Class 3A/2A Report

Injuries cut short 2A game

Injuries forced Mountain Pine to forfeit the second half of its game at Mount Ida last Friday.

The Red Devils dressed 15 players but were left with nine before halftime and opted out of playing the second half. Mount Ida won 56-0 behind T.J. Wilson's three touchdowns, which included two passing.

Mountain Pine sophomore quarterback Matt Herron bruised his AC joint in his left shoulder (nonthrowing) in the loss. Entering Friday's game, the Red Devils were without senior guard/defensive end Kyle Allen (foot) and senior running back/safety Zak Gould, who had a knee infection Wednesday.

Coach David Jordan said Mountain Pine (0-3) had 14 players practice Tuesday as it prepares for its 5-2A Conference opener against Cutter Morning Star at Stanley May Field on Friday. Jordan said the Red Devils will play Friday night "unless something crazy happens."

Cutter Morning Star (0-3) will dress 18 players, Coach T.C Shamel told Jordan this week.

"It's going to be a war of attrition," Jordan said. "Watching them on film is like watching us."

Mountain Pine has lost 33 consecutive games, with its last victory coming in final game of the 2011 regular season. It is the state's third-longest losing streak behind Little Rock Hall (40 games) and Waldron (36).

A victory would be a relief, Jordan said.

"There's not a kid on our team that has ever won a high school football game," Jordan said. "They've never won. We won our scrimmage game [against Johnson County Westside]. The stands went crazy. It would be crazy if we win Friday."

LAMAR

First-quarter rampage

Lamar junior quarterback Hunter Davenport put together a game's worth of statistics in the first quarter of the Warriors' 49-22 victory over Perryville last Friday.

Davenport, 6-0, 245 pounds, ran for two touchdowns, threw for two scores and blocked a punt in the first 12 minutes.

"He's really done a great job, especially to be his first year at quarterback," Coach Josh Jones said. "He's adapted to that role well."

Davenport finished with 112 yards rushing and threw for 100 yards. He scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards and threw touchdown passes of 43 and 5 yards to Blake Kern and Cody Wyatt, respectively. Davenport has completed 20 of 28 passes for 364 yards this season and has run for 377 yards on 29 carries, an average of 13.0 yards per carry.

FOUKE

Clock game

Fouke wants to control the clock in its 6-3A Conference opener Friday night at Smackover, and the Panthers (3-0) have one of the state's top running backs who can help them fulfill that goal.

Sophomore Jarret Easley, 6-1, 180, has rushed for 599 yards and 10 touchdowns on 61 carries, averaging 199.7 yards per game.

Easley rushed for a career-high 238 yards and 5 touchdowns on 24 carries in Fouke's 44-30 victory over Dierks. He scored on runs of 36, 14, 1, 25 and 70 yards. His final two touchdowns, 25 and 70 yards, accounted for Fouke's 14-point fourth quarter that broke open a 30-30 tie.

"The kid can run," Fouke Coach Rick Barker said. "He's strong. He's put up some big numbers early."

Easley backed up Tyler Edwardes as a freshman when he rushed for more than 900 yards, Barker said.

"He's a tough kid," Barker said. "I've had some good I-backs. He's going to be special."

CONWAY CHRISTIAN

'Balanced' Eagles

Conway Christian produced a balanced passing attack in last Friday's 69-13 victory over Rose Bud.

Three Eagles players had more than 100 yards receiving as Conway Christian earned its first victory.

"That is rare," Conway Christian Coach Michael Carter said of his team's achievement. "It was good night of offense. It was one of those games where everything fell into place for us."

Junior Seth Smith, 5-7, 155, caught four passes for 151 yards including scoring passes of 84 and 17 yards. Senior Clayton Dent, 5-11, 185, had five receptions for 137 yards, including touchdown passes of 30 and 44 yards. Senior Jon Mark Wood caught six passes for 130 yards, including scores of 39 and 29 yards.

Senior quarterback Jakob Henry completed 16 of 20 passes for 419 yards and threw all 6 of the touchdown passes.

"Henry stayed poised in the pocket, which is something we've really been working on with him," Carter said. "He has had a tendency of getting a little antsy and he wants to move around a little bit too much. That's not his strong suit.

"On Friday, he did a good job of checking out of plays and staying in the pocket."

HECTOR

Long trip, good result

Hector Coach Mark Taylor said his team got everything it wanted from last Friday's 209-mile trip to south Arkansas to face 7-2A East member Strong.

"We played a type of team that we don't normally see and one that we normally don't know a whole lot about," Taylor said. "It did have a playoff-like atmosphere about it."

Hector (3-0) picked up a 39-20 victory as a bonus.

Taylor said he originally nixed the idea of making such a long trip.

"We were struggling to find a game and when [Strong Coach Craig] O'Neal called us to see about playing," Taylor said. "I said, 'No way, too far.' But the more I thought about it, I realized it could be a great experience for us.

"We got a playoff-like trip to a place we had never been."

Hector also will travel to Bearden, a 160-mile trip for the Wildcats.

"We've developed a really good relationship with the south Arkansas teams," Taylor said.

Junior quarterback Tanner Gaines ran for 152 yards and completed 8 of 15 passes for 144 yards against Strong, but he played sparingly in the second half after he took a helmet to his knee.

"He's fine," Taylor said. "He strained a patella ligament and we will be cautious with him. We need to develop a backup for him anyway."

Sports on 09/23/2015

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