Kareame Cotton was determined to get to his third consecutive Class 7A state championship game.
The North Little Rock quarterback scored from 32 yards out with 17 seconds remaining to lift the Charging Wildcats to a 49-42 victory over Cabot in a Class 7A semifinal game Friday night at Charging Wildcat Stadium in North Little Rock.
"That touchdown made us have another week of football," Cotton said. "I had to do whatever I could to win."
North Little Rock (11-1) will play in its fifth Class 7A state championship game in a row with Friday's victory. The Charging Wildcats will face two-time defending state champion Bryant for the third consecutive year at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock at noon Dec. 5.
"These players continued to fight all night," Charging Wildcats Coach J.R. Eldridge said. "We knew we were going to be in for a battle. Those guys have gotten better every single game since we played them last time.
"Our players did a great job of being a second-half team."
Cotton accounted for six touchdowns for the Charging Wildcats. He completed 17 of 23 passes for 358 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception, while rushing for 88 yards and 3 touchdowns on 11 carries.
"I told him after the game, 'Outstanding game,' " Eldridge said. "Unbelievable performance. He took over at the end of the game. I was extremely proud of him."
The game was tied at 42-42 with 1:31 left to play when Cotton led the Charging Wildcats on the game-winning drive.
Cotton threw a 12-yard pass on third-and-nine to Felix Wade with less than a minute remaining to give the Charging Wildcats a first down at the Cabot 49.
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Two plays later, Cotton broke free down the right sideline for his third rushing touchdown of the game.
Cabot had an opportunity to tie the game late, but quarterback Tyler Gee's pass to wide receiver Kyler Carmack fell incomplete and North Little Rock's sideline erupted off the sidelines.
Gee completed 26 of 36 passes for 492 yards with 4 touchdowns and an interception for Cabot (8-4). He also rushed for a touchdown.
Cabot and North Little Rock entered the fourth quarter tied at 28-28.
Cotton's 1-yard touchdown run with 9:48 left to play gave North Little Rock a 35-28 lead.
North Little Rock's Zaylan Robinson intercepted Gee at the Charging Wildcats' 5, but he fumbled and Braden Jay recovered at the 4 to give the Panthers the ball back. One play later, Gee threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Carmack to tie the game at 35-35 with 6:28 remaining.
With 4:57 remaining, Cotton scored from nine yards out for a 42-35 lead.
The Panthers tied the game again, this time at 42-42 with 1:32 left to play on Jacob Parks' 2-yard touchdown run.
It was 7-0 North Little Rock at the end of the first quarter, but the game was tied at 21-21 at halftime.
Torrance Moore's 15-yard run gave North Little Rock a 28-21 lead with 1:46 left in the third quarter. But Cabot came right back with Gee, who threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Jay to tie the game at 28-28 with 29 seconds left in the quarter.
North Little Rock outgained Cabot 573-529 in its second victory over Cabot this season. The Charging Wildcats defeated the Panthers 48-31 on Nov. 6 in the teams' regular-season finale.
Jiquori Stewart led North Little Rock's receivers with 5 receptions for 165 yards. Bell had four catches for 108 yards.
The Panthers were led by Jay's 11 receptions and 210 yards. Carmack had 6 receptions for 170 yards.
Cabot was coming off an upset victory of 7A-West Conference champion Bentonville and was looking to knock off North Little Rock. However, the Panthers came up short late in the fourth quarter, Coach Scott Reed said.
"We were in it in the fourth quarter," Reed said. "Last week, we found a way to win. This week, we couldn't get it done."
