Pine Bluff tunes up with title

QB Skelton leads Zebras by Panthers

Benton quarterback Cason Maertens is knocked out of bounds by Pine Bluff’s David Beasley during the Panthers’ 41-28 loss to the Zebras on Thursday in Benton.
Benton quarterback Cason Maertens is knocked out of bounds by Pine Bluff’s David Beasley during the Panthers’ 41-28 loss to the Zebras on Thursday in Benton.

BENTON — About the only thing Pine Bluff didn’t accomplish in its run to the 2014 Class 6A state title was a conference championship.

On Thursday night, the Zebras ripped the 6A-South crown from the hands of the defending conference champion.

Pine Bluff used a 21-point outburst in the first quarter to build a big lead and then matched the feat in the third quarter to pull out a 41-28 victory over Benton.

Pine Bluff (10-0, 7-0) scored three touchdowns on its first 14 offensive plays behind quarterback Ladarius Skelton and running back Romar Reades, who combined for more than 500 yards of total offense.

Benton fought back to tie the game at 21 early in the third quarter but could never grab the lead.

“We came out ready to play and did well defensively,” Pine Bluff Coach Bobby Bolding said. “Benton, being a good football team, made some adjustments and was able to get some points on the board. We did what we needed to do to get the victory.”

The push for a state title is next, and the Zebras made sure they entered that chase with momentum.

Reades rushed for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns on 30 carries, and Skelton contributed 247 yards passing and 2 touchdowns without an interception. The senior quarterback added 113 yards rushing and another score.

Senior cornerback Braylen Jones sealed the game for the Zebras with two interceptions in the fourth quarter. The second came inside the Zebras’ 20 to preserve the 41-28 lead with about seven minutes to play and ended Benton’s last good chance to get back into the game.

Skelton opened the scoring with a 19-yard strike to Louisiana Tech commitment David Beasley to cap a 66-yard drive. Then he closed the first-quarter spurt with an 80-yard strike to Casey Higgins. Skelton’s pass hit Higgins in stride 42 yards downfield and the senior receiver did the rest.

Reades scored on a 10-yard run that was sandwiched between Skelton’s passing scores, and the game had the makings of a rout, but Benton (8-2, 6-1) worked its way back into the contest.

The Panthers’ defense held Pine Bluff scoreless the remainder of the half and the offense produced an eightplay drive that was punctuated by Brandon Hunter’s 15-yard touchdown. Hunter took a option pitch from quarterback Cason Maertens and sprinted untouched around the right end to make it 21-7.

As the rain increased in the third quarter, so did the offense as the teams combined for 35 points in a six-minute stretch.

Maertens, who finished with 232 yards passing, threw touchdowns on successive drives to tie the game at 21. The first was a 12-yard strike to Colten Nix. Then, following a Reades fumble, the Panthers struck again when Maertens found Drew Dyer for a 12-yard score.

Pine Bluff responded with two short touchdowns from Reades. The second was set up by Skelton’s 45-yard completion to Beasley, who finished with 8 catches for 122 yards and 2 scores. A failed run attempt on the second touchdown kept Pine Bluff’s lead at 34-21.

Maertens found Nix a second time with 1:44 left in the third to pull Benton to within 34-28, but Pine Bluff responded with Skelton’s 19-yard run early in the fourth to cap the scoring.

LAKE HAMILTON 45, LR HALL 8

Eli Jackson scored Lake Hamilton’s first two touchdowns as the Wolves (4-6, 4-3 6A-South) beat Little Rock Hall (0-10, 0-6) at Scott Field in Little Rock.

Juan Jackson and Ramar Easter also scored touchdowns as the Wolves took a 31-8 lead going into halftime.

The Wolves will be the No. 3 seed from the 6A-South in the Class 6A postseason.

Little Rock Hall has lost 47 consecutive games since beating Arkadelphia 35-21 on Sept. 16, 2011. The Warriors were outscored 90-2 in their last two games and suffered three shutouts, scoring only six points in another game.

PINE BLUFF 41, BENTON 28

Sports on 11/06/2015

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