HARRISON — Anything Vilonia could do Friday night, Harrison was determined to do even faster.
The Goblins needed just 36 seconds to take a lead they never relinquished and quickly extended their 5A-West Conference win streak to 19 games with an impressive 48-16 rout at F.S. Garrison Stadium.
After Kannon Bartlett’s 27-yard touchdown run gave Vilonia a 10-7 lead, Harrison (6-1, 3-0) needed just three plays to cover 80 yards. Cole Keylon and Noah Moix completed the lightning-fast drive with a 44-yard touchdown pass and gave the Goblins a 14-10 cushion with 1 minute, 53 seconds left in the first quarter.
“We got them in empty sets and gave them some coverage problems,” Harrison coach Joel Wells said. “Our quarterback and receivers threw and caught the ball really well.
“We lost our big tight end Breckin Duck with an ACL injury, and he had surgery (Friday). Last week against Greenbrier, we had to go into a lot of empty stuff and had success with it. And Cole is good in it. He can run the ball as well as throw it, and that puts defenses in a bind.”
Keylon was just getting warmed up at that point and eventually helped Harrison roll off 27 unanswered points before the first half ended. The senior left-handed quarterback finished with 351 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-22 passing, and he added 169 yards and two touchdowns rushing on 25 carries.
The numbers even caused Keylon’s eyes to bulge when he heard them, and he didn’t run a play in the fourth quarter.
“Wow. I didn’t expect that,” Keylon said. “That’s a great night. The O-line had a great time blocking, and our receivers made some great plays. It’s a great all-around game for the team.
“The receivers really showed up and made some great plays to help us out. A lot of that rushing yardage is me getting open space because of the O-line. That’s not me; that’s the O-line giving me space and letting me do what I can do with it.”
Vilonia (4-2, 2-1) denied Harrison from scoring on its opening possession, stopping Brody Gilliam for no gain on a fourth-and-1 from the Eagles 27. Vilonia took an early 3-0 on Noah Newman’s 22-yard field goal, but Harrison scored eight plays later when Keylon’s screen pass to Tyler Hutcheson turned into a 42-yard touchdown pass with 4:03 left in the first quarter.
After Keylon’s touchdown pass to Moix put Harrison ahead to stay, the two connected again on a 30-yard touchdown pass on the Goblins’ next possession. Jordin Welsh then scored from a yard out, and Keylon’s 6-yard touchdown run with 50.3 seconds before halftime made it a 34-10 game.
FOUR DOWNS
• Harrison’s string of 27 unanswered points was aided by its special teams and its defense. The Goblins recovered a squib kick to set up Welsh’s touchdown run, then Keylon’s touchdown run came after an interception by Kaden Quandt, his second in as many games.
• Harrison finished with more points on the scoreboard than Vilonia had offensive plays, thanks to a 16-play drive by the Goblins reserves on the final drive.
• Vilonia had a chance to score just before halftime, but quarterback Austin Myers lost the ball as he was attempting to put it over the goal line. The ball rolled into the end zone for a touchback.
• Harrison resumes 5A-West Conference play next week with a battle for the top spot as the Goblins travel to Morrilton. Vilonia will head to Alma for its conference game.
Henry Apple can be reached at happle@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAHenry.