North Little Rock Edges Rogers Heritage

By Paul Nielsen

Posted: November 21, 2009 at 4:33 a.m.

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By Jason Arthur
Rogers Heritage wide receiver Grant Driver races to the end zone against North Little Rock for the game’s first touchdown in NLR Stadium in North Little Rock on Friday.

In the end, North Little Rock made just a few more big plays Friday night.

North Little Rock running back Tim Johnson rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns, and Deon Rhodes had a 99-yard kickoff return as the Charging Wildcats defeated Rogers Heritage 49-45 in a wild Class 7A quarterfinal football game.

Heritage led 21-0 early, but North Little Rock answered with 35 straight points for a 35-21 halftime lead. Heritage tied the game at 42 early in the fourth period, but Rhodes returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a 49-42 lead.

North Little Rock also turned two fumbles by the War Eagles kickoff return unit into 14 points, including a 19-yard touchdown return by De’Unte Randolph that cut the lead to 21-14. North Little Rock turned the second fumble into a 28-21 advantage.

“The great thing that happened tonight is that our kids never gave up,” said North Little Rock coach Brad Bolding. “We spend a lot of time on special teams and that is why they call it special. It was special tonight.”

Johnson had touchdown runs of 49 and 59 yards, and North Little Rock quarterback Isaac Kelley completed 8-of-13 passes for 144 yards. The Charging Wildcats finished with 461 yards total offense.

“We have been like that all year where we have been a big-play team,” Bolding said. “That’s probably speed and having Tim Johnson. Having Johnson is a big difference.”

Heritage coach Perry Escalante said the game was decided by the two first-half fumbles by the kickoff team.

“We can’t turn the ball over,” Escalante said. “That just killed us. You can’t recover from that. We couldn’t finish it right there. We let them back in it after we were up by 21. You can’t play like that and win. You can’t get in the playoffs and turn the ball over. They capitalized on everyone of them.”

Heritage (9-3) quarterback Reed Brown completed 20-of-31 passes for 386 yards and five touchdowns. Brown hit Grant Driver for a 78-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to start Heritage’s 21-point outburst.

Driver finished with 12 catches for 280 yards and four touchdowns. He had four receptions that went for 78, 35, 36 and 44 yards. Brown also hit running back Zac Stewart for a 52-yard touchdown that tied the game at 35-35 late in the third quarter.

“Our kids didn’t quit,” Escalante said.

North Little Rock (9-2) will face Fort Smith Southside in the semifinals Friday. The Charging Wildcats’ win was just the second time they have defeated a 7A-West Conference team in the playoffs in their last 10 tries.

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