Little Rock Central did just enough good things to shock Cabot 16-14 on homecoming night at Quigley Stadium.
The Tigers (2-5, 1-3 7A-Central) won despite two interceptions and a fumble in the end zone. They used a pitch-and-catch game by quarterback Jacob Howard and two receivers, and timely running by junior Keylin Holloway for the victory.
Howard finished 26-of-38 passing for 284 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dajuan Brewer caught 9 for 129 yards, and Donald Richardson caught 11 for 102 yards. Holloway added 137 yards on 24 carries.
Despite all the offensive power, it came down to D.J. Farris, a 5-5 defensive back, recovering a Cabot fumble on the Central 43 in the final minute.
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"We thought we could [throw it] on them," Tigers Coach Scooter Register said. ""We have really good skill people, and we have a quarterback who can get the ball to them. We still make a couple of mistakes, and we were able to overcome that."
The Tigers took the opening kickoff and covered 93 yards to grab the lead. Howard hit Chris Sanders with a 4-yard scoring pass, and sophomore Keeling Baker kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Cabot (4-3, 2-2) answered. Adam Flores scored from the 2 on a drive sparked by junior Tommy Oaks' 33-yard run.
Baker's 36-yard field goal gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter.
With 35 seconds left before the half, Howard connected with sophomore TJ Pennington for a 34-yard score. Baker's PAT hit the upright, making it 16-7 at the half.
Cabot got back in the game on a 59-yard run by junior Tadariyan Rogers, and Bryce Billings made his second PAT to make it 16-14.
"You know what you have got to do to beat Cabot,'' Register said. "You really can't make a lot of mistakes. We told them all week if we could get up two scores on them we felt like we had a chance.
"Our favorite word for this is slobber knocker. That's what it is going to be when you play Cabot."
The Panthers lost a scoring opportunity when Oaks fumbled at the 1 into the end zone when Cabot was about to take the lead late in the second quarter. Central drove 80 yard for its second touchdown after that turnover.
The Panthers' Lucas Crumbly and Austin Swackhammer had end-zone interceptions, and Jesse Windemaker recovered a fumble in the end zone.
Sports on 10/14/2017