Fort Smith Northside turned in its second consecutive solid defensive performance Friday night to open the season.
The Grizzlies, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's No. 8 team overall, shut down Little Rock Central 32-8 at Quigley-Cox Stadium in Little Rock.
Northside (2-0) forced six turnovers in a 26-15 victory over Pine Bluff one week ago.
Northside, No. 5 in Class 7A, didn't need six turnovers against Central, the No. 6 team in Class 7A.
But the one it got was crucial.
The Grizzlies led 10-8 in the second quarter and were forced to punt, but Central return man Richard Hayes mishandled the ball and junior Noah Bell recovered for the Grizzlies at the Central 17.
Junior Luke Bolton scored from the 8 two plays later to extend the lead to 17-8 with 4:08 left in the second quarter.
Northside got the ball back when it stopped Central senior quarterback Cooper Westbrook on fourth-and-1 at midfield, and quarterback Grant Hood's 37-yard completion to Shakari Jones set up Justin Curry's 1-yard touchdown run. Cooper Sizemore caught a two-point conversion pass from Hood to make it 25-8 with 15 seconds remaining in the first half.
Central (1-1) never could regain the momentum.
"We're kind of fragile when things go bad," said Central Coach Ellis "Scooter" Register, whose Tigers were playing for the first time since a 38-0 victory over Dallas James Madison in Lancaster, Texas, two weeks ago. "We have to learn to be able to bounce back from stuff like that."
Northside Coach Mike Falleur said the fumble was a big play.
"It was getting close," Falleur said. "We get the ball and then we go and score. It was big."
Hood added a 6-yard run in the third quarter to increase the Grizzlies' lead to 32-8.
Northside outgained Central 317-226.
Hood completed 12 of 16 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. Curry, a senior, had 56 yards on 16 carries and a score before leaving the game with a leg injury in the second half.
Senior Kiondre Thomas caught two passes for 77 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. Senior kicker Henry Araujo made a 32-yard field goal in the first quarter.
The Grizzlies (2-0) are coming off a 3-6-1 season.
"The kids have worked hard," Falleur said. "But we're nowhere where we need to be."
Westbrook completed 13 of 30 passes for 129 yards with an interception.
Hayes, a junior, rushed five times for 57 yards, with 50 coming on one carry in the first half, while senior Edward Robinson added 40 yards on 16 carries.
SHREVEPORT BYRD 41,
NO. 9 EL DORADO 7
SHREVEPORT — Shreveport Byrd allowed an opening touchdown to El Dorado, then scored 41 consecutive points for a victory at the Independence Bowl. El Dorado scored first on a 12-play, 80-yard drive, taking the lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Kawon Love to Dadraques Harris. Love completed 4 of 4 passes on the drive, all for first downs.
Byrd opened up a 20-7 lead in the first half, then extended the lead to 27-7 with a 12-yard run by quarterback Tyler Howard in the third quarter.
The Yellow Jackets completed the scoring with two touchdowns by Dominic Haggerty, on runs of 1 and 39 yards.
Sports on 09/13/2014