Jamie Mitchell didn't know who to compliment more -- North Little Rock's offense or the Charging Wildcats' defense.
Junior running back Alex Day scored three touchdowns and the Charging Wildcats limited Fort Smith Northside to 191 total yards in a 35-0 victory in the opening round of the Class 7A playoffs Friday night at North Little Rock's stadium.
"Both sides of the ball played well," Mitchell said. "The kicking game was great. It's just hard to single one thing out. I thought it was our best football game we've played. It was four quarters of good football."
North Little Rock (7-4) advances to play at Bentonville in next week's quarterfinals.
The Charging Wildcats racked up 307 yards of total offense in the first half and scored the first four times they had the ball.
All four of North Little Rock's first-half drives had plenty of meat on them. The Wildcats drove 84 yards on 12 plays to score their first touchdown. Their next three possessions went for 67, 77 and 75 yards. North Little Rock held the ball for 14 minutes and 53 seconds of the first half. North Little Rock led 28-0 at the half.
Both the running and passing games worked in a businesslike fashion. Day finished with 153 yards on 15 carries, scoring on runs of 1, 1 and 11 yards. Quarterback Corvasea Cooney was 5 of 5 passing for 125 yards, including a 46-yard scoring pass to tight end Tyrell Robinson. Cooney also ran for 64 yards and scored on a 2-yard carry.
North Little Rock stretched its winning streak to seven games and posted its first shutout since Oct. 31, 2014, when the Wildcats knocked off West Memphis 40-0. Since Oct. 2, the Wildcats are averaging 46.3 points a game.
"We just know where we belong now," said Cooney, explaining why the Wildcats have been a better offensive team in the second half of the season. "The offensive line has gotten better. When we have to pass the ball, we can get it done now. We're basically a running team, but if we can complete the passes that makes the running game even better."
"He could not have been better," Mitchell said of Cooney's passing. "I thought he was just unbelievable, and that's all he's got to do. If he's steady, he can complement our running game."
Northside (4-7) managed only four first downs and 94 yards of offense in the first half. A 29-yard reception by Tanner Cross to set the Grizzlies inside the North Little Rock 25 on their first possession, but the drive ended when sophomore lineman Zavion Moore intercepted a Max Frazier pass.
Northside never drove inside the North Little Rock 10, and its best scoring opportunity came on its first drive of the second half. The Grizzlies ran the first 16 offensive plays of the third quarter, but they failed to score when junior Parga Cheuy missed a 32-yard field-goal attempt at the 4:44 mark.
North Little Rock used only two plays and 32 seconds to score its final touchdown. Day broke off runs of 69 and 11 yards to account for the score. Savana Melton kicked her fifth extra point to log the last of the Charging Wildcats' 35 points.
The Charging Wildcats completed the game with 433 total yards on only 42 offensive plays.
Reserve quarterback Davin Chitwood led Northside in rushing with 49 yards on five carries, with all of his action coming on his team's final drive. Tydarren Jones led the Grizzlies in receiving with three catches for 39 yards.
Sports on 11/14/2015