BRYANT -- On a night when the passing game was not there, the Bryant Hornets stuck to the ground to defeat the Little Rock Catholic Rockets 30-10 in a 7A/6A-Central game Friday.
Quarterback Gunnar Burks and running back Deamonte Terry combined for 262 rushing, and it was more than enough for the Hornets (5-0, 2-0).
Burks, who completed 4 of 9 passing for 57 yards, rushed 15 times for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns. Terry, who put the game away with an 86-yard run, rushed 12 times for 141 yards.
"It was a good thing we could run,'' Hornets Coach Paul Calley said. "We hoped that we could. I thought it was going to be a close game, and it was a close game. If they didn't have so many injures at quarterback it would have been a lot closer.
"We ran the things that we have been running all year. There are some plays that we block well. That is what we went back to when we had to have it."
Burks' 6-yard run opened the scoring and Hayden Ray kicked the extra point to make it 7-0 with 7:09 left in the first quarter.
Catholic made it 7-3 on Christopher Elser's 30-yard field goal that was set up by Drake Enderlin's recovery of a fumbled punt.
Enderlin recovered another fumble, this one by Burks at the Rockets 1, to stop a Bryant drive. But Madre Dixon and Devon Alpe tackled Catholic's Lance Harville-Thomas on the next play for a safety.
Bryant led 16-3 after Cameron Coleman scored on a 21-yard run with 4:31 left in the first half. Coleman rushed seven times for 53 yards.
Burks scored to make it 23-3 before a 42-yard touchdown pass from Jake James to Justin Temple cut Catholic's deficit to 23-10. James completed 11 of 16 for 156 yards. Temple caught 2 for 82.
The Hornets defense, led by Mario Waits and Cameron Murray, helped shut down the Rockets' running game and forced Catholic in a passing situation. Jaelyn Jones and Quinton Royal had interceptions.
"It is disappointing when you can't put distance between you and an opponent," Calley said. "We've just not put it all together yet."
Sports on 10/03/2015