JONESBORO -- Senior quarterback Jaylin Small accounted for 360 yards and four touchdowns to lead Nettleton to a 34-30 victory over Forrest City in a 5A-East game.
Small, who rushed for 190 yards and passed for 170, scored the decisive touchdown on a 54-yard run with 1:09 to play.
"He put us on his back," Nettleton Coach Steve Hampton said. "He's done that several times this year where we needed plays and he just willed us. He broke through and made moves. He is a special player and I'm glad he's on our side."
Nettleton totaled 456 yards, with 286 coming on the ground. Joe Frazier rushed for 92 yards to complement Small's 190.
Stanley Wilson caught 6 passes for 126 yards and 1 touchdown.
Forrest City gained 514 yards off offense, with 292 rushing.
Bryan Allen rushed for 114 yards, but left the game with an apparent leg injury after one carry in the second half.
Quarterback Jamal Turner led Forrest City with 333 yards, 222 passing.
The victory moves Nettleton (6-2, 4-1) into a tie with Wynne for second place in the 5A-East conference.
Forrest City (4-4, 3-2) scored first, on the final play of the first quarter, when senior running back Bryan Allen went straight up the middle for a 65-yard touchdown run resulting in a 6-0 lead for the Mustangs after the two-point conversion play came up short.
Nettleton scored 32 seconds into the second quarter when Small ran in untouched on an 18-yard keeper. Garrett Miller's extra point made it 7-6.
The Mustangs scored the next two touchdowns: Turner passed to Leon Smith down the left sideline for a 71-yard scoring play, and the Mustangs made it 18-7 with 5:27 left in the opening half when Turner scored on a 16-yard run.
Forrest City outgained Nettleton 277-192 in the first half, but Nettleton scored first in the second half when Small passed to Adrian Burnett for a 23-yard score to make 18-13 with 5:49 to play in the third.
Forrest City took a 24-13 lead when when Jacserri Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.
Nettleton responded with a three-play drive, with Small hitting Stanley Wilson on a 46-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-20 after Miller's extra point.
Frazier's 2-yard touchdown run with 5:23 to play put Nettleton up 27-24 after Miller's extra point. Frazier's run capped a 12-play, 84-yard drive.
Forrest City regained the lead briefly, with 1:51 left, when Turner found Trajan Norment down the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown reception to give the Mustangs a 30-27 lead after the failed conversion.
BATESVILLE 48, BLYTHEVILLE 0
BATESVILLE — Michael Robinson ran for three touchdowns as No. 1 Batesville (7-1, 5-0) shut out Blytheville (5-3, 2-3) in a 5A-East Conference game.
Robinson scored on runs of 5 yards in the first quarter and 1 and 37 yards in the second quarter.
Quarterback Kenton Crawford passed for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns on 7 completions in 15 attempts. Crawford also had a 1-yard run for a touchdown.
Chris Robinson caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Crawford and Justin Gallant scored on a 49-yard pass from Crawford.
Louis Sonnier added a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Sports on 10/25/2014