LITTLE ROCK — Towers’ condition unchanged
Star City senior linebacker Zack Towers remained in serious condition late Tuesday afternoon at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
Towers has been hospitalized since leaving Star City’s Nov. 1 regularseason finale against Crossett with a head injury.
He underwent brain surgery that night at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff and was transferred to Children’s on Nov. 4.
Pine Bluff junior kicker Austin McGehee visited Towers early Tuesday night and wrote in a Twitter message that the player was “moving his body a lot.”
McGehee played at Star City in 2010 and 2011 and is Towers’ best friend.
Star City was eliminated from the first round of the Class 4A playoffs Friday night at home by Heber Springs, 33-7.
HARDING ACADEMY Will’s the thrill
Harding Academy seniorquarterback Will Francis needs only 24 passing yards Friday night against Lamar to reach 7,000 in his career.
Francis has completed 540 of 790 passes for 6,976 yards and 73 touchdowns the past four seasons. Francis, 6-4, 185 pounds, was behind Seth Keese as a freshman and sophomore before becoming the starter in 2011.
Francis led the Class 3A Wildcats to an 11-2 record last fall. They are 10-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class 3A this season.
Francis has orally committed to play basketball at Harding University, Wildcats Coach Roddy Mote said.
BEARDEN Let’s play two
If you missed the Gurdon-Bearden game Oct. 26, you’ll get a second chance, because, as, expected, the Class 2A powers will meet Friday night at Gurdon in the second round of theplayoffs.
Bearden won the nonconference meeting late last month, 28-26, a Week 9 game arranged months earlier because the schools had open dates.
But because of playoff seeding, and the way the bracket was drawn up, the schools will be playing for the second time in three weeks.
Bearden (9-2) is ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, is the No. 2 seed from the 8-2A and has won eight consecutive games.
Gurdon (9-1) is ranked No. 4 and the top seed from the 7-2A.
“They’ve got a solid football team,” Bearden Coach Ernie Horstkamp said. “It’s a shame that one of us is definitely going to have to go to the house after this.”
The schools were essentially already locked into their postseason seeds when they met Oct. 26 in Bearden, a game that wasn’t decided until the final minute.
Gurdon pulled within 28-26 on a 31-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Dewayne Marlowe with 2:31 left to play.
But the Go-Devils couldn’t convert a pass for two points to tie or recover the subsequent onside kick.
The Bears recorded one first down to run out the clock.
“Everybody got their five dollars’ worth,” Horstkamp said. “It was back and forth.
The biggest lead was eight points.”
Senior running back Marcus Flint ran 11 times for 109 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Bearden in the first meeting.
Horstkamp said Flint aggravated an ankle injury in the regular-season finale against Strong and didn’t play in last week’s 47-8 firstround victory over Foreman, the No. 5 seed from the 7-2A.
Junior quarterback Javeaz Sledge (foot) was also held out against Foreman, Horstkamp said.
Horstkamp said he expects both Flint and Sledge to play Friday night.
Gurdon, which beat Foreman 41-6 a week after losing to Bearden, had a first-round playoff bye.
Gurdon Coach John Pace said before the Oct. 26 meeting that he expected to face Bearden again in the second round.
“I mean before Oct. 26, we didn’t know anything about them, other than they had a good football team and just what we had heard,” Horstkamp said. “Both teams will probably be a little more prepared, I would think.”
Horstkamp said senior linebacker B.J. Ross has been offered a scholarship by Arkansas State.
Sports, Pages 24 on 11/14/2012