5A-CENTRAL

Reyes, Maumelle end Watson Chapel's season

Junior quarterback Jonathan Reyes completed 23 of 33 passes for 312 yards and 4 touchdowns in Maumelle's 27-6 5A-Central victory over Watson Chapel on Thursday night at Bobby Tiner Stadium in Maumelle.

Maumelle (8-2, 5-2 5A-Central) secured a No. 3 playoff seed with the victory and will play at the 5A-South's No. 2 seed in a first-round playoff game next week. The loss eliminated Watson Chapel (5-5, 3-4) from postseason consideration.

Maumelle's only regular-season losses were to 5A-Central heavyweights Little Rock Christian and Pulaski Academy, which played for last year's Class 5A state championship and are a combined 17-2 this fall.

[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Scores, photos, stories, rankings + more » arkansasonline.com/arpreps/]

"I don't feel like we have any major weaknesses on our team," Hornets Coach Kirk Horton said. "We've got some skill players that will rival anybody's.

"The big thing for us in the offseason was get the defense right. We struggled last year defensively, and you can't do that in this conference and expect to win. We really shored that up. I'm proud of both units."

Maumelle never trailed against Watson Chapel, scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions to lead 13-0 after one quarter and 19-6 at halftime.

Reyes -- on fourth and 7 -- threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Louis Hartje on Maumelle's opening series. The Hornets recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Reyes threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Zyon Slade for a 13-0 lead with 6:43 remaining in the first quarter.

Maumelle led 19-6 at halftime after senior wide receiver Demetress Williams turned a short pass from Reyes into a 25-yard touchdown with 3:35 remaining in the second quarter.

Reyes' final touchdown pass was a 23-yarder to Slade, who made the reception while backpedaling into the end zone with 8:31 remaining in the game. The Hornets added a safety by tackling the punter in the end zone about a minute later to set the final score.

Williams finished with 10 receptions for 120 yards. Slade had seven receptions for 107 yards.

"It was a sloppy game for us, especially offensively," Horton said. "Outside of one drive, defense really played lights out tonight."

Watson Chapel's only score came on a 1-yard touchdown run by Jabrea Shaw, a recently elevated freshman quarterback, with 6:45 remaining in the first half to make it 13-6. Shaw finished with 161 rushing yards on 24 carries.

Sports on 11/08/2019

Upcoming Events