Junior quarterback Tyshaun Robinson rushed for 120 yards and 1 touchdown and threw for 72 yards and another touchdown to help lead the Maumelle Hornets to a 37-13 victory over the Mena Bearcats at Hornet Stadium on Friday night.
“[Robinson] is an athlete, and he’s a gamer,” Maumelle Coach Mike Buchan said. “He kind of does the cool-dust thing in practice, but he gets out here and he turns into a great runner.”
Maumelle senior back Corry Cullins carried 8 times for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns, and senior Jessie Hopkins added 70 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Mena scored on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead, but Maumelle (3-1) overcame penalties and turnovers to score the next 37 points.
“I was scared to death after their first drive,” Buchan said.
After Mena junior quarterback Sage Kesterson’s 14-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Jordan Dean, Robinson ran 30 yards to tie the score, and his 11-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver J.D. Minix gave Maumelle a 14-7 lead with 1:13 left in the first quarter.
“When Mena scored, it just made us want to come back harder,” Robinson said.
Kesterson led Mena (2-2) with 235 passing yards. He completed 21 of 34 passes, but threw two fourth-quarter interceptions.
Maumelle held Mena to 20 yards rushing.
“We knew they had the best defense that we’ve seen this year,” Mena Coach Tim Harper said. “And, unfortunately, we didn’t do a very good job of blocking them. But they have a great team, make no mistake about that.”
Despite a total of three interceptions thrown by two Maumelle passers, and 11 penalties for 97 yards in the first half, second-quarter touchdown runs of 60 yards by Cullins and 10 yards by Hopkins gave Maumelle a 28-7 halftime lead.
A safety against Mena, registered when a snap went over Kesterson and out of the end zone, followed by Cullin’s1-yard touchdown run after Mena’s free kick, gave Maumelle a 37-7 lead with 7:40 left in the third quarter.
Mena completed the scoring with Kesterson’s 1-yard sneak with 9:19 left in the game.
BOONEVILLE 35, WALDRON 7
BOONEVILLE - Bryson May scored a pair of touchdowns to lead Booneville (4-0, 1-0 4-4A) to a home victory over Waldron (0-4, 0-1).
Booneville built a 35-0 lead by halftime.
DARDANELLE 45, DOVER 10
DOVER - After spotting Dover (0-4, 0-1) to a 10-0 lead at halftime, Dardanelle (4-0, 1-0) stormed back to win its 4-4A Conference opener on the road.
The Sand Lizards were led by T.J. Tucker’s 3 rushing touchdowns and Chris Kershner’s 3 touchdown passes.
POTTSVILLE 49, SUBIACO ACADEMY 14
POTTSVILLE - Josh Duggar ran for 122 yards on 9 carries and scored twice to lead Pottsville (4-0, 1-0 4-4A) over Subiaco Academy (2-2, 0-1).
Tanner Weaver added 126 yards on 20 carries and also scored twice for the Apaches, who also got 89 rushing yards and a score from Michael Perry.
2-4A STUTTGART 41, SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE 3
BATESVILLE - Tyler Luster scored three touchdowns as Stuttgart (2-2, 1-0 2-4A Conference) beat Southside Batesville (1-3, 0-1).
Jackson Kennedy scored two touchdowns in the victory.
CLINTON 42, MARIANNA 16
MARIANNA - Quarterback Fielder Dufrene passed for four touchdowns to help guide Clinton (2-2, 1-0) to a2-4A Conference victory over Marianna (0-3, 0-1).
Robbie Slack had three touchdown receptions. Daniel Beavers caught one touchdown pass.
LONOKE 63, HEBER SPRINGS 34
HEBER SPRINGS - Josh Coleman, Kody Smith and Blake Mack combined for 427 yards rushing and seven touchdowns to lead Lonoke (3-1, 1-0 2-4A) to a victory at Heber Springs (0-4, 0-1).
Coleman rushed for 184 yards on 18 carries and scored twice. Smith finished with 126 yards and 3 touchdowns on 18 carries, and Mack ran for 117 yards and 2 scores on 11 carries.
3-4A GOSNELL 42, BROOKLAND 14
GOSNELL - Marcus Mullins rushed for five touchdowns to lead Gosnell (3-1, 1-0) to a victory over Brookland (3-1, 0-1) in a 3-4A Conference matchup.
Mullins rushed for more than 200 yards on 12 carries. His longest touchdown came on a 60-yard run on the Pirates’ first offensive play. Carlos Blackman added the Pirates’ sixth touchdown, and kicker Ricky Gable made 6 of 6 point-after attempts.
HIGHLAND 49, JONESBORO WESTSIDE 21
HARDY - Reid Maag and Avery Johnson combined for five touchdowns to lead Highland (4-0, 1-0 3-4A) to a commanding victory over Jonesboro Westside (3-1, 0-1).
POCAHONTAS 28, TRUMANN 6
TRUMANN - Caden Wilson and Eric Wolf combined for four touchdowns for Pocahontas (3-1, 1-0) in a victory over Trumann (0-4, 0-1).
Wilson threw for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Wolf rushed for 141 yards and 2 scores.
Sports, Pages 28 on 09/28/2013