An 0-3 start is in the past for El Dorado.
The Wildcats improved to 3-1 in the 6A-East Conference and 3-4 overall with a 54-50 victory at Searcy on Friday night.
El Dorado was outgained 575-498, but held on after Searcy's last-second 45-yard pass attempt fell incomplete in the end zone.
"It was wild," El Dorado Coach Steven Jones said.
Eli Shepherd completed 10 of 18 passes for 209 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead the Wildcats. Sharmon Rester rushed for 111 yards and 3 touchdowns on 6 carries, and also completed 2 of 3 passes for 30 yards.
DeAndra Burns caught two touchdown passes, while Jarmel Love also hauled in a scoring pass.
Daniel Perry led Searcy (4-5, 3-3) with 186 yards and 2 touchdowns on 36 carries.
El Dorado led 27-22 at the end of the first quarter. Rester scored from a yard out to give the Wildcats a 34-29 lead with 3:22 left in the second quarter, and that was the halftime score.
Bryson Boulden returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown, and Shepherd's two-point conversion pass to Burns extended El Dorado's lead to 48-36 with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter.
Searcy took a 50-48 lead with 6:21 left on touchdown runs of 2 yards by Perry and 26 yards by Ckyler Tengler. But El Dorado responded as Shepherd found Burns for a 24-yard touchdown for a 54-50 lead with 4:11 remaining.
El Dorado lost its first three games to Camden Fairview, Cabot and Magnolia. After missing two games because of covid-19 against Jonesboro and Pine Bluff, the Wildcats have defeated Sheridan and Marion. They lost to Sylvan Hills on Oct. 23, but rebounded Friday.
Jones said the Wildcats' resiliency is impressive.
"Our team never gives up," he said. "Every play mattered [Friday]. Our kids gave great effort."
El Dorado can clinch at least the No. 3 seed from the 6A-East with a victory Thursday against West Memphis. It can move up to the second seed with a win and a loss by Jonesboro to Marion.
"It will be a fun week for the East," Jones said. "We're excited to have a home game in Week 10."
3A-2 statement
Harding Academy Coach Neil Evans believes the Wildcats played their best game of the season Friday against Newport.
It couldn't have come at a better time.
The defending Class 3A state champion Wildcats defeated previously undefeated Newport 31-7 at First Security Stadium in Searcy to take control of the 3A-2 Conference.
"We played with tremendous effort," Evans said. "We played very hard. We were fundamentally sound defensively."
Harding Academy (6-1, 3-0 3A-2) finished with 411 yards offensively. Running back Andrew Miller rushed for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries.
Caden Sipe completed 19 of 27 passes for 248 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also had a touchdown run.
But Evans credited Sipe and Miller's blockers for why they were able to have success against the Greyhounds.
"Those numbers don't happen without our offensive line," Evans said. "Newport's defensive line is very good. The offensive line played their best game of the season."
Newport (8-1, 4-1) entered Friday's game with eight consecutive victories, but was held in check after a first-quarter 1-yard touchdown run from quarterback Dejai Marshall.
The Greyhounds were limited to 264 yards offensively. Tharon Davis was held to 76 yards on 9 carries, while Marshall was 15-of-29 passing for 132 yards.
Harding Academy trailed 7-3 after the first quarter, but took a 17-7 lead into halftime with two touchdowns from Sipe. Sipe threw a 17-yard scoring pass to Landon Koch, then scored from 6 yards out.
Miller scored both of his touchdowns in the second half. He had a 31-yard run in the third quarter and a 42-yard score in the fourth quarter.
A year after finishing 15-0 and winning the Class 3A state championship, it hasn't been an easy season for Harding Academy. The Wildcats have had to deal with two covid-19 situations that forced the cancellation of two games.
But the Wildcats have an opportunity to win the 3A-2 title outright with a victory Thursday at Salem. That's something Evans isn't taking for granted.
"It would be fantastic," Evans said of winning a conference championship. "It would be really exciting for our players and our coaches. We're thrilled to be able to get to play."
Playoff update
The high school football playoff brackets will be released by the Arkansas Activities Association on Saturday.
With all six classifications having at least one team miss a game because of covid-19, every team is eligible for the playoffs this season.
Teams have until 8 a.m. Saturday to opt out of the playoffs with a signed letter from their school superintendent. If a team is entered into the playoff bracket, but has to miss their game because of covid-19, they will forfeit their spot and their opponent will move on to the next round.
In classes 7A and 6A, all 16 teams in each classification will play each other in the first round, which is scheduled for Nov. 13. There will be no byes for the 7A and 6A's No. 1 and 2 seeds this season.
But in classes 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A, the possibility of a play-in round exists, should there be enough teams remain in the playoffs.
Rank 'em
There's no doubt who the top team is in the state after 10 weeks.
No. 1 Bryant dominated in a 58-21 victory at then-No. 2 North Little Rock on Friday night, totaling 829 yards on offense. Austin Ledbetter completed 24 of 38 passes for 542 yards with 5 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Bryant remains No. 1 and will host No. 5 Conway on Friday.
Bentonville moves up to No. 2 after a 56-28 victory at Springdale. The Tigers can clinch the outright 7A-West Conference title with a victory Friday against Bentonville West.
The two additions to the overall top 10 this week are Cabot, which comes in at No. 8, and Little Rock Parkview at No. 9.
New teams to the Super Six include Bentonville West in Class 7A (No. 6) and Morrilton in Class 5A (No. 6).