ENGLAND -- Marc Westbrook realized there was no easy path to the end zone on the final play of the first half, but the England Lions' junior receiver managed to find one.
Taking a pass from Brayden Brazeal at the Mountainburg 20, Westbrook faked a lateral and sprinted toward the middle of the field. He met three would-be tacklers inside the 5, but ducked his head and picked up some key blocks before falling into the end zone to complete the 26-yard score.
England eventually claimed a 48-28 Class 2A state playoff victory over the Dragons on a clear, brisk evening at Lions Stadium.
"That was a really good play," England Coach Terry Farmer said. "He had a really good night."
"I thought it was kind of iffy that I was going to score or not, but I knew I had some teammates behind me," said Westbrook, who finished with 5 catches for 68 yards and 2 touchdowns. "I figured they might be able to help me."
England (12-0) advances to next week's quarterfinals, where it will host Des Arc.
Mountainburg (8-3) gave the Lions their toughest game of the season, but the Dragons could not match England's firepower.
England rolled up 645 yards of total offense and never punted. Brazeal completed 16 of 22 passes for 258 yards and 4 TDs. Juniors Malik Coleman and Simeon Brooks both rushed for more than 100 yards, and senior Xavier Iverson caught two touchdown passes and made an interception.
"We've got several good players," Farmer said. "One of them does well one night and another does well the next. It's a good problem."
Mountainburg's quarterback-to-receiver combination of Quency Pixley and Elisha Vanourny attempted to keep the Dragons in the game. Pixley was 12 of 21 for 240 yards and 3 TDs. Vanourny caught five passes for 158 yards, including scoring passes for 48 and 67 yards. Mountainburg, however, managed only 85 yards on the ground and had only one carry of 10 yards or more.
England hurt itself with turnovers, losing three fumbles. The Lions turned over the ball on downs twice.
"We had three turnovers and [Mountainburg] played well," Farmer said. "They stopped us in the red zone twice without turnovers. They did a great job. They're a good team."
Westbrook's late first-half touchdown, however, seemed to put away the game. The Dragons had scored with 44 seconds left in the second quarter to cut the Lions' lead to 28-14, but England answered with a six-play, 63-yard drive. Two plays prior to Westbrook's touchdown, Brazeal, Westbrook and Coleman had combined on a 30-yard hook-and-latter play.
Senior Akeem Allen caught a two-point conversion pass to cap the first half, giving England a 36-14 halftime advantage.
Coleman finished with 13 carries and 161 yards, which included a 53-yard scoring run. Brooks ran 11 times for 105 yards and Zach Montgomery ran 10 times for 83 yards and a 13-yard TD run. Iverson's TDs went for 47 and 9 yards.
Sophomore Robert Roxin, who caught four passes for 39 yards, hauled in an 8-yard scoring pass for the Dragons.
DES ARC 44, MAGNET COVE 14
DES ARC — Noah Kennedy rushed for one touchdown and passed for another as Des Arc (11-1) defeated Magnet Cove (5-7) in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs.
Colt Covington added a 76-yard touchdown run and caught a 7-yard scoring pass for the Eagles.
Daylon Conway and Trey Lee also scored on 1-yard and 15-yard runs, respectively, for Des Arc.
Sports on 11/21/2015