CLASS 2A

Dragons survive slight scare

Junction City’s Shaquille Hunter (10) looks to make a cut upfield as he runs against the Walnut Ridge defense during Friday’s 42-6 victory in Junction City.
Junction City’s Shaquille Hunter (10) looks to make a cut upfield as he runs against the Walnut Ridge defense during Friday’s 42-6 victory in Junction City.

— The Junction City Dragons defeated Walnut Ridge 42-6 Friday night to advance to Friday’s Class 2A championship game next Friday against Bearden, but there was at least one moment of concern for Coach David Carpenter’s Dragons.

Junction City, which led 14-0 at halftime, faced and overcame adversity early in the third quarter.

Walnut Ridge (10-3) scored a quick touchdown at the outset of the third quarter to make it 14-6, recovered an onside kick and had another drive headed toward Junction City’s end zone.

“We knew we‘d have some problems with them,” Junction City Coach David Carpenter said.

The trouble disappeared as suddenly as it arrived.

Walnut Ridge faced a fourth-and-5 from the Dragons 21 and appeared to pick up the first down on a pass play. But a holding penalty nullified the play, and an incomplete pass on fourth-and-15 resulted in a turnover on downs and a complete reversal in momentum.

“We just couldn’t keep it going,” Walnut Ridge Coach Larry Treadway said.

Junction City scored 28 unanswered points to end the game with the clock running via the 35-point sportsmanship rule.

Junction City (13-1) scored on Shaquille Hunter’s 45-yard quarterback draw to go up 21-6 with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Junction City increased its lead to 28-6 after forcing another turnover on downs, with Hunter scoring on a 2-yard run.

Later, with just over seven minutes left to play, Jaqwis Dancy ran 54 yards for a touchdown to make it 35-6.. Hunter’s 57-yard touchdown run with 5:41 made it 42-6 and started the running clock.

“It feels great to get past this one,” Carpenter said. “They’re good at what they do.”

Walnut Ridge’s only touchdown came on a 7-yard run by quarterback Zach Crissler after a fake punt.

“Defensively, they did a good job against us,” Treadway said. “Nobody has stopped us all year ... except for Salem. But Junction City just did a great job defensively.”

BEARDEN 37, MINERAL SPRINGS 14

BEARDEN - Senior B.J. Ross ran for two touchdowns as Bearden (12-2) beat Mineral Springs (10-4) in the semifinals of the Class 2A playoffs at Rogers Field.

Bearden will meet Junction City (13-1) in an all-8-2A final next week at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Dragons beat the Bears 20-14 on Sept. 14.

Bearden led 14-8 at halftime and 22-8 after three quarters on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ross on fourth-and-goal.

Ross scored on another short run with one minute left in the game, and Devonte Ross closed out the scoring by returning an interception 75 yards for a touchdown 30 seconds later.

Mineral Springs was within 22-14 early in the fourth quarter after driving 80 yards in about two minutes.

Bearden’s first touchdown came on a 28-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jamond Young to senior wide receiver Zach Craig with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

Mineral Springs senior tailback Rashad Williams ran for a touchdown, and the Hornets converted a two-point play for an 8-6 lead.

Young ran for a touchdown with two minutes left in the second quarter to give Bearden its 14-8 halftime lead.

Sports, Pages 27 on 12/01/2012

Upcoming Events