Little Rock Christian took advantage of the last of several momentum shifts to pull away for a 27-17 victory over the Maumelle Hornets in 5A-Central Conference play at Hornet Stadium in Maumelle on Friday night.
Colin Cooper's 1-yard sneak with 5:19 remaining came after a botched punt return and sealed the victory for the Warriors (3-1, 1-0).
"Maumelle's got a very good football team," Little Rock Christian Coach Eric Cohu said. "We knew it was going to be a tough battle. The momentum changed many times in this game."
A 25-yard field goal by junior John Bruchhagen pulled Maumelle within 20-17 with 2:19 left in the third quarter. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Hornets had an opportunity to get the ball back after forcing the Warriors to punt at midfield.
Maumelle, however, fumbled the punt and Little Rock Christian senior Benjamin Kelley recovered at the 6.
Two plays later, Cooper scored.
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"These are similar teams that match up well," Maumelle Coach Kirk Horton said. "They made bigger plays than us tonight."
Cooper ran for 2 touchdowns and completed 8 of 18 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Jayvean Dyer-Jones led Little Rock Christian in rushing with 95 yards on 24 carries.
Maumelle (2-2, 0-1) drove to the Christian 40 on its final possession, but sophomore defensive back Ben Ridings intercepted a pass from senior quarterback Jonathan Reyes and returned it 40 yards to the Maumelle 30.
The Hornets' first possession ended with a fumble at their own 32. Three plays later, Cooper scored from the 1 to give Little Rock Christian a 7-0 lead with 9:40 left in the first quarter.
Isaiah Hankins' 45-yard field goal gave Little Rock Christian a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Reyes took a pitch from junior Jalen Waits and completed a 39-yard flea-flicker touchdown pass to junior receiver Roderick Watts to pull Maumelle within 10-7 with 5:26 left before halftime.
Reyes completed 12 of 17 passes for 162 yards.
Two plays into Little Rock Christian's subsequent drive, junior safety Maxwell Pace intercepted a pass from Cooper and returned it 22 yards to give Maumelle a 14-10 lead.
Cooper's 7-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Corey Platt, Jr. in the final minute of the first half gave Little Rock Christian a 17-14 lead.
"We had a lot of guys step up and make big plays when it counted," Cohu said.
