Bruins bounce from 14-0 hole

— Pulaski Academy found itself in an unfamiliar position during the first half of its 45-14 victory over Little Rock McClellan.

The Bruins, who had dominated their first three 5ACentral Conference games, were down 7-0 to McClellan (1-6, 1-3) with six minutes to play in the first half.

But even as quarterback Lawson Vassar was finally finding a rhythm, things got worse before they got better.

Lawson, who had already thrown a first-quarter interception, moved the Bruins to the Lions 34 when he was pressured on a second-down play and threw it in the direction of a Bruins receiver at the McClellan 8.

Lions senior defensive back Akee Johnson snagged the ball, found a seam and blockers along the right sideline, and then cut across at midfield, diving into the left corner of the end zone to put the underdog Lions up 14-0 with 5:06 left in the first half.

“I hadn’t thrown a picksix this season,” Vassar said. “Johnson’s a playmaker. ... I saw him go up and I was like ... Here he comes.”

But facing the threat of an upset, Vassar found the end zone on a two-play drive that ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Vogel with only 3:38 left in the second quarter, and PA went into the half trailing 14-6.

The Bruins (5-2, 4-0) kept it going in the second half.

The Bruins scored 26 unanswered points to start the second half.

Pulaski Academy led 32-14 after three quarters, but neither Coach Kevin Kelley nor Vassar backed off. Vassar hit Vogel for his second touchdown with a 4-yard pass with six minutes left to play.

Vassar finished the game 37 of 58, distributing the ball to nearly a dozen receivers for 492 yards and 4 touchdowns.

“We knew that we weren’t playing hard [in the first half],” Vassar said. “We came out focused and that helped a lot. ... We were in a rhythm and the receivers ran good routes ... offensive line gave awesome protection.”

Senior tight end Hunter Henry finished with 132 yards on 11 receptions, including a 1-yard touchdown catch.

Senior L.J. Wallace had a 5-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter and finished with 191 yards on 12 receptions.

SYLVAN HILLS 33, HELENA-W.H. CENTRAL 14

A first-half fumble helped Sylvan Hills pull away from Helena-West Helena Central as the Bears scored 26 consecutive points in a victory at Bill Blackwood Field.

With Sylvan Hills leading 13-8, the Bears recovered a Cougars fumble at the Helena-West Helena Central 28. Tra Doss scored four plays later on a 10-yard touchdown run and Phillip Wood added the extra point to put the home team ahead 20-8 at halftime.

The Bears (3-4, 2-2 5A-Central) added to their lead on the first possession of the second half when Ashton Brown capped a five-play, 68-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. The twopoint conversion attempt failed to leave the score 26-8.

Kylan Wade added the final touchdown for Sylvan Hills on a 1-yard run with 6:32 left in the game after the Cougars (1-6, 0-4) turned the ball over on downs at their 18. Wood’s extra point made it 33-8.

The Cougars, who hadn’t scored since the first quarter, got their final touchdown on the last play of the game when Malik Arnett threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Delane Bedford.

Helena-West Helena Central’s first

Sports, Pages 27 on 10/13/2012

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