North Little Rock continued its dominance in the 7A-Central Conference on Friday night.
The Charging Wildcats, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's No. 2 team overall, improved to 7-0 with a 51-17 rout of Little Rock Catholic on homecoming at Charging Wildcat Stadium in North Little Rock.
North Little Rock, 4-0 in the 7A-Central Conference along with Bryant, finished with 566 yards. The Charging Wildcats are 11-0 in the conference since joining the league in 2016 and have not lost a conference game since its 7A/6A-East opening loss to Cabot in September 2015.
Senior quarterback David Chapple completed 8 of 12 passes for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running backs Brandon Thomas and Oscar Adaway combined for 130 yards. Thomas, a sophomore, had 78 yards and 1 touchdown on 8 carries while Adaway, a junior, had 52 yards on 8 attempts. Tyler Day, also a junior, finished with 47 yards and 2 touchdowns on 5 carries.
[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD: Full results + recaps, photos and more]
"We got so many pieces," North Little Rock Coach Jamie Mitchell said. "We're hard to defend. We got wideouts who can play. We got running backs who can run the football. Our quarterback is getting better by leaps and bounds."
North Little Rock's defense held Little Rock Catholic (3-4, 1-3) to 270 yards and limited junior running back Samy Johnson. Johnson, who entered Friday's game with 906 yards and 8 touchdowns, had minus-2 yards at halftime and finished with 21 yards on 11 carries, his lowest total of the season.
"They're a good ballclub," Catholic Coach John Fogleman said. "You've got to play perfect. When we made mistakes, they would turn them into huge plays."
The Charging Wildcats jumped out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead.
Day capped North Little Rock's 11-play, 80-yard drive to open the game with a 6-yard scoring run that made it 6-0 with 7:17 left in the first quarter.
Senior Savana Melton kicked a 26-yard field goal with 3:05 left in the first quarter to give North Little Rock a 9-0 lead.
After a Catholic punt, Chapple found senior Deontae Montgomery for an 81-yard touchdown, and Adaway's two-point conversion run extended North Little Rock's lead to 17-0 with 20 seconds to play in the quarter.
Thomas' 20-yard run with 10:39 left in the second quarter stretched the lead to 24-0.
Catholic senior quarterback Jake James threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver William Plafcan to pull the Rockets within 24-7 with 10:26 to play in the half.
But North Little Rock responded, with Chapple's 64-yard touchdown pass to junior Andrew Martin and Day's 6-yard scoring run making it 38-7 with 4:14 left in the second quarter.
"It was a big-time play," Mitchell said of Chapple's scoring pass to Martin. "He knew where it was and where it was supposed to go. That's the growth we're starting to see in him that's going to make him a very special player."
The Charging Wildcats invoked the Arkansas Activities Association's sportsmanship rule with 10:13 to play in the third quarter when Chapple threw his third touchdown pass of the game, this one a 34-yarder to senior Aaron Griffin that stretched the lead to 45-7.
Also for North Little Rock, sophomore backup Abram Terry had 89 yards and a 66-yard touchdown run on 8 carries, all in the second half.
James, in addition to his touchdown pass in the first quarter, added a 1-yard run in the second half. Senior kicker Chris Elser made a 34-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for the Rockets.
Sports on 10/14/2017