SPRINGDALE - North Little Rock had no answer for Springdale Har-Ber running back Derek Brinker on Friday.
Brinker ran 22 times for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Wildcats rolled to a 37-21 victory in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.
Brinker had touchdown runs of 1, 57 and 73 yards to spark a 332-yard rushing performance by the Wildcats (9-2). Tre Tyler added 100 yards and a touchdown on eight carries in the fourth quarter.
"I thought they ought to be running the ball more," North Little Rock Coach Brad Bolding said. "That's what they do best.
"They've got big linemen and a big back. They open up holes."
The first hole was opened on the game's third play,when Brinker popped into the secondary and outran the Charging Wildcats 57 yards to the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
Har-Ber pushed the lead to 14-0 midway through the second quarter on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Zach Faust to Kaleb Vaughn.
The Charging Wildcats (7-4) answered on a 5-yard pass from David Hope to DeAngelo Mabry.
North Little Rock was within 17-7 when Zach Smith intercepted a Hope pass late in the third quarter. Brinker sprinted 73 yards up the middle on the next play to extend the lead to 24-7 with 1:53 left in the third quarter.
After another interception, Brinker ran a yard to cap a five-play drive for a 31-7 lead after three quarters.
"You've got to be able to run the football and play defense, and we did that tonight," Har-Ber Coach Chris Wood said. "We had a couple of breakaway runs and that's not something we have done much.
Sports, Pages 28 on 11/15/2008