Bearden tangles with ‘a bad man’

— Bearden beat Gurdon 28-26 in late October and 18-14 in a second-round playoff game Nov. 16.

Gurdon beat Mineral Springs 46-20 on Sept. 28.

All of that means nothing, said Bearden Coach Ernie Horstkamp, whose Bears (11-2) host Mineral Springs (10-3) in a Class 2A semifinal playoff game Friday night.

“I’m not into comparing scores,” Horstkamp said. “Each team’s matchup is a little different.”

As for this matchup, Horstkamp said it could be decided on how well Bearden, No. 2 in Class 2A, handles Mineral Springs senior two-way lineman Derrick Muldrow, 6-2, 310 pounds.

A college prospect, Muldrow leads the Hornets with 68 unassisted tackles (35 for loss), 34 assisted tackles, 5 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 7 sacks.

Horstkamp said Muldrow “catches your eye on film.”

“He’s a bad man,” Horstkamp said. “I mean that as a compliment. He’s the real deal.”

Muldrow normally plays tackle or end on defense but was moved to middle linebacker during the second half of last week’s 22-21 quarterfinal victory at Carlisle. Mineral Springs Coach Nick Evans said the move was designed to give Muldrow “a running start” when trying to congest the middle against Carlisle’s normally potent inside rushing attack.

“When he met Deron Ricks,” Evans said, referring to Carlisle’s 225-pound junior running back, “it was like two water buffaloes colliding.”

Mineral Springs, which is trying to reach the state final for the first time since 1986, has won six consecutive games since a 44-22 loss at Murfreesboro on Oct. 12.

The Hornets lean heavily on junior quarterback Kendrick Langston, who has rushed 186 times for 1,765 yards and 16 touchdowns and completed 55 of 119 passes for 1,017 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Langston sent the Hornets into the semifinals for the first time since 1994 with a 49-yard touchdown run with 1:09 to play.

Mineral Springs was without standout senior tailback Rashad Williams, who was serving a one-game Arkansas Activities Association suspension after being ejected the previous week against Poyen.

Williams has carried 545 times for 5,230 yards and 64 touchdowns in his career.

“Without him, we put a load on our quarterback,” Evans said. “He pretty much put us on his back Friday.”

Bearden advanced with a 35-7 victory at Magnet Cove, its 10th consecutive victory.

Sophomore utility back Jamond Young ran 22 times for 119 yards, threw a touchdown pass and returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Zach Craig ran 7 times for 85 yards and 1 touchdown and caught 2 passes for 62 yards and 1 touchdown.

“Bearden has a lot of speed,” Evans said. “It’s almost like looking in the mirror.”

Bearden hasn’t won a state championship recognized by the Arkansas Activities Association, but the Bears reached the final in 2007 and 2009.

Mineral Springs has never won a state championship recognized by the AAA.

At a glance

MINERAL SPRINGS VS. BEARDEN

WHAT Class 2A semifinals WHEN 7 p.m. Friday WHERE Rogers Field, Bearden RECORDS Mineral Springs 10-3; Bearden 11-2 RANKINGS Mineral Springs is No. 4 in Class 2A; Bearden is No. 2 in Class 2A SEEDS Mineral Springs is No. 3 from the 7-2A; Bearden is No. 2 from the 8-2A

Sports, Pages 24 on 11/28/2012

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