JONESBORO — Running back Martin Stafford shook off a slow start and then carried the Jonesboro Hurricane by rushing for 227 yards and three touchdowns in his team’s 30-21 victory over West Memphis.
Stafford was stopped for minus-6 yards on his first five carries, but he broke through with a 33-yard touchdown run on his sixth rush. From there, it didn’t seem like Stafford could be stopped.
Jonesboro (3-0, 1-0 7A/6AEast) won for the second consecutive year over West Memphis (3-1, 0-1). Last year, the Hurricane snapped the Blue Devils’ 32-game conference winning streak and wound up sharing the league crown with West Memphis.
Jonesboro’s offense got off to a sluggish start. It lost 18 yards through its first four possessions and allowed the Blue Devils to take a 7-0 lead when junior fullback Jarvis Cooper scored on a 3-yard touchdown pass with 11:24 to play in the second quarter.
MARION 53, MOUNTAIN HOME 18
MARION - Corey Garrett and Rashad Boyd combined for seven touchdowns as Marion (2-2, 1-0 7A/6A-East) beat Mountain Home (1-3, 0-1).
Garrett ran for four touchdowns, the longest coming on a 77-yard run in the first quarter. He followed with scoring runs of 65, 41 and 29 yards.
Boyd ran for two touchdowns and scored another on an 18-yard pass from Jataire Weeden. Brian Scott added another score for Marion on a punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Sports, Pages 26 on 09/22/2012