PEARCY -- Lake Hamilton rushed for six touchdowns, and the Wolves also got touchdowns from their defense and special teams in a 56-33 6A-West victory over Siloam Springs.
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Lake Hamilton rushed for 391 yards on 61 carries, with 243 yards coming in the first half, but also fumbled 10 times, losing three, which prevented the Wolves from opening a 35-point lead and starting the running clock in the second half.
Lake Hamilton didn't seal the outcome until Fay Haywood scored his fourth rushing touchdown with 2:04 left in the fourth quarter."
"I thought in the first half there were a lot of great things," Lake Hamilton Coach Jeremy Reed said. "Just disappointed in the second half in how we played because it was so sloppy."
Lake Hamilton, which led 28-7 at the half, turned two Siloam Springs turnovers into first-half touchdowns.
Siloam Springs fumbled away the game's opening possession, and Haywood's 19-yard run gave Lake Hamilton the lead.
The Wolves (4-3, 3-1) recovered an onside kick and scored on Haywood's 1-yard touchdown run to go up 14-0.
Siloam Springs made it 14-7 on Luke Lampton's 36-yard touchdown run with 2:01 left in the first quarter, but Lake Hamilton responded with a 12-play, 65-yard drive and another Haywood 1-yard touchdown run to go up 21-7.
Siloam Springs (1-6, 1-3) lost another fumble on its next drive, and Lake Hamilton scored again before halftime, this time on a 1-yard run by Johnathan Buss.
Lake Hamilton's Jacob Nichols returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown to open the second half, but Siloam Springs answered with another Lampton touchdown run to get within 35-14. The Panthers tried to onside kick, but Kanaan Williams recovered it on a bounce and returned it all the way back to go up 42-14.
The Wolves were on the verge of starting the running clock, but Juan Jackson lost a fumble out of the end zone and the Panthers held off the mercy rule.
Siloam Springs cut the lead to 49-33 in the fourth quarter after Lampton touchdown passes to Carlos Gonzales and J.D. Horn.
"I'm proud of the fight they had," Siloam Springs Coach Bryan Ross said of the Panthers, who gained a season-high 379 yards. "We're just making too many mistakes, myself included. We put ourselves in too big of a hole. It's hard to overcome against a pretty good football team when you dig yourself that big a hole."
Sports on 10/15/2016