Malvern senior quarterback Demias Jimerson was a one-man show Friday at Hot Springs Lakeside.
Jimerson accounted for 529 yards and 7 touchdowns in the Leopards' 67-58 victory over the Rams at Austin Field.
Malvern (1-2) trailed Lakeside (0-3) 28-22 at halftime, but outscored the Rams 45-30 in the second half, with Jimerson being a part of five touchdowns in the final two quarters.
Jimerson rushed for 404 yards and 6 touchdowns on 24 carries and completed 13 of 20 passes for 125 yards and 1 touchdown. He had scoring runs of 65 yards in the first quarter, 11 yards in the second quarter, 30, 39 and 24 yards in the third quarter and 69 yards in the fourth quarter. His passing touchdown was a 47-yarder in the third quarter to Darion Weaver.
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"It was like watching a video game," Malvern Coach Mike Scarbrough said.
For his efforts, Jimerson is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps player of the week for Week Three. He will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday. Wisconsin Athletic Director and former Badgers coach Barry Alvarez is the special guest.
Of Jimerson's seven touchdowns, it was his third touchdown of the third quarter that impressed Scarborough the most.
Malvern, which was leading 44-42, had fourth and 4 at the Lakeside 24. But Jimerson overcame a bad snap and eluded seven Lakeside defenders to reach the end zone. Jordan Hart's two-point conversion run extended Malvern's lead to 52-42 with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter.
"It was a bad snap," Scarbrough said. "They had a free runner. He made a guy miss in the backfield. He made a guy miss on the edge.
"A lot of the night, we did a good job blocking for him. But that was just a great individual play."
Jimerson has rushed for 671 yards and 9 touchdowns on 48 carries in 3 games. He has passed for 403 yards and 3 touchdowns and has returned a kick for another score.
"He's a very versatile young man," Scarbrough said. "He could play defensive back for us every snap, too, but we can't afford to have him play defense."
Malvern travels to Bauxite (2-1) on Friday for its 7-4A Conference opener.
MELBOURNE
Sophomores lead charge
Melbourne's 3-0 start can be traced to its sophomore quarterback.
The Class 3A Bearkatz are led by Gabe Lawrence, who has completed 75 of 110 passes for 1,011 yards with 14 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Melbourne has defeated Corning, Cave City and Salem to open its season.
Lawrence, 6-foot-3, 155 pounds, completed 24 of 41 passes for 274 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in the Bearkatz' 36-21 victory over Salem on Friday.
"He's a 10th-grader, but he's a very accurate kid," Melbourne Coach Kevin McCarn said. "He does a really good job of getting the ball out of his hand quickly."
Melbourne starts five sophomores on offense, including Lawrence and wide receiver Alex Bray (15 receptions, 264 yards 1 touchdown) and Hunter Jennings (14 receptions, 199 yards, 6 touchdowns).
McCarn has been pleased with his younger players, but with the 1-3A Conference schedule beginning Friday at Mountain View, he hopes his team is ready for that challenge.
"It's not always going to go right," McCarn said. "It would be nice if it did. But there are going to be ups and downs.
"Our kids like each other. They're good kids. They play hard for each other."
LITTLE ROCK McCLELLAN
Home game moved
Little Rock McClellan Coach Maurice Moody said Wednesday that the team's scheduled home game Friday against Sylvan Hills has been moved from Lion Stadium to Little Rock Fair's War Eagle Stadium because of field conditions.
The game was scheduled to be the first home game for McClellan (2-1) this season after the Lions played their first three games at Sheridan, North Little Rock and Little Rock Hall.
Little Rock School District Athletic Director John Daniels said the field at McClellan could have been ready for play Friday, but that he did not want to risk player safety.
Daniels added that the district will install more sod on the field to attempt to get it in a playable condition.
McClellan's next home game at Lion Stadium is scheduled for Oct. 6 against Little Rock Fair. The Crimson Lions are at Mills on Sept. 29.
EXTRA POINTS
Springdale senior defensive end Isaiah Nichols has recorded 27 tackles, including 11 tackles for a loss, 22 quarterback hurries and 6 1/2 sacks for the Bulldogs, who are 3-0 entering their 7A-West Conference opener Friday at Rogers Heritage. Nichols has orally committed to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. ... Little Rock Christian is 3-0 for the second time in three seasons. The Warriors have been led by senior quarterback Jackson Bowersock, who has completed 51 of 75 passes for 629 yards with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Junior wide receiver Justice Hill has accounted for 7 touchdowns -- 4 rushing, 2 passing and 1 receiving. Sophomore running back Kendall Givens has 6 rushing touchdowns. Defensively, junior linebacker Grant McElmurry has a team-high 37 tackles with 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. Senior defensive back Davis Lee leads the Warriors with two interceptions. ... Friday's 6A-West Conference game between Russellville and Benton will be the teams' 50th meeting. Benton holds a 25-20-4 advantage. The teams first played at Russellville in 1925 and played every year between 1934-1980 with the exceptions of 1950-1951 and 1970-1971.
Sports on 09/21/2017