Heritage's Qualls Sets Passing Mark In West Win

 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette MELISSA SUE GERRITS Brandon Gates of the West All-Stars is taken down by East’s Demarcus Rivers during the Arkansas High School Coaches’ All-Star football game at UCA in Conway.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette MELISSA SUE GERRITS Brandon Gates of the West All-Stars is taken down by East’s Demarcus Rivers during the Arkansas High School Coaches’ All-Star football game at UCA in Conway.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

CONWAY -- Josh Qualls' last game as a high school quarterback was one for the record books Friday night.

The former Rogers Heritage standout completed a record 25-of-31 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown, and he directed all three of the West scoring drives en route to a 23-14 victory over the East in a game delayed almost an hour by lightning at Central Arkansas' Estes Stadium.

How They Scored

West 23, East 14

East^0^14^0^0^—^14

West^14^0^9^0^—^23

First Quarter

West — Gates 2 run (Kennedy kick), 7:45

West — Holliman 2 pass from Qualls (Kennedy kick), 1:15

Second Quarter

East — Williams 11 pass from Turner (kick blocked), 7:32

East — Crite 7 pass from Turner (Turner run), 4:06

Third Quarter

West — Gates 7 run (Kennedy kick), 8:00

West — Safety, 5:38

"We executed," Qualls said. "I mean, it's hard to learn an offense like that in one week, but we really executed well. We threw the ball around, and it was fun."

Qualls, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, put the West in position for its go-ahead score when he scrambled from pressure and hit Chance Shelby of Charleston with a 41-yard pass to the East 7 on a third-and-10 play. Heritage teammate Brandon Gates then scored on the ensuing play, giving the West a 21-14 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Qualls broke the previous mark of 21 completions, set by Nathan Nall of Siloam Springs in the 2008 game. He was on the verge of breaking another mark -- the 235 passing yards set by Landon Leach of Russellville in 2003 -- but his last two pass attempts that could have given him the record fell incomplete.

"Josh is quite the athlete," said Heritage coach Perry Escalante, who served as a West assistant. "That's what he did for us the past three years. Gosh, I don't know what we're going to do without him.

"He was throwing it out to Brandon Gates and played great. He's just a really good quarterback, and what he did didn't surprise me. He's going to do great things down at Arkansas Tech, and they've got a great quarterback in him. He's just going to get better; that's all there is to it."

Once the game started -- with kickoff at 7:58 p.m. because of lightning in the vicinity minutes before the original 7 p.m. start -- Qualls found an early groove and directed the West offense 43 yards in eight plays following a 21-yard punt return by Tarek Beaugard of Benton. Gates, a late addition to the team, had the big play with a 19-yard run and scored from 2 yards out, and Sam Kennedy of Springdale High added the extra point with 7:45 left in the first quarter.

The West continued the assault on its following drive after Springdale's Cua Rose intercepted an East pass, and Qualls had a big part of that. He completed all six pass attempts on a 60-yard drive, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to Deion Holliman of Camden Fairview, and Kennedy's PAT made it 14-0 with 1:15 left in the opening quarter.

"The offense wasn't that much different than what we did in high school," Qualls said. "The coaches made it as simple as possible. It's usually a single read, and throw it where they're not. It was pitch and catch; that's what it was."

The East made its comeback attempt in the second quarter after Jaylin Johnson of Forrest City intercepted a pass and returned it 30 yards to the West 8. Dillon Turner of Salem hit John Williams with an 11-yard touchdown pass and cut the West lead to 14-6 as the extra-point kick was blocked.

The East made another interception minutes later, this time by Byron Scales of East Poinsett County. Turner bolted 41 yards on the ensuing play, then hit Kristen Crite of Newport with a 7-yard touchdown pass and added the two-point conversion run with 4:06 before halftime.

Sports on 06/28/2014