5A-Central
MORRILTON 53, MAUMELLE 21
[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD: Full results + recaps, photos and more]
Morrilton held command almost from the start.
Led by senior quarterback Caleb Canady, the Devil Dogs scored nearly at will thoughout its 53-21 victory over the Maumelle Hornets at Hornet Stadium in Maumelle on Friday Night.
Canady played until midway through the third quarter and completed 15 of 22 passes for 196 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Morrilton (2-5, 2-2 5A-West) scored on each of its first-half possessions and was in control throughout.
"The kids are playing really well," Morrilton Coach Cody McNabb said. "This is a team that has good leadership. We're getting better every week."
"They're not complicated offensively, but what they do is execute," Maumelle Coach David Farr said. "It's typical Morrilton football. They just come right at you."
A 1-yard touchdown run by Morrilton junior running back Danny Smith opened the scoring and was followed by 8-yard touchdown pass from Canady to sophomore Dylan White and a 33-yard pass to senior Deiontae Duncan that gave the Devil Dogs a 19-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
After a 3-yard run by Smith, Morrilton's lead was 26-0 with 9:09 left in the second quarter.
Maumelle (1-3, 1-6) at last struck with an 81-yard pass from sophomore Xavion Morgan to junior Byron Wade midway through the second quarter to pull within 26-7.
Shortly after the game, coaches from both sidelines expressed admiration for Morgan's effort.
Morgan rolled to his left on the play and appeared to have at least 20 yards of open field in front of him, but as he approached the line of scrimmage, he saw that Wade had cleared Morrilton's coverage by five yards. Morgan launched a pass nearly 50 yards that met Wade in full stride.
"He just stayed with it and saw the guy come open," McNabb said. "For him to keep his eyes downfield like that, that's pretty impressive."
"I have more faith in my receivers than I do in myself, so I just threw it to him hoping he would make the play," Morgan said.
Morgan completed 11 of 27 for 27 for 272 yards and 3 touchdowns.
"Xavion's starting to get comfortable with what we're doing," Farr said. "Week by week, the people around him will start playing for him as apposed to for me. We've told him that, that you need to get the point that the guys are playing for you. I think he's doing a great job."
Morrilton, as it did throughout the half, responded to Morgan's play with a yet another touchdown, this time on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Canady to junior Laken Dillard.
Maumelle cut Morrilton's lead to 32-15 on a 1-yard shovel pass from Morgan to sophomore back Evan Robinson with 4:06 left in the half.
Canady's 11-yard touchdown pass to Dillard in the final minute gave Morrilton a 39-15 halftime lead.
Morrilton scored twice in the third quarter, on a 1-yard run by senior Oshae Erby and 24-yard pass from White to Graham Heidenreich.
Morgan's 78-yard touchdown pass to Wade completed the scoring on the first play of fourth quarter.
Sports on 10/15/2016