Charging Wildcats ramp up run game

NO. 3 NORTH LITTLE ROCK 31, LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 20

Defending conference champion North Little Rock had three players rush for at least 100 yards in a 31-20 victory over Little Rock Central in the 7A-Central opener on a sticky Friday night at Quigley Stadium at Bernie Cox Field in Little Rock.

The Charging Wildcats (4-0) recorded their 10th consecutive victory over the Tigers (1-3), their 14th consecutive conference victory and the team's 20th consecutive regular-season triumph.

Central led 20-17 at halftime but was overwhelmed in the second half as North Little Rock rushed for 290 yards to finish with 444 on 50 attempts.

"They're my kind of old school kind of football -- line up and run right at 'em," Central Coach Ellis "Scooter" Register said.

[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD: Full results + recaps, photos and more]

Junior tailback Oscar Adaway, who played for Central and as a freshman and sophomore, ran 15 times for 155 yards and 1 touchdown and also caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback David Chapple late in the first quarter.

Sophomore tailback Brandon Thomas ran 12 times for 127 yards and a 17-yard touchdown that stretched North Little Rock's lead to 31-20 with 9:29 remaining in the game.

Junior fullback Tyler Day ran 12 times for 100 yards, including the go-ahead 1-yard touchdown with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter.

Chapple added 63 rushing yards on nine carries.

North Little Rock, which lost fumbles at the Central 4 and 1, finished with 473 total yards.

"Really, really proud of our offensive line," Charging Wildcats Coach Jamie Mitchell said. "We've got three really good running backs. That's one of our strengths."

Senior Savana Melton was 4 of 4 on extra-point attempts and kicked a 31-yard field goal for a 10-7 North Little Rock lead with 11:48 remaining in the first half.

Central senior quarterback Jacob Howard completed 14 of 31 passes for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Junior wide receiver Demarcus Yancy had 6 receptions for 84 yards and a 12-yard touchdown that gave Central a 14-10 lead with 6:03 remaining in the first half.

After Adaway ran 44 yards for a touchdown at 3:43, Howard's 1-yard scoring run with 11 seconds remaining in the second quarter gave the Tigers a 20-17 halftime lead.

Central opened the game with a 13-play, 74-yard drive, capped by Howard's 37-yard pass to senior wide receiver Donald Richardson with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter.

The Tigers managed only 50 total yards in the final 24 minutes.

"They did wear us down in the second half," Register said. "But our guys did play hard."

Sports on 09/23/2017

Upcoming Events