GRAVETTE — Gravette’s defense will not be told it didn’t carry its fair share of the load against its biggest rival Friday night.
The Lions intercepted five Gentry passes and returned three of them for touchdowns — all in the first half — and set the tone for a 47-13 victory over the Pioneers in 4A-1 Conference action at Lion Stadium.
Gamebreaker
Gravette 47, Gentry 13
Why the Lions won
Gravette’s defense returned three of its five interceptions for touchdowns, and Cody Robinson added a pair of touchdown runs.
Why the Pioneers lost
Gentry had a punt blocked on its opening possession, which led to a touchdown, and its mistakes either led to Gravette scores or gave the Lions a short distance for touchdowns.
Tristan Kahanek returned his interception 47 yards for a touchdown in first quarter, while Tyler Kerley and Jordan Rose each had to go 30 yards to the end zone after their interceptions in the second quarter. Rose did his with less than a minute left in the first half and gave Gravette (2-3, 1-1) a 40-0 lead, forcing the sportsmanship rule and the running clock to be carried out through the entire second half.
“Those interceptions definitely set the tone,” Gravette coach Bill Harrelson said after the Lions snapped their three-game losing skid. “The defense played great all night. Coach (Duke) Mobley had a great plan, and they executed it.
“It was a total team effort by everybody. The offense scored four times, and the defense scored three times. Even the special teams set up a touchdown with a blocked punt.”
Disaster followed Gentry (1-4, 0-1) from the outset as the opening possession as the Pioneers gained nothing on their first three plays. Michael Olvera then broke through the line and partially blocked Gentry’s punt attempt, allowing Gravette to start its opening possession on the Pioneers 16.
Cody Robinson scored three plays later on a 3-yard run, giving the Lions a 6-0 lead with 9 minutes, 44 seconds left in the first quarter. Robinson also added a 5-yard run in the second quarter, and Gravette’s other first-half score came on Chase Brody’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Sam Riester in the first quarter.
The mistakes continued to pile on Gentry, who had sophomore Stone Faulkenberry get the start at quarterback for an injured Jarod Cousins. Faulkenberry threw all five interceptions but came back with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Dustin Stoufflet and Cole Ellison.
“The turnovers were really, really critical,” Gentry coach Bryan Little said. “I told someone earlier this week that turnovers and field position, they’re game-killers.
“The thing for our kids is they have to learn life will sometimes treat them like this, and they have to get up and keep battling. That’s what we’re going to do. We have a young team, and we decided we’re going with them all the way.”