Pine Bluff High School's defense outscored Vilonia's offense and nearly pitched a shutout Friday night in taking a 35-6 football victory at Vilonia's Phillip D. Weaver Stadium.
The Zebras (3-1, 2-0 in 5A-Central), who have won three in a row, returned two interceptions for touchdowns and led 35-0 by the 9:38 mark of the third quarter, invoking a continuous running clock for the rest of the game.
Kevin Pope returned a pick more than 50 yards for a touchdown with 6:17 left in the first quarter. That was Pine Bluff's second interception of the game, after Kayvon Stringer picked off a pass earlier.
Vilonia (0-4, 0-2), which had success moving the ball in the early going, was seeking to take back momentum after pinning Pine Bluff at its own 4 on a punt. But Marquez Brentley broke a 50-yard run to the Eagles' 46, and Landon Holcomb later closed out the drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Courtney Crutchfield with 3 minutes left in the period.
The Eagles moved into the red zone by the turn of the quarter, only for Julius Stribbling to stop them with a pick-6 from 80 yards out. That bumped the Zebras' lead to 21-0 with 11:41 left before halftime.
A 45-yard punt return by Austyn Dendy set up the fourth scoring drive for the Zebras. Holcomb ran from 6 yards out for the score with 3:08 left in the half.
Brentley punched in a touchdown on a 25-yard carry with 9:38 left in the third quarter, invoking the continuous clock.
Vilonia's Cadien Gipson ended the shutout on a short touchdown run with 2 minutes left.
Pine Bluff has averaged 46.7 points per game in its victories and will host Maumelle for homecoming next Friday. Maumelle had a bye week.