JONESBORO -- The season opener couldn't have gone much better for Nettleton.
Senior running back Joe Frazier ran for 136 yards and 3 touchdowns on 23 carries Friday night as the Raiders defeated Newport 20-0 at Raider Field.
Nettleton (1-0), which had been 0-13 against Newport, bottled up Greyhounds running back Carl Turner. Turner finished with 35 yards and the Greyhounds (0-1) managed only 65 as a team.
"I'm very excited," Nettleton Coach Steve Hampton said. "For our team and for us to get off to a good start, we needed that to reaffirm all of the work we've done."
Nettleton outgained Newport 144-17 in the first half as the Raiders took a 14-0 lead behind Frazier, who scored on runs of 2 and 5 yards .
"He broke some tackles and made some runs," Hampton said. "We put a lot on his shoulders, and he responded."
Nettleton's defense also did its part, forcing Newport into a turnover on downs, two turnovers and two punts in the half.
"We had about three or four different plans going into it," Hampton said. "We were going to start in our base defense and then go from there, and I don't know if we ever got out of our base defense. We just flew to the ball and attacked, and that's what we asked them to do."
Nettleton forced Newport into another turnover on downs to open the second half and capitalized with Frazier's final touchdown of the night, this one on a 37-yard run that capped a 46-yard drive and gave the Raiders a 20-0 lead with 7:12 left in the third quarter.
RIVERCREST 14,
PARAGOULD 13
WILSON — Quarterback Kesler Pierce threw for two touchdowns, including a 58-yard hook-and-ladder score, as Rivercrest (1-0) hung on to beat Paragould (0-1).
After Paragould went up 7-0 in the second quarter, Pierce connected with wide receiver Hank Hill on the trick play, who tossed the ball to running back Cecil Langston to even the score going into halftime.
In the third, Pierce threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Peyton Adams. The extra point was good.
Paragould came back in the fourth quarter, led by quarterback Jakob Sullinger’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Dustin Granger. The Rams attempted a two-point conversion to take the lead, but Sullinger’s throw fell incomplete.
Sports on 09/05/2015