Class 3A

Colts bottle up Eagles

MAYFLOWER -- Rivercrest had too many horses for Mayflower to corral Friday night.

Jamyka Franks and Demilon Brown combined for five touchdowns and 308 rushing yards as the Colts rolled to a 41-14 victory in the Class 3A quarterfinals over the Eagles at Patrick Stadium.

Franks, a 5-9 senior fullback, scored on runs of 1, 1, 2 and 90 yards, finishing the night with 17 carries and 142 yards. Brown, the Colts' 6-2 junior quarterback, scored on a 53-yard run and collected 166 yards on 14 carries. All totaled, Rivercrest (11-2) racked up 475 yards, 396 of which came on the ground.

"We pride ourselves with the strength of our offensive line," Rivercrest Coach Kelly Chandler said. "We tell them every week they're the best guys in Arkansas. They just have to prove it every time. I don't know if they are the best, but we tell them they are."

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Rivercrest will host McGehee in next week's semifinals.

Deon Simmons, who led Mayflower (11-1) with 225 yards on 38 carries, scored on a 4-yard run and on a two-point conversion run with 1:57 left in the opening quarter to give the Eagles an 8-7 lead.

The Eagles' lead vanished on the Colts' ensuing drive. Rivercrest responded by marching 60 yards on 11 plays, taking the lead for good at 14-8 on the second 1-yard run by Franks with 8:37 left in the half.

The game's telling blow came eight minutes later. Facing a third and 14 at the Mayflower 27, Rivercrest freshman quarterback Kamron Turner hit junior Kaleb Long in the right corner of the end zone to increase the Colts' lead to 21-8 with 26 seconds remaining.

"Our [defender] was there but we couldn't make the play," Mayflower Coach Todd Langrell said. "It was a deal where we've got to be smarter than that, and we've got to make the play."

Turner and Long also had connected for a 39-yard pass on the Colts' first drive to set up Rivercrest's first touchdown three minutes into the game.

"Any time you can score right before the half, it's going to give you some momentum," Chandler said. "I thought that was big. ... And it was covered. [Long] just made a good play. It was a nice play, and I was proud of him."

Rivercrest never attempted a pass in the second half, rolling up all of its 298 yards on the ground in the final two quarters.

Brown compiled 148 rushing yards in the second half, scoring his lone touchdown with 4:59 left in the third quarter to increase Rivercrest's lead to 28-8. He also had a 50-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to set up the third touchdown for Franks.

"[Brown is] the best," said Franks, whose career-best 90-yard run came with 1:15 remaining. "Running, passing, everything. He does it all."

Mayflower capped the scoring with 15 seconds left on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Sean Harris to Houston Cochran.

While Simmons was involved in 39 of the Eagles' 62 offensive snaps, the 5-6 junior speedster was never able to break off a long touchdown run. His longest run was 38 yards in the first half, which set up his 4-yard touchdown.

Simmons entered the game leading the state in touchdowns.

"Rivercrest has a very, very good football team and they are coached very well," Langrell said. "They had some pursuit from the backside where we haven't had that issue all year long. That was the difference in the ballgame. They're defensive front played very well."

Sports on 11/25/2017

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