The blue and silver uniforms mirror the Detroit Lions, but the Arkansas Lions, at least in their debut, looked more like an NFL expansion team.
Memphis Orange Mound swept three age-group games from Arkansas - the last two in overwhelming style - in the state’s first AAU football action Saturday afternoon at Little Rock Central’s Quigley-Cox Stadium.
In the 7- and 8-year-old division, Orange Mound scored two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter of a 20-6 victory, then dominated in games for 9- and 10-year-olds (19-6) and 11- and 12-year-olds (32-0).
Although Orange Mound isn’t affiliated with AAU, a non-profit multi-sport organization dedicated to promotion and development of amateur sports, the Raiders have been playing for approximately five years.
The Lions, conversely, were formed last July by Reggie Swinton, a wide receiver/ kick returner who played five seasons in the NFL, including 2003-2004 with Detroit.
“Those guys have been playing ball for a long time,” said Swinton, who coaches all three Arkansas teams. “They mesh well. Our guys are still trying to learn names.”
It wasn’t all about the scoreboard Saturday.
Arkansas’ only touchdown in the 9-10 division came on the final play of the game when tailback David Parker Jr. entered and was allowed to score on an 80-yard run.
Parker is deaf.
“He works hard in practice,” Swinton said. “He’s always bugging me about carrying the ball in practice, so I wanted to kind of surprise him - just get him in the game and carry the ball.”
The 7-8 division was the most competitive game.
Arkansas led 6-0 midway through the second quarter on a 67-yard touchdown run by Hunter Austin.
The 9-10 game was scoreless at halftime, but quarterback Dwight Holmes scored on runs of 4 and 23 yards in the second half.
The 23-yard scoring run gave the Raiders a 19-0 lead with 5:08 left to play.
The 11-12 game was so one-sided that coaches agreed to run the clock continuously in the second half and shave quarters from nine to seven minutes.
Orange Mound led 26-0 after one quarter and 32-0 at halftime, never needing more than two offensive plays to score.
The Lions are scheduled to play in the fourth annual Deion Sanders Youth Football Tournament next weekend in Buford, Ga.
Sports, Pages 31 on 07/21/2013