LITTLE ROCK -- The Pulaski Academy Bruins wore helmets and jerseys as baby blue as day -- and rode into the pitch-black night with their school's 10th state football championship.
Game MVP Charlie Fiser threw three touchdown passes, Joe Himon nearly rushed for 100 yards in the first quarter and the Bruins denied the White Hall Bulldogs their first-ever championship, 51-19, Friday before 4,411 people in the 5A final at War Memorial Stadium.
"Our kids played as hard as they could play," said Bulldogs Coach Bobby Bolding, who was attempting to win his fourth title in nine championship appearances. "They were just better than us. In three years, we threw everything we had in our defensive playbook at them, and they just whipped us."
Pulaski Academy (13-1) won its seventh championship in the past eight years to cap Anthony Lucas' first season at the helm. According to football historian Walter Woodie, Lucas became the first Black head coach to win an Arkansas Activities Association title since Dollarway's Lee Hardman won his fourth in 1992.
White Hall (11-3) made only its second appearance in a title game and first since 1987, hoping to avenge a 63-28 home loss to the Bruins on Oct. 8. The Bulldogs pulled within 8-7 after Tekaylin Walker took a screen pass and rolled left for an 18-yard touchdown pass from Mathew Martinez with 6:18 left in the first quarter.
Martinez completed 15 of 24 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns, two of them going to fellow senior Steven Weston, who also broke up two passes and intercepted a conversion attempt.
But turnovers helped send White Hall into an early downward spiral.
The Bulldogs, who had stuffed Himon short on fourth-and-2, missed a shot at the lead after quarterback Martinez lost a fumble inside the Bruins 30. Fiser, who started 0 for 4 passing, converted a fourth-and-10 with a 15-yarder to John Mark Charette despite the Bulldogs' blitzes and settled for a 31-yard field goal from Vaughn Seelicke 11 plays later to go up 11-7 with 1:20 left in the quarter.
THE GAME CHANGED WHEN ...
The Bruins executed their first onside kick attempt.
White Hall did not field a pooch kick cleanly, and PA needed just four plays to boost its lead to 17-7. Charlie Barker went 33 yards on an inside-slant catch to pad the lead.
The Bulldogs were forced to punt on two of their next three possessions, and Caleb Taylor was sacked for a 6-yard loss on a fourth-down fake punt. PA, meanwhile, built a 30-7 halftime lead, with Fiser scoring on a 5-yard run and throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jaylin McKinney, one of two to the junior who totaled 134 yards on 5 receptions.
Fiser overcame his slow start and completed 17 of 36 passes for 386 yards and three touchdowns.
"We made too many mistakes and we got beat deep," Bolding said. "We fumbled, dropped two passes ... we just made too many mistakes to beat a team like that. You can't do that."
Zaire Green rushed for 62 of his 98 yards in the second half. His longest run of 30 yards set up Weston's 25-yard catch on White Hall's opening possession of the second half.
Weston also had a 12-yard touchdown catch with 36 seconds left in the third quarter. He finished with 4 catches for 61 yards.
But Himon wasn't done. The Northwestern University commit, who carried 19 times for 151 yards, scored on runs of 1 and 19 yards in the second half, the latter coming with 46 seconds left in the game.
McKinney turned in the biggest play, breaking a tackle and going down the White Hall sideline for an 80-yard catch-and-run with 11:47 left in the game.
Jordan Jackson caught 5 passes for 72 yards for White Hall. Walker (36 yards) and Carsen Terrell (18 yards) each had two receptions.
Barker had 121 yards on 4 catches, Charette hauled in 4 passes for 90 yards and Himon caught 2 passes for 33 yards.
PA outgained White Hall 654-291 in total yards, holding the Bulldogs to 89 rushing yards.
THE GAME BALL GOES TO ...
Senior two-way standout Kelton Thomas, who won the Burlsworth Award as White Hall's outstanding lineman. Sophomore offensive lineman Allen Thomason won the honor for PA.
White Hall’s Steven Weston (right) runs past Pulaski Academy’s Josh Cady Friday night during the 5A football state championship at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Justin Cunningham)
White Hall’s Zaire Green (left) runs the ball as Pulaski Academy’s Beau Miller goes in for a tackle Friday night during the 5A football state championship at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Justin Cunningham)