DARDANELLE -- Kristian Thompson rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another as undefeated Dardanelle overcame a rare deficit to defeat Fountain Lake 52-13 in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs Friday night at Keenan Field.
"They did a good job, and we preached to the kids all year to play all four quarters," Dardanelle Coach Josh Price said. "We did that tonight. We kind of woke up there in the first quarter and got out of that sluggish mode and came to play."
Fountain Lake (6-4-1) took a 7-0 lead two plays into its second drive when Carson Chandler bought some time and found J.T. McCoy on a 60-yard scoring pass where McCoy just got the ball in the end zone.
Dardanelle (11-0) methodically responded with an 11-play, 64-yard drive capped by Thompson's 6-yard touchdown run after he kept the drive alive with a 10-yard carry on fourth-and-two from the 16.
The game remained close until Thompson turned a bad snap over his head into a 22-yard gain. That set up Chris Kershner's 9-yard touchdown run as the Sand Lizards never trailed after taking a 14-7 lead.
"That kind of defined the game right there," Fountain Lake Coach Tommy Gilleran said. "You need to make a play right there. You can't let him scramble 30 yards back and then run 30 the other way, and our kids didn't make plays tonight. They didn't tackle that big kid, and you have to make tackles."
Thompson scored on a 1-yard sneak with 35 seconds left to give Dardanelle a 21-7 halftime lead.
Thompson kept another drive alive on fourth down to start the second half, setting up TJ Tucker's 13-yard touchdown run for a 28-7 lead.
Parker Witt returned a punt 19 yards into Fountain Lake territory to set up another Dardanelle scoring drive. On the next play, Thompson found Witt, who outjumped a defender, for a 38-yard touchdown pass.
Gerardo Hernandez extended the lead to 38-7 with a 26-yard field goal, but McCoy responded with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
The Cobras trailed 38-13 at the start of the fourth quarter and had the ball after Leo Martinez's fumble recovery, but the Dardanelle's Turner Partin's had an interception to end the drive.
Thompson found Witt on an 18-yard pass to the 1, setting up Hernandez's scoring run and extra point for 45-13. Dardanelle's next series was capped by Thompson's 14-yard touchdown run.
Thompson finished with 138 yards on 20 carries while completing 12 of 18 for 202 yards. Tucker added 109 rushing yards on 17 carries.
The Sand Lizards also held Fountain Lake to a season-low 187 yards, including only 62 on the ground.
HAMBURG 26, HELENA-WEST HELENA 6
HAMBURG — Tarman Savage rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns to help Hamburg (8-3) get past Helena-West Helena Central (6-5) in their first-round matchup. Savage, who also passed for 134 yards, scored on a 15-yard run in the second quarter and a 1-yard run in the third. Jonathan Webb returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown, and Deandre Rachal ran 31 yards for another score for the Lions. Nick Wood led the Hamburg defense with a fumble recovery of his own and an interception he returned for 22 yards. He also had two sacks.
Sports on 11/15/2014