LR HALL 22, MILLS 16
With little time left and 9 yards from victory, Little Rock Hall quarterback Braelon Adams scrambled toward the opening to his left, reached the 2, performed a midair somersault and landed a winner.
Adams' score with two seconds left lifted the Warriors (2-0) to a 22-16 victory over the Mills (1-1) at Scott Field on Friday night.
The victory plunge was painful for Adams, who was removed from the field by stretcher. He gave a thumbs up as he was wheeled away, which brought a huge cheer from the Warriors' fans.
[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Scores, photos, stories, rankings + more » arkansasonline.com/arpreps/]
Hall Coach Kipchoge VanHoose said Adams had feeling in all of his extremities, "But he might have a sore back for a while."
His run capped a wild comeback for the Warriors, who have won two games for just the third time in the past 11 years. Hall won two games in 2016 and in 2011.
The big play in the drive was a 27-yard pass play from Adams to Dontevious Patterson that was deflected. Patterson was stopped at the 9 with 16 seconds left. The winning run came on third down.
"That kid, he is not the greatest passer, but he can run the football,'' VanHoose said of Adams. "I think he took it upon himself to win the ballgame. Braelon has got the heart of a warrior, and he really went for the win."
Mills took the lead with a 52-yard drive that ended when Julius Graves hit Zach Smith on 13-yard scoring pass with 5:04 left to tie the score at 14-14. Lavell Carnell ran in the two-point conversion for the lead.
On Hall's next possession, its drive was stopped on downs at midfield, but the Comets went nowhere and just had an 11-yard punt that set up the final drive.
Adams got Hall on the board first with a 2-yard run with 10:08 left in the second quarter for a 6-0 edge. Mills took the lead when Carnel scored on a 4-yard run, and Reggie Swinton Jr. ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-6 lead.
Hall went up 14-8 when Kavionne Rucker scored on a 11-yard run with 8:12 left in the third quarter, and Adams ran in the two-point conversions for a 14-8 cushion with 5:04 left to play.
Sports on 09/14/2019