MAUMELLE — Dardanelle Coach Josh Price said he tells his team every Friday that special teams make a difference.
Friday night, in a 19-14 conference victory over Maumelle, he had evidence.
“I told them after the game, ‘We won by five, that’s a field goal and a safety,” he said. “It was special teams that scored those five points.”
A combination of Dardanelle’s play and Maumelle miscues paved the way for the Sand Lizards’ road victory.
The game left tied 7-7 at halftime when Maumelle’s Hunter Cockrell missed a 21-yard field-goal attempt.
To start the second half, the Hornets were slow respond to a short kick and Dalton Craig recovered at the Hornets’ 26. Six plays later, Gerardo Hernandez scored the go-ahead touchdown from the 1 with 9:56 left in the third quarter. Antonio Garcia added the extra point.
Four plays later, it was 16-7 after Maumelle’s snap on a punt attempt sailed over Cockrell’s head and he kicked it out the back of the end zone for a safety.
Garcia added a 25-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the third quarter for a 19-7 lead.
“I thought our kids gave great effort,” Price said. “They did everything we asked of them.
“Maumelle is a tough team and so athletic. They have guys on offense who can make plays, but they also have so much speed on defense.”
Maumelle quarterback Terry Rhodes, who ran for 111 yards, gave Maumelle a chance to get back into the game. He completed a 13-yard scoring pass to a leaping A.J. Turner with 2:03 left, and Cockrell’s extra point cut the lead to five.
The Hornets’ onside kick failed, but Maumelle was set to get the ball back after stopping quarterback Evan Carter short on third down with 1:18 left. However, a face-mask penalty allowed the Sand Lizards to run out the clock.
Carter finished with 91 yards rushing and 70 passing.
Dardanelle scored first on a 1-yard run by Hernandez to cap the opening drive.
Maumelle tied it at 7-7 when Rhodes hit D.J. Rogers with a 17-yard scoring pass with 10:41 left in the half.
MENA 28, SUBIACO ACADEMY 7
SUBIACO - Malachi McGee set the tone for Mena by returning the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in the Bearcats’ victory over Subiaco Academy.
McGee also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass, one of three scoring passes from Cameron Robinson.
Mena (5-4, 4-2) built a 20-0 halftime lead on McGee’s return and Robinson’s first two touchdown passes - 12 yards to John Valentine in the first quarter and 14 yards to Jordan Dean in the second.
Julius Lewis scored on a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter for Subiaco Academy (3-6, 1-5).
DOVER 49, WALDRON 22
WALDRON - After falling behind 6-0 in a battle of winless teams, Dover rolled off 46 unanswered points before halftime as the Pirates (1-8, 1-5 4-4A) beat Waldron (0-9, 0-6).
3-4A
VALLEY VIEW 52, BROOKLAND 8
JONESBORO - Noah Johns threw five touchdown passes and ran for another in the first half, leading Valley View over Brookland in a 3-4A game.
Johns completed passes of 29 yards and 73 yards to Payton Sanders for first-quarter scores and threw two touchdowns to Jacob Lorenzana and one to Seth Vickory in the second quarter. Johns added a 2-yard quarterback sneak and Valley View (5-4, 5-1 3-4A) took a 39-0 halftime lead.
Jaeger Sullins scored on a 43-yard run for the Blazers and Kenneth Caubble added a 62-yard punt return for a score.
The loss dropped Brookland to 3-5 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
Johns completed 15 of 22 passes for 312 yards. Sanders caught five passes for the Blazers for 136 yards. Lorenzana caught five passes for 118 yards.
GOSNELL 47, JONESBORO WESTSIDE 14
GOSNELL - Richard Razor ran for four touchdowns and Gosnell scored 41 unanswered points after trailing Jonesboro Westside 14-6 in the second quarter.
Razor scored on runs of 6, 15, 25 and 64 yards. He gained 126 yards rushing on nine carries.
Gosnell (5-4, 5-1 3-4A) took a 6-0 lead when A.J. Jones scored on a 12-yard run.
Westside responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Katun Dodd. Zach Swindle then intercepted a Gosnell pass and scored from 5 yards out, giving the Warriors (5-4, 4-2) a 14-6 lead.
But the lead was short-lived, as Marcus Mullins scored on a 60-yard run and a 52-yard run and Razor scored two of his touchdowns, giving the Pirates a 32-14 halftime lead.
Mullins gained 190 yards rushing on 10 carries. Gosnell had 482 yards rushing on 47 carries.
Dodd led the Warriors with 91 yards rushing on 14 carries. Westside had 239 yards of total offense.
HIGHLAND 41, POCAHONTAS 0
HARDY - Sterling Stowers threw three scoring passes and ran for another, leading the Highland Rebels to their third consecutive 3-4A championship.
Highland (9-0, 3-0) scored on its four first-half possessions, including three drives of 90 yards or more. Stowers opened the scoring with a 15-yard run at 11:06 in the first quarter.
Stowers also completed touchdown passes of 24 yards to Deon Stewart, 47 yards to Avery Johnson and 2 yards to Jace Powell in the first half.
Avery Johnson added a 35-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter for the Rebels.
Cody Odell intercepted two Pocahontas passes and the Rebels’ defense held the Redskins twice on first-and-goal situations.
Pocahontas fell to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
CAVE CITY 57, TRUMANN 40
TRUMANN - After twice trailing by two touchdowns to Trumann, Cave City rallied and won its first 3-4A Conference game of the season.
The Cavemen (1-7-1, 1-5) trailed 14-0 after the first quarter and were behind 34-21 in the third quarter to Trumann (0-9, 0-6).
Daron Stigger scored three touchdowns during the rally and rushed for 300 yards. Trenton Coles gained 126 yards receiving and scored two touchdowns. Coles also intercepted two passes, including one he returned 50 yards for a score. Jaron Stigger also had two interceptions for Cave City.
Jeremy Runyan threw for 150 yards and rushed for 90 yards for the Cavemen.
Sports, Pages 28 on 10/27/2012