Little Rock Parkview is 1-0 in conference play for the first time in 12 seasons, using a 41-point first half to pull away from Mills 67-26 on Thursday night at War Memorial Stadium.
Before Thursday's 5A-Central Conference opener, Parkview (2-2, 1-0) had not won a league opener since 2005 when it defeated Little Rock Hall in a AAAAA-Central game.
"I'm really pleased with where we're progressing," Parkview Coach Brad Bolding said. "We are moving in the direction we need to move in to be a very good football team, either this year or in the future. There's groundwork being laid right now for the future of this program."
Parkview led 41-12 at halftime, outgaining the Comets 359-124. The Patriots, who totalled 484 yards offensively, snapped a two-game losing streak after losses to Benton 39-25 on Sept. 8 and at North Little Rock 29-20 on Friday.
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"It's been tough the last two weeks," junior quarterback Geary Allmon said. "We've came close both times. But this is our game. This is what we're going to do."
Allmon passed for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Joe Howard caught 2 passes for 82 yards and 1 touchdown and threw for a score. Senior running back Tyrell Hadley finished with 60 rushing yards and caught a 29-yard touchdown pass.
Mills (1-3, 0-1) was led by senior quarterback Taydrean Ford, who passed for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Senior running back Pernell Bobo accounted for three touchdowns, including two receiving and one rushing.
With 9:28 left in the first quarter, Parkview took a 7-0 lead as Allmon threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Howard.
Mills responded with Ford's 7-yard touchdown pass to senior running back Corbin Humphrey. But Comets senior kicker Joseph Nizama missed the extra point, leaving the score 7-6 with 5:48 remaining in the first quarter.
Senior running back Trevon Hadley scored from 13 yards out with 1:15 remaining in the quarter to give Parkview a 14-6 lead. Mills junior Malik Bean fumbled the ensuing kickoff at the Comets 29 and Parkview junior Leonard Elbeke recovered. One play later, Howard threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Hadley for a 20-6 lead with 1:01 left in the first quarter.
"Coach drew it up for me," Howard said. "I had to show them I was versatile. It was a good play."
The Patriots extended their lead with 9:58 remaining in the second quarter. Allmon threw a 62-yard touchdown pass over the middle to freshman Erin Outley and Howard's two-point reception made it 28-6.
Senior running back Zach Smith's 2-yard touchdown run stretched the Parkview lead to 35-6 with 7:14 left before halftime. After Parkview stopped Bobo on fourth down, the Patriots drove 88 yards in seven plays, with sophomore Jonathan Campos capping the drive with a 44-yard touchdown run as he eluded three defenders, making it 41-6 with 2:16 left in the second quarter.
Bobo scored from 2 yards out with 57 seconds remaining in the first half to pull Mills within 41-12.
With a 41-20 lead, Hadley returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and Campo's two scoring runs of 3 yards apiece gave the Patriots a 60-20 lead at the end of the third quarter. The remainder of the game was played under the Arkansas Activities Association's sportsmanship rule.
Parkview is at Little Rock Fair on Sept. 29, while Mills hosts Little Rock McClellan.
Sports on 09/22/2017