gave Little Rock Christian fits by scrambling out of the pocket, completed 16 of 29 passes for 226 yards and 1 touchdown and added 32 yards rushing. Anderson rushed 20 times for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Anderson's 15-yard run in the third quarter pulled White Hall to within 30-20, but Crockett answered with a 41-yard run up the middle on the next drive to make it 36-20 entering the fourth quarter. On Little Rock Christian's next possession Boshears -- who completed 5 of 8 passes for 119 yards and rushed for 102 yards -- connected with Gentry for the 79-yard touchdown.
"Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes," Vaughn said. "That's all high school football is all about. That's two weeks in a row. We've got to fix this."
Sports on 09/13/2014