MARION — Senior quarterback Kody Frasure completed his final three passes for 87 yards and the Blue Devils scored on two of their final three possessions for a 20-14 victory over the Patriots.
Marion, looking for its first victory over West Memphis, led the Blue Devils 7-6 heading into the fourth quarter after Brian Scott’s 71-yard touchdown earlier in the third quarter.
Marion (2-5 overall, 1-3 7A/6A) is now 0-9 against West Memphis, its Crittendon County neighbor.
“That would have been too much on us to lose,” West Memphis fullback Jarvis Cooper said.
West Memphis’ fortunes swung on a 15-yard punt return by Calmon Clark that gave the Blue Devils the ball at the Marion 36 early in the fourth quarter.
Frasure, who started out 2 of 9 for 29 yards, connected with receiver DeAnfernee Davis, who made a 51-yard reception while falling on his back. Frasure followed that up with two more to Davis that put the Blue Devils inside the Marion 5 before Cooper scored his second touchdown of the night to gave West Memphis (5-2, 2-2) the lead for good.
Davis had 3 receptions for 84 yards.
“DeAnfernee’s catch on the ground was the play of the night for us,” West Memphis Coach Lanny Dauksch said.
Davis said Dauksch gave him some halftime advice on how to adjust his routes.
West Memphis got the eventual winning score thanks to a fumble recovery by Stanley Gaines at the Marion 38 on the next possession.
A pass interference penalty on Marion set up a 7-yard touchdown by Kendell Allen with 6:15 to play. Cooper, who rushed for a team-high 116 yards on 19 carries, added a two-point conversion for a 20-7 lead.
Marion made it interesting when quarterback Jataire Weeden completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Walker with 7 seconds to play. West Memphis recovered the onside kick to seal the win.
West Memphis took a 6-0 lead on a 60-yard touchdown run by Cooper with 5 minutes left in the first quarter.
West Memphis’ Allen added 108 yards on the ground and Frasure finished 6 of 12 passing for 116 yards. Marion got 117 yards from Scott.
JONESBORO 42, MOUNTAIN HOME 25
MOUNTAIN HOME — D.J. Anderson ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third in Jonesboro’s victory over Mountain Home. Anderson scored from 59 yards out a minute into the game and Martin Stafford ran for a 4-yard score to give Jonesboro (5-1, 3-1 7A/6A-East) a 14-0 first-quarter lad.
Anderson threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Kevontae Pope to open the second quarter and Stafford scored on an 81-yard run. Stafford later scored on a 5-yard run and gained 116 yards rushing for the game, giving him more than 1,000 yards rushing for the season. Anderson scored his second touchdown on an 18-yard run. He also threw for 150 yards.
Chase Brown scored for Mountain Home (1-6, 0-4) on runs of 28 yards and 7 yards. He rushed for 200 yards.
LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 21, CABOT 14
Sophomore tailback Logan Moragne’s 7-yard touchdown run with 1:04 left in the game lifted host Little Rock Central past Cabot.
The Tigers (2-5, 1-3 7A/6A-East) snapped a five-game losing streak and kept their playoff hopes alive with the victory.
After Moragne’s touchdown run, Chris Henry returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, but it was negated by an illegal block.
The Panthers (4-3, 2-2) began their final possession at their 33 following the penalty. But Cabot gained just 4 yards before running out of downs.
Central senior wide receiver Reggie Harris caught 11 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns, including one from sophomore quarterback Cooper Westbrook in the closing seconds of the second quarter to make it 14-14 at halftime.
There was no scoring in the third quarter.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK 42, SEARCY 13
SEARCY —Senior tailback Altee Tenpenny had 250 all-purpose yards and scored 5 touchdowns in league-leading North Little Rock’s victory over Searcy. Tenpenny returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and the senior ran for 140 yards and 4 more scores. Senior wide receiver Aaron Adams had 4 receptions for 60 yards for the Charging Wildcats (6-1, 4-0 7A/6AEast). Evan Scarbrough kicked field goalsof 27 and 39 yards for the Lions.
Sports, Pages 26 on 10/13/2012