BRYANT -- The Bryant Hornets weren't as sharp early on as Coach Buck James wanted them to be on Friday night against Little Rock Catholic, but he didn't have much room to argue afterward.
The second-ranked Hornets racked up 581 yards held the Rockets in check for most of the second half to cruise to a 49-17 victory in 7A-Central Conference play.
"We're on task for what we want to do," James said. "I'd like for us to play better, but you can't argue with the results. [Catholic] is a good football team. They've played everybody well so you've gotta give them their due. But we got going there a little bit on offense and played well on defense, and it was enough to get us this victory."
Junior quarterback Ren Hefley completed 21 of 35 passes for 317 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception while junior running back Latavion Scott carried 20 times for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Hornets (5-0, 2-0 7A-Central), who've beaten the Rockets in eight of their past nine meetings.
[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD: Live updates and scores from tonight’s games]
Junior running back Samy Johnson ran 14 times for 134 yards and 1 touchdown for Catholic (2-3, 0-2), which finished with 250 yards of offense but had just 96 in the second half.
Catholic had chances to put Bryant in a hole early.
The Rockets went three-and-out on the game's first possession but recovered a fumbled punt at the Hornets' 26. Four plays later, senior quarterback Jake James found junior wide receiver William Plafcan for a 10-yard touchdown to give Catholic a 7-0 lead.
Bryant gained 6 yards total on its first two drives, and the Hornets were fortunate it didn't turn out worse as Catholic dropped two surefire interceptions.
The Hornets needed three plays to move 71 yards on their third drive, getting a 39-yard touchdown pass from Hefley to senior wide receiver Brandon Murray with 3:21 left in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7.
The Hornets scored two touchdowns in a one-minute span to take the lead.
Hefley threw his second touchdown pass with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter when he found junior wide receiver Randy Thomas for an 18-yard touchdown to cap a seven-play, 61-yard drive.
Bryant caught a break on the Rockets' next offensive snap when junior defensive lineman Joshua Salgueiro recovered a fumble by Catholic senior running back Luke Schildknecht. The turnover led to Scott's 1-yard score to put the Hornets up 21-7.
Catholic responded behind Johnson, who took a pitch from James and raced 78 yards for a touchdown.
But Bryant answered right back by marching 80 yards in 12 plays, with senior wide receiver Ja'kalon Pittman getting a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Hornets a 28-14 lead.
Catholic made it 28-17 at halftime when senior Christopher Elser kicked a 54-yard field goal with 1:25 to go in the period.
"We had some opportunities early, and you've got to be able to cash them in, especially against a team as good as Bryant," Catholic Coach John Fogleman said. "Every time it seemed like we had them in a third-and-long situation, they made a big play. We battled and battled, but they did a good job of mixing things up."
Bryant pushed its lead to 18 on Scott's 9-yard score with 9:13 left in the third quarter.
Catholic moved deep into Hornets' territory on the following possession, but Salgueiro intercepted a James' pass at the 13 to end the threat.
That was a close as the Rockets would come to scoring for the remainder of the game.
Murray added an 89-yard touchdown catch, where he pulled it in with one hand, and sophomore running back Ahmad Adams had a 15-yard scoring run with 2:15 left in the game.
Sports on 09/30/2017