ROGERS -- Rogers High looked to have the momentum, scoring 20 straight points to take a lead for the first time early in the second half of its 7A-West Conference opener, but Van Buren had the answer.
Senior quarterback Christian Morrow engineered a 74-yard drive to help the Pointers regain the lead and go on to a big 30-20 win at Whitey Smith Stadium.
Van Buren 30, Rogers High 20
Van Buren 6 10 7 7 — 30
Rogers 0 13 7 0 — 20
First Quarter
Van-Rivas 4 run (Kick failed), 2:29.
Second Quarter
Van-FG Flores 22, 9:46.
Van-Morrow 12 run (Flores kick), 6:04.
Rog-Loyd 1 run (Vasquez kick), 1:58.
Rog-Gentry 2 pass from Loyd (Kick failed), :05.
Third Quarter
Rog-Loyd 2 run (Vasquez kick), 9:02.
Van-Rivas 14 run (Vasquez kick), 5:55.
Fourth Qurter
Van-Rivas 1 run (Vasquez kick), 6:26.
Van Buren (2-2, 1-0 7A-West) trailed 20-16 after Rogers took the opening drive of the second half for its first lead of the night. But the Pointers responded with a 10-play drive keyed by Morrow running and throwing the ball.
He got loose for a 23-yard gain on an option keeper and later found Jude Bartholomew for a 24-yard gain down to the Mounties' 22. Junior Brayden Rivas, who scored three touchdowns, took it from there, carrying the ball on three straight plays and covering the final 14 yards for the touchdown and the 23-20 lead with 5 minutes, 55 seconds left in the third quarter.
Van Buren first-year coach Casey Dick said his team did a good job facing adversity, after seeing an early 16-0 lead turn into a 20-16 deficit.
"The biggest things I told the guys right there is you learned how to fight, which is encouraging," Dick said. "You've got to continue to believe in each other and believe in yourself. We did a great job coming out in the second half competing our tails off. We did a great job playing together and getting a win.
"We just always responded. We've gotta be more consistent across the board, continue to work on the little things and come out here and compete every down."
The Pointers added another score in the fourth quarter keyed by Bartholomew. He got free on a 29-yard gain on a reverse and snatched a pass from Morrow for a 20-yard gain down the Mounties 1. Rivas finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown run to set the final score with 6:36 left in the game.
Rogers coach Mike Loyd said his team didn't have the maturity to put the game away when it had momentum on its side.
"Your good, competitive teams, that's when you put the pedal down," Loyd said. "You figure out a way to win a ballgame. We're not there yet, obviously. That showed tonight."
Rogers (1-2, 0-1) got the momentum by scoring 13 points in the waning minutes of the first half keyed by Logan Watkins' interception with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the half.
Mounties quarterback Hunter Loyd got the Mounties on the board with a 1-yard keeper, making it 16-7 with 1:58 left. But Watkins gave Rogers the ball back 39 seconds later.
The Mounties converted two fourth downs and overcame a false start penalty to score on Loyd's 2-yard pass to Braden Gentry with five seconds left in the half.
The Pointers jumped to a 16-0 lead turning a pair of short drives into touchdowns thanks to good kick returns. Rivas capped a 56-yard drive with a 4-yard run, but the PAT attempt was wide. Junior David Evans picked off a Loyd pass at the Pointers 1 and returned it all the way to the Mounties' 17, which led to a 22-yard field goal by Chris Flores, pushing the lead to 9-0 with 9 minutes, 46 seconds left in the second quarter.
Landry Wilkerson returned a kick all the way to the Rogers 24. Van Buren took only three plays to go 24 yards as Morrow kept from 12 yards out for the touchdown for a 16-0 lead with 6:04 left in the first half.
Sports on 09/22/2018