Senior tailback Daryl Searcy ran 10 times for 165 yards and 3 touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass in Joe T. Robinson's 49-14 victory over Lamar in the Class 4A quarterfinals Friday night at Charlie George Stadium in Little Rock.
Robinson (12-1) will carry a 12-game winning streak into the semifinals next week at Warren. Lamar (10-3) ran almost twice as many plays. But Robinson had the big plays, scoring the game's final 35 points after being tied late in the first half.
The Senators, the No. 1 seed from the 4A-7 Conference, never trailed and finished with 415 total yards on just 36 plays. Searcy ran 32 yards for a touchdown on the game's second play from scrimmage and gave Robinson the lead for good, 21-14, on a 60-yard touchdown run with 4:44 remaining in the first half.
Robinson then forced its first three-and-out against Lamar's ground-heavy Double-Slot attack and parlayed that stop into a 28-14 halftime lead on junior tailback Noah Freeman's 8-yard touchdown run with 1:04 remaining in the second quarter. Freeman had scored Robinson's other first-half touchdown on a 1-yard pass from senior quarterback Jack Cleveland with 1:21 remaining in the first quarter.
"We knew coming in that it was a very narrow margin that we had a path to win," Lamar Coach Josh Jones said. "We just couldn't get a stop and then we get the three-and-out. It's 14-14 with four minutes before half and if we can just find a way to get a stop, just get to halftime 21-14, because we're getting the ball to start the second half. But they're so good. There's no margin for error with a team like that."
Robinson's avalanche of points continued in the second half when Freeman ran 18 yards for a touchdown with 6:46 remaining in the third quarter and Cleveland threw a 16-yard screen pass to Searcy for a touchdown, and a 42-14 lead, with 10:50 remaining in the game. Cleveland finished 16 of 21 for 193 yards.
The Senators applied the Arkansas Activities Association's sportsmanship rule after Searcy capped a 10-play, 99-yard drive on a 7-yard run with 1:58 remaining.
"Kids played good," Robinson Coach Todd Eskola said after leading his program to its fourth semifinal berth in the last five seasons. "Hopefully, we play well again next week and pass another test."
Lamar, the No. 2 seed from the 4A-4, finished with 235 total yards on 63 plays. It rushed 59 times for 226 yards. The Warriors used two 15-play touchdown drives to even the score, 14-14, on a 12-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Landon Harrison and two-point run by senior slotback Tony Balmer with 4:57 remaining in the first half.
Lamar wouldn't score again.
"You can't simulate it in practice," Eskola said, referring to Lamar's offensive scheme. "If you don't have the right fit – you can be on the wrong shoulder in that offense and they're going to gain 4 or 5 yards. He (Jones) did a great job and they play hard. In the first half, we just had some wrong-shoulder assignments and fits and they were able to move the ball."
Gallery: HS Football: Lamar at Joe T. Robinson
