LR CHRISTIAN 43, WARREN 28
In his first varsity football game, Justice Hill made his mark in Little Rock Christian's season-opening victory over the defending Class 4A state champions Tuesday night.
The Warriors all-purpose player accounted for 204 yards of offense in a 43-28 victory over Warren at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Hill, an oral commitment for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville's men's basketball program in the Class of 2019, rushed for 110 yards and 3 touchdowns (on runs of 1, 2 and 65 yards) on 12 carries and completed 4 of 6 passes for 94 yards and a 40-yard first-half touchdown pass.
Little Rock Christian Coach Eric Cohu, coaching in his first game with the Warriors after being hired in April to replace Jeff Weaver, was proud of Hill's efforts after he started practicing with the team July 31.
"Justice Hill is a phenomenal athlete," said Cohu of Hill, whose first position is as a wide receiver. "I know he's got a great basketball resume, but his football resume is going to be building as we go. He can play corner. He can play safety. He can play wide receiver. He can play quarterback.
"He's just a really great athlete. I've coached a lot of future SEC football players, and he can definitely play on the next level. He did make some big plays."
Warren Coach Bo Hembree's team defeated Little Rock Christian a year ago, but Hill was a difference-maker for the Warriors on Tuesday.
"We hadn't seen him play," Hembree said. "He's a heck of an athlete. He ran around and did some good things."
Defensively, the Warriors held the Lumberjacks to one touchdown in the second half and junior wide receiver Treylon Burks to three receptions for 23 yards.
"Our defense last year struggled to stop people," Cohu said. "We rose up and held an explosive team to two or three big plays. I'm really proud of our defense."
The Warriors trailed 20-13 at halftime. With senior quarterback Jackson Bowersock (10-of-14 passing, 126 yards) injuring his right hand in the first half, Cohu turned to Hill to take over at quarterback.
Hill ran for 65 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown to pull Little Rock Christian within 20-19 with 3:47 remaining in the third quarter.
After a Warren three-and-out, Little Rock Christian took the lead and never relinquished it.
Senior running back Ladarius Burnes, who finished with 106 yards on 13 carries, rushed for 37 yards to the Warren 26. Four plays later, junior wide receiver Chris Hightower ran 13 yards for a touchdown and Hill's two-point conversion pass to Burnes was good, giving the Warriors a 27-20 lead at the end of the third quarter.
With 7:55 left to play, Hill scored from 2 yards out and his two-point conversion pass to senior wide receiver Trey Harris extended the Warriors' lead to 35-20.
Warren cut the lead to 35-28 with 3:40 remaining on junior quarterback J'Malachi Kinnard's 20-yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back Vincent Steppes and his two-point conversion pass to Steppes. The Warriors sealed the victory with Hightower's 15-yard touchdown run and Burnes' two-point conversion run to make it 43-28 with 2:28 left to play.
Kinnard, in his first varsity start, completed 11 of 21 passes for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns. Steppes rushed for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries.
Sports on 08/30/2017