Arkansas high school football Week 9 notebook (10/30/2023)
LITTLE ROCK — The Pulaski Bruins are not used to losing at home and they’re not used to losing in one-sided fashion.
That happened Friday night when the Bruins lost 58-33 to Greenwood in a game that will allow the Bulldogs (9-0, 7-0) to play for the 6A-West Conference championship on Friday when they host Little Rock Christian (8-1, 7-0). The Bruins hadn’t lost at at Joe B. Hatcher Stadium since a 57-50 loss to Morrilton in the 2013 Class 5A quarterfinals.
The loss was the second time the Bruins (7-2, 5-2) got beat decisively this season. They lost 55-13 to Little Rock Christian on Sept. 22.
This has been a season in which the Bruins have dealt with a ton of adversity, enough to stretch the depth of a team that prides itself in the next man up mentality.
Quarterback Kel Busby, a University of Arkansas baseball commit, elected not to return for his senior year, opting to focus on baseball. Running back Kenny Jordan moved away to Nashville, Tenn. Quarterback Brandon Cobb has played with a cast to protect a broken hand and wide receiver John Mark Charette injured his ankle in the season opener and will not return this season.
Sill, Pulaski Academy head coach Anthony Lucas has not made excuses.
“Our program has always been about next man up,” said Lucas. “We don’t put that into our kids’ heads about who did and who didn’t play. It’s next man up, that’s what our culture is here. We don’t make excuses.”
What bothered Lucas was the mistakes his team made. Despite the fact Pulaski Academy had 482 yards in total offense with 27 first downs, the Bruins turned the ball over four times and were penalized 9 times for 80 yards.
“We’ve got to get better, and we can’t have turnovers, dropped balls, interceptions and offsides penalties,” said Lucas. “We had to be good in special teams, offensively and defensive and we didn’t do that. These kids played hard and didn’t lay down. I’m proud of our effort, but not about the mistakes and turnovers because that’s what cost us the football game.”
The Bruins had one lead: 7-6 on a 69-yard touchdown pass from Cobb to Andrew Fiser in the first quarter. After that, the Bulldogs scored 17 unanswered points to lead 23-7 and went into the locker room with a 30-20 lead. After Cobb scored on a 10-yard run at the 10:29 mark at the third quarter to close to 30-27, the Bulldogs ran off 28 unanswered points to put the game out of reach, taking advantage of three turnovers in the quarter.
“I’m really happy with how we responded,” said Greenwood head coach Chris Young. “We had a bad break when they recovered the onside kick to start the second half and scored after it bounced off somebody, We scored back-to-back really quick and got it back to 17 and then we got the turnovers. We got a little conservative in the fourth quarter. I thought we could get the clock rolling, but you’re afraid of those guys given how fast they can score a bunch of points in a hurry.”
For the Bulldogs, they have a chance to win the 6A-West against the Warriors, who beat them 49-35 a year ago a week after the Bulldogs beat Pulaski Academy 33-23 to win the conference title.
“All the marbles are on the table next week. Christian has a great program. PA has a great program, and I think we have a great program. Now we need to get healthy and get back to work next week,” said Young.
When asked if he got any satisfaction in beating the Bruins after losing 42-35 to them in last year’s Class 6A state championship, Young downplayed the revenge angle.
“We have total respect for their program and what they do and our goal is to get that trophy back in our place this year,” said Young.
While the Bulldogs will have a first-round bye in the playoffs, the Bruins will have to play in the first round on Nov. 10. Lucas maintains his team will be a tough out when postseason rolls around.
“I hadn’t talked about where we are when it comes to playoff seeds,” said Lucas. “We’re going to build on the positive and fix the negatives. We will compete in the playoffs. We’ve got to minimize the mistakes.”
--Jeff Halpern
Harmony Grove (Ouachita County) clinches top seed in 3A-6
Senior quarterback Caleb Johnson is a two-time all-state performer and having another dominant season. Johnson threw for five touchdowns against the Beavers and surpassed 60 for his career, three of those to classmate and top target Landon Garrett, while junior Tristen Herndon hauled in the other two. Senior Tyler McCann was consistent on special teams, connecting on seven of his eight extra point attempts.
A road game against Barton is all that stands between the Hornets and their first undefeated conference run since the aforementioned 2017 season. Following a first round bye, they will host either the 3A-2 No. 3 seed or the 3A-5 No. 4 seed.
–Kyle Sutherland | @k_sutherlandAR
Elkins underclassman Townsend has his “greatest game” on Senior Night
Elkins kept its perfect 9-0 season intact Friday night with a breezy 54-0 win over Gentry. And although it was Senior Night for the Elks, it was a junior that put on a show.
James Townsend, a 5-foot-8, 162-pound wide receiver and cornerback for Elkins, had what he called the best game of his life, scoring touchdowns on both sides of the ball.
“It definitely was, for sure,” an energized Townsend said afterward. “But it was a great team win, and a great atmosphere for Senior Night. I just tried to show up for my seniors tonight.”
Although he had yet to log an interception this season, Townsend picked off three first-half passes, in three consecutive Gentry possessions, to help the Elks put away the game early with a 28-0 first-quarter lead.
It all stared with a 22-yard pick-6 return in the first quarter, followed by a diving interception at the Pioneers’ 25 just two minutes later.
“That first one, I just read it, jumped it and took it to the house,” Townsend said. “The second one was in the air, so I went to the ground and it fell right into my hands.”
On the ensuing Gentry drive, early in the second quarter, Townsend covered the deep man, but jumped in front of him as the ball arrived and picked the ball off at midfield.
“He had a heck of a game,” head coach Zach Watson said. “He’s a guy that got some playing time last year, but has really stepped it up this year. He’s done a great job at receiver for us, then he comes out tonight and shows what he’s made of on defense. He made some phenomenal plays tonight.”
But Townsend wasn’t done.
He initially scored a touchdown on a jet-sweep early in the second half that was called back by a penalty. But then took a short bubble-screen pass from senior quarterback Dizzy Dean and scampered in for a 9-yard touchdown, to cap off his night.
Watson was thrilled to see his underclassman show up to send his seniors out with a win in their final regular-season home game.
“This was Senior Night and we’ve got a good bunch of seniors, and tonight was their night,” Watson said. “This is my first group that has been with me all three years, so it’s special. And that senior leadership is what has propelled this team.”
The Elks now have a showdown at Lincoln Friday night to secure their perfect regular-season.
“We’ve just got to keep showing up to practice every day and keep working as a team,” Townsend said.
-- Steve Andrews
El Dorado steals one from Catholic
Chris Hill-led teams have a history of heating up in the back half of the season and the first-year coach’s Wildcats escaped War Memorial Stadium with a huge 22-21 win over Catholic.
El Dorado (5-4, 4-4) was outplayed in the first half and trailed 21-0 going into the locker room, but the proper adjustments were made as the Wildcats pitched a shutout from that point forward and scored 22 unanswered points.
Sophomore quarterback Mitchell Polk passed for a touchdown and rushed for another, including the go-ahead score to junior J. Prince Roberson for a 61-yard connection early in the fourth quarter. Roberson led the Wildcats with 89 yards on three catches, while sophomore Jeremy Samuel added 62 yards and a score on the ground.
The Wildcats wrap up the regular season at home on Friday against Jacksonville and are all but certain to be the No. 6 seed out of the 6A-East.
