Both head coaches knew what they wanted and what to expect.
The Pulaski Academy Bruins and the Little Rock Fair War Eagles arrived at Hatcher Stadium from opposite ends of the football spectrum, and no one was surprised to see the Bruins walk off the field with a 50-6, mercy-rule victory on Friday night.
Pulaski Academy (9-0, 5-0 5A-Central) has won four state championships since 2003, including last season. Fair (0-9, 0-5) won a state championship in 1998, but has won a total of five games in the last nine seasons.
"I came into this game just hoping to get my young guys some playing time," Fair Coach Roosevelt Turner said. "Out of my whole defense out there, I got two people who played last year, so I got six freshmen out there. I got nine players coming back next year, so I'm just trying to get my guys some experience."
Pulaski Academy Coach Kevin Kelley was looking for much the same thing, but for different reasons.
"We wanted to get some guys some playing time and get a little better at certain things, get everyone in, and get healthy for next week," he said.
Two Pulaski Academy offensive stars did not play beyond the first quarter, but that was enough time for sophomore quarterback Layne Hatcher to complete 8 of 12 passes for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns and junior running back Jaren Watkins to rush 4 times for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Bruins built a 35-0 lead.
"We were working on some things with Layne," Kelley said. "We were working on some footwork, working on some quicker decisions. He's still a 10th grader, and pretty darn good for a 10th grader, but we want him to make quicker decisions and execute our plays a little better with less moving around, and he did a good job of that."
Pulaksi Academy has 80 players on its roster. Fair had 40 when the season began, but now has 19.
"They just quit," Turner said. "We didn't have any season-ending injuries. They just quit. That's all it was, they quit."
Kelley said it was clear that none of Fair's remaining players followed suit.
"They played hard to the end, so you have to give Fair some credit there," Kelley said. "In a game like this it's easy to give up, but they didn't. They kept going, and I was pleased by that."
Kelley spoke highly of two Fair players -- senior nose guard Marqualin Scott, and senior defensive tackle Pernell Hill. "Their nose guard gave us fits, as did [Hill]," he said. "Those guys are very good players."
Turner said he thinks both will have an opportunity to play in college.
"Those were the two guys I was going to build this team around," he said.
Kelley said he hopes Fair will soon field a competitive team.
"I'm pulling for Fair," Kelley said. "I'm pulling for Little Rock. You know, Central, Fair, I want people to recognize the center of the state as a great football area. It used to be that way, and I hope it gets back there."
Sports on 10/31/2015