The drive for five is still alive.
Junior quarterback Braden Bratcher accounted for 682 yards running and passing and 9 touchdowns as four-time defending state champion Pulaski Academy beat Harrison 75-54 in a Class 5A playoff semifinal Friday night at foggy Joe B. Hatcher Stadium in Little Rock.
Pulaski Academy (12-1) will meet 5A-Central rival Little Rock Christian for the state championship next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. No school has won five consecutive state championships since the modern playoff era began in 1968.
Pulaski Academy eliminated Harrison 57-20 in last year's Class 5A quarterfinals, but the rematch was much more competitive.
Harrison (12-1) led 35-26 late in the second quarter before Pulaski Academy -- fueled by consecutive onside-kick recoveries -- stormed to a 46-35 halftime lead with three touchdowns in a two-minute span.
In the flurry, Bratcher threw touchdown passes of 32 yards to senior wide receiver JD White and 37 yards to senior wide receiver Hudson Henry and ran 1 yard for another score with 29 seconds remaining in the first half.
"It took a couple of onside kicks and continuing to score," Bruins Coach Kevin Kelley said following his program's 57th consecutive victory over an in-state opponent, including 19 in the postseason. "They're really good, obviously. You don't go undefeated, and they had a little revenge factor. I'm glad our kids stayed in it, kept pressing and were able to not get behind too far. We wait on that little spurt. Once we hit it, things usually go our way."
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Bratcher finished 36-of-47 passing for 570 yards and 7 touchdowns and ran 15 times for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Bruins amassed 715 total yards.
Bratcher also threw touchdown passes of 30 yards to White and 13 yards to Henry in the first quarter, 53 yards to White on the first play from scrimmage of the second half, 41 yards to junior wide receiver Hayden Cobb and 32 yards to junior wide receiver Merritt Jones with 5:25 remaining to play in the game. Bratcher added a two-point run following his final touchdown pass for a 75-54 lead.
The Goblins were led by standout junior tailback Gabe Huskey, who ran 26 times for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns (1, 10 and 41 yards) and caught a 30-yard touchdown pass.
Junior quarterback Ben Johnson ran 13 times for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns (22 and 10 yards) and completed 10 of 12 passes for 98 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Harrison led 35-26 following Johnson's 22-yard touchdown run with 4:16 remaining in the first half. After recovering a Pulaski Academy fumble, Harrison was within 60-48 on Huskey's 1-yard touchdown run with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter.
But Pulaski Academy began to pull away -- again -- after Bratcher capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
"The last couple of minutes there, we got double-dipped right there at the end of the half," Harrison Coach Joel Wells said. "We knew had to keep it a one-score game into the fourth quarter. You're playing behind the 8-ball, and they put a lot of pressure on you. I thought our kids played extremely hard, played really well. We just came up a little short."
Harrison was 5A-West's No. 1 playoff seed.
Sports on 11/24/2018