El Dorado had a chance last fall to become the first school to win four consecutive state titles since Barton’s torrid stretch of success in the late 1980s, but it came up short.
The Wildcats gained some consolation Saturday night.
“Four out of five isn’t bad,” El Dorado Coach Scott Reed said.
Senior quarterback Clayton Waldrum completed 15 of 33 passes for 229 yards and 3 touchdowns to help lead El Dorado over Pine Bluff 31-24 in the Class 6A state championship game before a crowd of 7,916 on Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The Wildcats (9-5) also claimed Class 6A state titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011 before being eliminated in last year’s playoff semifinals.
“It never gets old,” said Reed, whose team won nine of its last 11 games.
The Zebras (9-4-1) lost in the state final for the second consecutive year and failed in their third attempt since 1995 to win a state championship.
They were also beaten by the Wildcats 27-20 in the 2009 title game and 21-14 in a 7A/6A-South game Oct. 25.
Pine Bluff Coach Bobby Bolding said the difference in Saturday’s rematch was at the point of attack.
“We got whipped at the line of scrimmage,” Bolding said. “We couldn’t put any pressure on the quarterback and couldn’t establish the run game. We’re not very good when we can’t do those things.”
In a roller-coaster 48 minutes - Pine Bluff led 10-0 late in the first quarter and trailed 24-10 late in the first half - the game wasn’t decided until sophomore quarterback Ladarius Skelton came up inches short of a first down at the El Dorado 33 on a fourth-and-19 scramble with 1:10 remaining.
Waldrum, the game’s MVP, took a knee twice and El Dorado celebrated - again - a state championship.
“I’ll take them anyway we can get them,” said Reed, El Dorado’s coach since 2007. “They’re all satisfying.”
El Dorado outgained Pine Bluff 343-265 in total yardage.
Senior tailback Jaqualoyn Willis ran 17 times for 77 yards. Senior wide receiver Ty Owens caught 7 passes for 106 yards and 2 first-half touchdowns (12 and 18 yards).
El Dorado stretched a 24-17 halftime lead to 31-17 after Waldrum threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Dadraques Harris with 2:52 remaining in the third quarter.
El Dorado’s defense stood tall in the final quarter, forcing a three-and-out and intercepting a Skelton pass at the Wildcats’ 26 with 5:07 remaining.
“Our defense was awesome,” Reed said. “We never let them get much in the throwing game. I thought our kids played hard, played well.”
Skelton ran 16 times for 112 yards, but completed only 6 of 15 passes for 59 yards. He was intercepted twice.
Sophomore tailback/linebacker Romar Reades ran 46 yards for a touchdown on Pine Bluff’s third play from scrimmage.
Reades also tackled Waldrum in the end zone, forced a fumble and recovered it for a touchdown with 10:37 remaining to make it 31-24.
Pine Bluff ’s only other touchdown came on junior Greg Harvey’s 52-yard return of a blocked 52-yard field-goal attempt as time expired in the first half.
Reed said he stressed to his team at halftime to not let one play affect the entire season.
“That’s been this group’s M.O. all year,” Reed said. “They just play. They’re resilient, because we’ve been beaten. We were beat the first three times out and it didn’t phase them. They kept playing, kept working.”
The Zebras outgained the Wildcats 112-10 in the game’s first six minutes en route to a 10-0 lead. But El Dorado scored 24 consecutive points to take a 24-10 lead in the final seconds of the first half, before Harvey’s return of the blocked field goal cut the lead to seven points.
Pine Bluff started quickly with Reades’ touchdown and made it 10-0 on its next possession when senior Austin McGehee kicked a 40-yard field goal with four minutes left in the first quarter.
But the Wildcats scored on their next four possessions and led 24-10 late in the first half.
Waldrum threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Owens with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
Waldrum scored on a 1-yard run with 9:35 left in the second quarter, then threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Owens with 7:46 left in the first half to make it 21-10.
The second score came three plays after McGehee couldn’t field a high snap in punt formation at his 5.
Junior Trent Harter’s 33-yard field goal gave El Dorado a 24-10 lead with three minutes left in the first half.
El Dorado’s seven-play, 29-yard scoring drive came after stopping Skelton for no gain on fourth-and-inches from the Zebras’ 44.
Reades came up big again, blocking Harter’s 52-yard field-goal attempt to close the first half. But the Wildcats came up a little bigger in the final 24 minutes to win another state championship.
Sports, Pages 27 on 12/15/2013