The Little Rock Parkview Patriots followed a balanced offensive attack to a 35-14 victory over the Beebe Badgers at War Eagle Stadium in Little Rock on Friday night.
Junior quarterback Geary Allmon passed for 174 yards and 3 touchdowns and senior running back Zachery Smith rushed for 103 yards and 1 touchdown to help Parkview (4-2, 3-0 5A-Central) take control early. Beebe (2-4, 0-3) responded with a burst in the second quarter, but Parkview regained momentum after halftime and maintained it to the finish.
"I thought our quarterback handled the ball well, and our receivers got the ball when we needed them to," Parkview Coach Brad Bolding said. "And Zach, he's a tough runner. We were really proud of the way he ran tonight."
Parkview's lead was 27-14 after Smith's 19-yard touchdown run with 5:04 left in the third quarter. Allmon's 3-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Erin Outley completed the scoring late in the fourth quarter after a Beebe turnover at the Parkview 5.
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The first turnover of the game led to the first score.
Beebe senior defensive back Connor Bieker intercepted Allmon's pass and returned it 32 yards to the Parkview 19. Three plays later, junior running back Taylor Boyce scored on a 5-yard run to give Beebe a 7-0 lead in the second minute of the game.
"Beebe made a good play, but our kids have been coached about how to overcome adversity and how to deal with it," Bolding said. "They've done it all year."
Boyce rushed for 131 yards on 24 carries.
"He's probably our best pure football player," Beebe Coach John Shannon said. "He can do a lot of different things, and we try to get the ball to him as much as we can."
Added Bolding: "[Boyce] is a good one, a real good one. We knew we were going to have to put our focus on him."
Parkview responded in a hurry with a six-play drive completed with Allmon's 14-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Joe Howard that tied the score with 8:20 left in the first quarter.
Parkview's lead was 13-7 late in the first quarter after junior slot receiver Leonard Elbeke's 17-yard misdirection run.
A 37-yard touchdown pass from Allmon to Smith and a two-point conversion pass to senior Tyrell Hadley gave Parkview a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
Beebe senior quarterback C.J. Cauldwell threw one pass in the first half. It went for 15 yards and a touchdown to put the Badgers within 21-14 with 5:01 left.
"We could see on tape how good Parkview is," Shannon said. "Coach Bolding is doing a great job over there, and they have some great athletes. He's definitely got them going in the right direction."
Sports on 10/07/2017