CLASS 6A

Olloway goes all the way for 3 West Memphis TDs

WEST MEMPHIS -- West Memphis' Devin Olloway was too much to handle for Pine Bluff this season.

Olloway raced to two of his three touchdowns on plays of more than 40 yards to lead the Blue Devils to a 34-6 victory over Pine Bluff in the Class 6A state quarterfinals Friday.

Olloway now has 6 touchdowns and 257 rushing yards in 2 games against the Zebras this season.

"I guess I just open up the playbook for us," a smiling Olloway said. "If I do good, then it opens it up for everybody else. It really isn't all about me. It's a team effort."

West Memphis improved to 11-0 for the first time since 2005, when it advanced to the Class 5A state championship game against Springdale.

Pine Bluff (5-7) put West Memphis in an early hole when it took the opening possession 54 yards in seven plays. Elisha Taylor scored a 35-yard touchdown to give the Zebras a 6-0 lead.

That would be the extent of Pine Bluff's offensive highlights. West Memphis' defense allowed only 96 yards rushing the rest of the game and 38 yards in the air.

"We just had a lot of missed tackles," West Memphis Coach Billy Elmore said of Pine Bluff's opening drive. "Maybe it was the speed of the game that we had to get caught back up to after the off week. Maybe it was a wake-up call."

West Memphis' first score was a 25-yard field goal by Colin Clark to slice the Pine Bluff lead to 6-3.

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West Memphis junior quarterback Owens McConnell didn't throw it much, but when he did, it counted.

His second completion was a 53-yard touchdown pass to senior Jatavius Tucker to give the Blue Devils the lead for good.

Then it was mostly Olloway.

He lined up in the Wildcat formation late in the second quarter and scored a 6-yard touchdown to give his team a 15-6 lead.

He then caught the first of two screen passes from McConnell, who was 7-of-8 passing for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns, for a 55-yard touchdown to give the Blue Devils a 21-6 lead at halftime.

On the first play of the second half, Olloway took another screen to the same side of the field and outraced Pine Bluff defenders for an 82-yard touchdown.

"That definitely helped when we popped that one," Elmore said. "It didn't put the nail in the coffin, but I think it took a little wind out of [Pine Bluff's] sails."

Senior running back Latavian Thomas then got in on the big-play fun when his 30-yard touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter gave West Memphis a 34-6 lead and a touchdown on the first plays of three of the four quarters.

Sports on 11/17/2018

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