CABOT -- Bryant's starters played into the fourth quarter for the first time this season Friday night, but the Hornets managed to take home a convincing 55-10 victory at Panther Stadium.
The Hornets (8-0, 5-0 7A-Central) have outscored opponents 385-65 this season and picked up their fourth consecutive victory with at least 50 points. On Friday, the defending Class 7A state champions scored the game's first 27 points and led 27-10 at the half.
Bryant Coach Buck James said his coaching staff couldn't communicate with each other with their headsets in the first half because of technical issues and had to use handheld two-way radios in the second half.
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However, the Hornets still showed why they are the top team in Class 7A and the No. 1 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Overall Top 10.
"Our kids held their composure and played well," James said. "They took it to heart that they have a good football team. They have to play together. They can't go out there and do it with superhuman, natural strength. They have to go out there as a unit and do their job."
Junior quarterback Austin Ledbetter passed for 192 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Hornets.
Senior running back Ahmad Adams finished with 156 yards and 1 touchdown on 16 carries. Junior Tanner Anderson had 97 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries.
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"I hope we can keep them both healthy," James said of Adams and Anderson. "It gives us another dimension."
"They're very tough to play against," Cabot Coach Scott Reed said of the Hornets. "Every night has been their night this year. I think they're very good. They don't have many weak spots."
Bryant took a 2-0 lead with 6:11 left in the first quarter when senior linebacker Catrell Wallace, a University of Arkansas oral commitment, blocked sophomore Jose Hernandez's punt in the end zone for a safety.
The Hornets then drove 58 yards for a touchdown. Adams' 30-yard run on the first play of the drive set up Ledbetter's 3-yard touchdown pass to senior Tre'vun Herron. Ledbetter's two-point conversion pass to junior Hayden Schrader made it 10-0 with 5:10 left in the first quarter.
With 3:44 left in the first quarter, Adams rumbled down the right sideline for a 58-yard touchdown run to extend Bryant's lead to 17-0.
After Bryant got a fourth-down stop, the Hornets offense responded quickly.
Ledbetter threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to junior Joseph Young for a 24-0 lead with 0:20 left in the first quarter.
Brock Funk's 25-yard field goal attempt with 10:04 left in the second quarter stretched the lead to 27-0.
Cabot got on the board with 7:22 left in the second quarter when junior quarterback Tyler Gee threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Logan Bell in the end zone to pull within 27-7.
Junior Jared Whitman kicked a 29-yard field goal with no time left at the end of the first half to cut the lead to 27-10.
In the second half, Anderson added a 1-yard touchdown run, and senior Jake Meaders and junior River Gregory each caught 24-yard scoring passes from Ledbetter.
Cabot (5-3, 2-3) travels to Fort Smith Northside on Friday as the Panthers attempt to qualify for the Class 7A playoffs.
"We've got to bounce back and put this one behind us," Reed said. "You can't linger on this. I told them, we're down right now, but we have to bounce back in a hurry. There's nothing we can do about it right now. It's a bigger game next week. We have to shake this one off and get back to work."
Sports on 10/26/2019