Morrilton was in first place in the 5A-West Conference after the league's second week of games Sept. 30.
But on Oct. 5, the school self-reported an ineligible player to the Arkansas Activities Association and forfeited four victories -- Little Rock Fair, Searcy, Harrison and Greenbrier. With the forfeits, the Devil Dogs fell to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the 5A-West. Coach Cody McNabb declined to name the ineligible player.
ALL-ARKANSAS PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Day’s big night helps Wildcats stay perfect
North Little Rock senior running back Alex Day is this week’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps Player of the Week.
Day rushed for 305 yards and 3 touchdowns on 18 carries in the Charging Wildcats’ 66-24 victory at Little Rock Catholic on Friday. He scored on runs of 13, 80 and 61 yards.
North Little Rock trailed 7-0 early before Day scored his first touchdown from 13 yards out that tied the game at 7-7 with 7:42 left in the first quarter.
With 9:09 remaining before halftime, Day ran 80 yards for his second touchdown of the game, extending North Little Rock’s lead to 21-10.
Day added a 61-yard run with 10:49 left to help the Charging Wildcats stretch their lead to 56-24.
Day will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s luncheon Oct. 31 at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock along with the All-Arkansas Preps’ Week 8 Player of the Week. Central Arkansas Coach Steve Campbell is the guest speaker.
— Jeremy Muck
Since the forfeits, Morrilton (2-5, 2-2) has won two consecutive, defeating Alma 28-26 on Oct. 7 and winning at Maumelle 53-21 on Friday. Greenbrier (6-1) leads the 5A-West at 4-0 followed by Harrison (6-1) and Alma (4-3) at 3-1. Morrilton and Farmington (3-4) are tied at 2-2 in the conference.
McNabb said the situation has brought his team together.
"It's almost provided us with a chip on the shoulder," McNabb said. "As long as we can win games, we'll end up in the playoffs.
"The leadership has been there for us. The community has really rallied around this team. We traveled and had really good support before that [the forfeits]. It's a neat deal to see."
Morrilton's offense has been led by senior quarterback Caleb Canady. Canady has completed 96 of 144 passes for 1,402 yards with 18 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He passed for 222 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Devil Dogs' victory at Maumelle.
McNabb said balance has been key for Morrilton this season.
"Caleb is playing at a high level," McNabb said. "He's got two of the better receivers in the state in Deiontae Duncan and Grahm Heidenreich. Danny Smith and Oshae Erby have ran the ball well."
Morrilton, which is the No. 3 team in this week's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Class 5A Super Six, has a small margin of error thanks to the forfeits. The top four teams from the 5A-West reach the Class 5A playoffs.
"Our backs are against the wall," McNabb said. "If we lose a game, we could be out. We're in a position where we've got to win."
BLYTHEVILLE
Clark OK
One of the state's top running backs is good to go for Friday night.
Blytheville senior running back Demekko Clark injured his left shin in the Chickasaws' 52-14 victory over Valley View at home Friday night. A Valley View player hit Clark with his facemask and Clark was taken out of the game for precautionary reasons.
But Coach Ben Fisher said Wednesday that Clark is fine and will play Friday night at Batesville. The Chickasaws back practiced Monday and Tuesday and went full speed Wednesday, Fisher said.
Clark left Friday's game with 58 yards and 1 touchdown on 16 carries. He has 1,226 yards and 17 touchdowns on 125 carries this season.
"Anytime he touches the football, he has the potential to make something big happen," Fisher said. "You can't arm tackle him. You have to gang tackle him. He's always a threat to score when he touches the football."
Fisher said Clark has been recruited by Mississippi and Southern Miss along with Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin. Central Arkansas also has been in contact with Clark, Fisher added.
Blytheville (5-2) is in a three-way tie for second place in the 5A-East at 3-1 with Batesville (4-3, 3-1) and Forrest City (5-2, 3-1). The Chickasaws will meet head-to-head with Batesville and Forrest City over the next three games. They'll travel to Batesville on Friday and after hosting Paragould on Oct. 28, they finish the regular season at Forrest City on Nov. 4.
"It's a tough stretch," Fisher said. "Those are the teams that we're jockeying for playoff position with.
"We'll find out what we're made of."
JUNCTION CITY
Dragons on roll
Junction City Coach David Carpenter believes his team is coming together at the right time.
The Dragons (5-2, 4-0 6-3A Conference) have won four consecutive after starting 1-2 with losses to Class 2A England and Haynesville, La. They have outscored their 6-3A opponents 134-47, which includes an 18-0 shutout at Fouke on Oct. 7.
"We've had a lot of ups and downs through the year," Carpenter said. "I hope that we're starting to find our true indentity on what we are and what we're doing. We have a lot of young guys. We only have eight seniors on the team. That means a lot of younger guys are playing. This far into the season, they're not sophomores and juniors anymore. They're all uppers.
"We're starting to feel better with what we're doing in all three phases of the game."
However, Junction City will be without its top offensive player, senior running back Demontauz Gray, who is no longer with the program, Carpenter said. He rushed for 1,088 yards and 14 touchdowns on 140 carries in 7 games. Carpenter did not disclose why Gray is no longer with the program.
Carpenter said C.J. Johnson and Hishmma Taylor will fill in at running back for Gray. Johnson started last season at running back, but was moved to wide receiver this season. He will still play receiver, Carpenter said, in addition to running back.
Junction City travels to Smackover on Friday night. It's a game that Carpenter always looks forward to playing.
"It's a close game. It's a rivalry game," Carpenter said. "All the parents work together. That adds a little more excitement into it. It's always a good game to get out and play in."
On Monday, Louisiana Tech Coach Skip Holtz announced in a statement that sophomore running back Jaqwis Dancy, a former standout running back at Junction City, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Dancy, 19, rushed for 5,370 yards and 61 touchdowns for Junction City in 2012-2014 and helped lead the Dragons to three consecutive Class 2A state championships.
"Our prayers are with him and his family," Carpenter said. "It's a strange deal. You just don't think about that happening to young people. I know it does. But you don't think about it."
Carpenter said Dancy has made several visits to Junction City since graduating from high school.
"He's a good young man," Carpenter said. "He's always worked at all of his things. He's just a fine guy. He always tried to do everything that was right. His mama made sure of all of those things."
EXTRA POINTS
Six teams in the Democrat-Gazette's Overall Top 10 are facing each other head-to-head Friday. No. 1 Springdale Har-Ber (6-1, 4-0 7A-West) hosts No. 3 Fayetteville (6-1, 4-0) in a rematch of last year's Class 7A state championship game. No. 2 North Little Rock (7-0, 4-0) heads west to face No. 7 Fort Smith Northside (5-1, 4-0). No. 9 Bryant (5-2, 3-1 7A-Central) is at home against No. 8 Cabot (6-1, 3-1). ... Little Rock Central wide receiver Marlo Thompson caught 10 passes for 128 yards and 1 touchdown last Friday in a 20-17 loss at Cabot. Quarterback Jacob Howard passed for 311 yards and 2 touchdowns. ... Stuttgart quarterback Michael Smith passed for 327 yards and 5 touchdowns in the Ricebirds' 51-20 victory last Friday at Riverview. Smith has completed 65 of 108 passes for 1,300 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Stuttgart (4-3, 3-1 2-4A) hosts Helena-West Helena on Friday.
Sports on 10/20/2016